~ Early Web Links ~

Andy McFadden's comprehensive CD-Recordable FAQ is the definitive reference guide covering everything about CD-R and CD-RW technology, from basic concepts to advanced topics like packet writing, disc formats, and hardware troubleshooting. Originally developed for the comp.publish.cdrom Usenet newsgroups, this meticulously maintained document reached version 2.73 and is available in multiple languages including German, French, Russian, and more.

A comprehensive reference listing every command available in the Microsoft Windows command-line FTP client, drawn directly from Windows NT help files and organized with syntax details and parameter explanations. Developers and sysadmins will find it especially useful for scripting FTP tasks or troubleshooting command-line file transfers.

Jason Scott's web.textfiles.com is a sprawling archive of historical text files covering hacking, phreaking, e-zines, humor, virus research, and underground computing culture from the BBS era and beyond. It's an essential digital preservation project cataloging thousands of documents that capture the raw, unfiltered voice of early internet and hacker subcultures.

Search Engine Party is a comprehensive comparison tool that rates dozens of popular and privacy-focused search engines across security and privacy criteria including IP logging, SSL grades, tracker use, and DNSSEC support. Researchers and privacy-conscious users will find it invaluable for choosing the safest search engine for their needs, with graded data sourced from community contributions and updated regularly.

The Web Robots Pages hosts a comprehensive database of web crawler and robot software implementations, listing hundreds of bots submitted by their owners or discovered by webmasters. A reference hub for the robots.txt standard, it also offers tools like a robots.txt checker, IP lookup, and documentation on META tags for controlling web crawlers.

Edited by Paul Wise and Jed Wing, this unofficial specification documents Microsoft's HTML Help system in exhaustive technical detail, covering the CHM file format, LZX compression, XML structure, and all associated configuration options. Reverse-engineered without NDA restrictions and released under the GNU GPL, it serves as a rare open reference for developers working with or building tools around the proprietary .chm format.

A technical reference page documenting SMTP error codes, protocol behavior, and related email delivery concepts including blacklists, spoofing, and RFC 821 standards. Visitors will find a structured listing of numeric response codes with plain-language explanations, making it a handy quick-reference for anyone troubleshooting email server issues.

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.

The Navas 28800-56K Modem FAQ, compiled by John Navas, is a comprehensive reference guide covering dial-up modem troubleshooting, selection, configuration, and brand-specific tips for modems from the mid-1990s through the broadband transition era. Organized into detailed sections on connection problems, drivers, PCMCIA cards, and modem companies, it remains a thorough technical resource for anyone dealing with legacy dial-up hardware.

The official NetBSD/macppc FAQ covers everything a user needs to install and run NetBSD on PowerPC-based Apple hardware, from booting and partitioning to Open Firmware, supported hardware models, and peripheral configuration. With dozens of detailed questions and answers spanning networking, ADB keyboards, USB devices, and kernel options, it serves as an indispensable technical reference for running this Unix-like OS on older Power Macs and PowerBooks.