VampireFreaks: the MySpace before MySpace that for alt kids that, incredibly, lasted for 20 years - and the small revival forum that’s bringing back cosy internet community.
oh, and I signed up, obvs. :3
on the new VampFreaks - modded by some elder goths who remember the old forum - you can customise your profile with images and CSS, talk on the forums, and join a live chat with other goth + alternative folks, just like on the old VF - minus all the problematic stuff that absolutely proliferated on the OG site. 😅
There is so much I want to say about this topic (corporate enshittification, etc.) but in this post, we’re starting out with a bit about how the internet changed from an experience to just ‘content creation’.
The old web as an experience was all about graffiting the margins and creating unique spaces that were like digital lounge rooms or incredible worlds that you couldn’t wait to log into.
The internet as it is now is all about content: staying inside the lines (vs graffiting outside of them), fitting products onto shelves, and we largely scroll out of anxiety, frustration and boredom.
The late 2000s/early 2010s were an amazing time for blogging: so much variety, lots of stuff to read, and a kind of evolution of webrings where folks linked back to each other’s blogs, giving readers whole worlds to explore on their favourite topics.
(and for 18 year old me, sites like The Ultimate Goth Guide were like digital replications of the coziness and excitement of getting to sit down with a hot chocolate and flip through a magazine!)
This post explores why blogs felt so much better than social media - with plenty of old-web GIFs and screenshots of goth blogs from 16 years ago to illustrate and bring the nostalgia!
the early-web-themed shrine to goth-girl culture I made out of old icons, blinkies, and other gifs
dark angels, sad girls drifting around cemeteries, ornate crosses, vampires, skulls - everyone wanted to be dark and soulful in their online expression.
well, i haven’t grown out of it yet - so enjoy the 2005-era shrine to the gothic side of the web that our millenial teen girl selves would have loved!
i made a website of my own because I got tired of social media and wanted the internet to be a fun creative experience again.
