~ Early Web Links ~

FOLDOC (Free On-line Dictionary of Computing) is a massive reference work maintained by Denis Howe since 1985, containing over 15,000 definitions covering everything from acronyms and jargon to programming languages, networking, and computing history. With its breadth spanning telecoms, mathematics, electronics, and even the occasional bit of 'art,' it remains one of the oldest and most comprehensive computing dictionaries on the open web.

A massive archive of 10,561 bookmarks saved by tilde.club user miccaman via the Delicious bookmark service between 2005 and 2014, preserved here after Delicious shut down. The collection spans web design, programming, art, and internet culture, with a built-in linkrot analysis showing which URLs have gone dead over the years.

Fravia's Searchlores is a legendary, advertisement-free collection of advanced internet searching strategies, essays, and techniques for finding information on the web, from basic queries to deep web research. Built by the renowned researcher Fravia, this site offers raw searching knowledge including webbits, guessing techniques, combing methods, and search engine strategies that were far ahead of their time.

The Blue Pages is a curated old-web and indie-web directory that functions like a digital yellow pages, listing sites across dozens of categories including tilde servers, webrings, Gemini/Gopher hosts, and retro communities. Built as an alternative to algorithm-driven search engines, it embraces pure human-curated web indexing with a nostalgic small-web philosophy.

A clear, plain-English explanation of LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) covering how it works, why organizations use it, and its history as an internet standard for directory services. Produced by the makers of ClickMail Central Directory, this concise reference page also links to schemas, standards documents, and further reading for those wanting to dig deeper.

Theresa O'Connor reflects deeply on the ethics of digital curation versus preservation, exploring whether we have the right to retroactively delete or alter our past online selves. The essay weaves together personal experience as a trans person, IndieWeb philosophy, and thoughtful commentary on data archiving, ephemeral content, and digital legacy.

WikiCreole is the documentation hub for Creole 1.0, a standardized common wiki markup language intended to bring consistency across different wiki platforms. With 613 pages covering the full specification, test cases, implementation guides, converters, and good practices, it serves as the definitive reference for developers and wiki enthusiasts looking to adopt or understand the Creole standard.

Secret Onions is a community-maintained Tor hidden service link directory focused on legitimate content, tools, and knowledge rather than scammy dark web marketplaces. Curated with an anti-surveillance, pro-privacy philosophy, it organizes onion links into categories like forums, email services, file hosting, software, and search engines while actively filtering out scam and marketplace sites.

SS64 is a comprehensive command line reference covering Linux, macOS, Windows CMD, PowerShell, VBScript, and more, maintained since 1999. It serves as an essential quick-reference tool for sysadmins, developers, and power users who need syntax and usage details for hundreds of shell commands.

Published in D-Lib Magazine in April 2005, this academic article by Tony Hammond and colleagues at Nature Publishing Group provides a comprehensive review of social bookmarking tools, covering platforms like del.icio.us, tagging systems, RSS feeds, and the emerging concept of the social web. It offers a detailed look at how user-driven bookmarking and tagging were reshaping information management on the early Web, making it a fascinating historical snapshot of Web 2.0 in its infancy.