Here lie websites that openly acknowledge the reality of death on the net. These consist of graveyards for scrapped projects, failed corporate software, memorials for completed or dormant projects, and other candid acknowledgements of digital impermanence. Unlike other places, the links of this section are paradoxically enough, very much alive.
I was first exposed to death online through actual, real life death that had made its way here. From BestGore to now, I continue to watch countless videos of human death, and find the ensuing demonstration of anatomy interesting. So much so, that I have developed favourites. The human body under duress is a wonderful and terrible thing, but the death that stands out to me, above thousands of shattered craniums, frayed limbs and flayed faces is the unique sense of intimacy one experiences with a truly dead user.
Re: Favourites. Go to the FAQ, it's far too long to go here and any attempt I make to abridge it will only make me look even more deranged.These first appeared as the remains of deceased deviantART users, profiles silent, galleries unfinished and commenters grieving. Naturally deviantART users were less than reliable narrators, the classic "I'm leaving DA!" journal post being a well-worn meme. The site, for all of its nonexistent child-safety measures, rampant fetish artists and general incompetence was a very silly place. People used virtual stamps as lecterns for flamewars, traded free-to-use brushes and in the case of my best friend, found love. So one minute you're looking at lion king fan-art, the next you've tabbed onto a profile, everyone in the comments is crying and you're quickly learning why.
I am where they used to be, in their virtual house, seeing it not quite through their eyes but still how they would have seen it none the less. Knowing that while the light in their eyes has vanished, mine persist. I find it dear, in the sense that their work survives, but I am a voyeur in a world they've since departed. But where the dead used to walk, ghosts don't tend to be too far behind.
So this is my necrology.
Use the contents menu to jump to the main categories, or try out the new index for more specific topics. I have seen plenty of articles on the importance of linking, but none seem to mention the tools used in print. Search bars are javascript-based, and while handy, there is an immense disatisfaction I feel when I've punched in everything I could and recieved nothing. So, the index curbs your disappointment, tells you exactly what to expect and gives you a quick way to scan and see whether or not you'll get anything out of this collection.
Articles and essays on the death of the internet, written by authors who, despite the subject matter, remain very much alive.
Live and well sites that discuss, reference or otherwise allude to death online. Note that these pertain to bitrot, data loss and lost online culture.
Live sites with dead projects, hence the name.
Dead sites that pertain to ASCII, a form of typographic art.
Dead sites that pertain to horror, halloween and monsters.