~ Early Web Links ~

A specialized web tool by Ben Bullock that lets users draw kanji characters by hand with a mouse and have them automatically recognized, making it invaluable for looking up unfamiliar Japanese characters. The site also offers multiple lookup methods including multiradical, four-corner, and SKIP codes, with support for over a dozen interface languages.

The Punctuation Guide is a comprehensive reference covering every major punctuation mark, from periods and commas to em dashes and angle brackets, with guidance on British versus American style differences. Precise and well-organized, it serves as a go-to resource for writers, editors, and students who need clear rules on punctuation usage.

AIspotting is a curated directory of guides and tools for identifying AI-generated content across visual art, writing, and other media, helping people protect themselves from AI fraud and misinformation. It also collects resources for artists to protect their work from being used in AI training, along with recommendations for AI-free creative platforms.

Behind the Name is a comprehensive encyclopedia of first names from around the world, covering etymology, history, and cultural origins for thousands of given names across dozens of languages and traditions. Visitors can browse by letter or origin, check name popularity by country, explore namesakes, and even use tools like a random name generator and baby name advisor.

Cosma Shalizi's sprawling academic homepage offers a remarkable archive of book reviews, research notes, lecture materials, and personal essays spanning mathematics, statistics, science, and more. The Bactra Review alone contains over 130 wide-ranging book reviews, making this a genuinely rich intellectual resource built over decades.

Brooklyn College Library's research guide for film studies compiles curated databases and review sources for students and researchers, including EBSCO's Film & Television Literature Index and other scholarly resources. A handy academic starting point for anyone seeking professional film criticism, retrospective reviews, and cinema research tools.

Sloop Web Directory is a community-curated collection of websites organized into Classic and Modern sections, with a particular focus on sites accessible to older web browsers and vintage machines. Retro computing enthusiasts will find it especially useful for discovering old-web-friendly communities, BBS resources, and personal pages compatible with systems like Mac OS 9 or Windows 98.

FOSSA Learning, created by Vic, is a learning design framework built around five core principles: free, open, small, simple, and accessible course creation. The site offers a methodology and starter course for teachers and instructional designers who want to build lightweight, inclusive learning materials without cost or proprietary formats.

A curated Oxford University LibGuide collecting free online resources for local history research, compiled by the Bodleian Libraries' continuing education department. Researchers will find links to British History Online, the Victoria County History, county record societies, historic environment databases, and open-access journal repositories all in one place.

The ASL Typesetting Office provides LaTeX and TeX style files for authors submitting to publications of the Association for Symbolic Logic, including the Journal of Symbolic Logic and the Bulletin of Symbolic Logic. Maintained by Reinhard Kahle, the site offers document classes, BibTeX stylefiles, proof packages, and guides to help researchers format their work to ASL's exact typesetting standards.