I like "gravesites." Gravesite is the term for an abandoned Web site or home page that the owner has long since forgotten. The Web sites are still out there, and every once in awhile someone actually visits them. Now, just because a Web site hasn't been updated in ten years doesn't mean it isn't any good. Some of these sites were put up by students in high school who have long since graduated from college. Those sites give you a nice slice of someone's life in years gone by. There is one site that a girl put up for fans of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen that will be ten years old in November 2009. There is a crawl announcement on the bottom of the index page that describes the date of the last updates to the site and what the updates were. The crawl still runs perfectly and has since 2001. Like so many gravesites, the Olsen Twins site is actually very nicely done. Those are the ones that leave me wondering if the original makers of the sites even still think about them, or even visit the sites any more. There are so many Angel Fire sites because I bookmarked a "node" from the master index to all Angel Fire sites. This node is like a treasure map to abandoned Web sites and home pages.
Life changes for everyone, and personal interests change as well. One day you are an active Olsen Twins fan, and the next day you are (probably) a junior in college and thinking about anything BUT the Olsen twins. That is probably the biggest reason why these sites just sit out there going months or years at a time with no one visiting them. Looking for the good ones is sort of like "Internet Archeology." Every once in awhile, there is a good find.
This site is almost ten years old now. There have been less than 700 visitors according to the counter that still functions. This had to be the 1999 inspiration of what is called a "tween" girl, named Amy, of about 10-to-12 years old. She would either be in college or graduated now, and maybe married. All of that happened while this site was out there waiting for MK and Ash fans to visit and join the site operator's club. Everything on this site still works. Last updated in 2001.
"Opheliac" is a young woman living in Minneapolis, Minnesota during September 2002. She put up this nice little site of photos and some writings about things she likes and cares about. This site was made by someone who seems to be very nice and comfortable with her life during the time she uploaded "Opheliac 9."
The young woman pictured above is the one behind "Opheliac 9." If you put "Opheliac 9" in the Google search engine, you will find more than one blog maintained by Hannah. Hannah is a "foodie," which means her blogs contain many tasty-sounding recipes as well as many other interesting observations. If you have some time, check out some of the prolific entries Hannah has made to the Internet over the past ten years.
This is one of the older sites on the Web, dating back to about 1995. This is one huge database about the two television shows on which Melissa Joan Hart was the star, Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Just about everything anyone would ever want to know about the shows is on this site, which goes on for many pages. What is really special about the site is that it retains the early look of the dial-up world of the early Internet. There isn't any Java or Flash stuff on the site. Some pictures and a lot of links and text. If you like MJH and were a fan of either show, this is the site for you. Last updated in June 1998.
This little site was first uploaded in approximately 2002, according to the old guestbook entries. Christy and Rachel were part of a YMCA All Star Cheerleading group somewhere in Alabama. The site received close to 12,000 visits over the years. Some of the girls still signing the Guestbook think Christy and Rachel are still maintaining the site, but that was over seven years ago. I don't think the girls cheer at the YMCA now. They are probably cheering in college, or doing adult things. The last guestbook entry to ask for cheering advice was in 2008! The only problem with the design was in the color of the text on the front page and on the Cheerbook page. The text tended to blend in with the backgrounds and were hard to read. Other than that one problem, the site is very clean and easy to follow. The pictures showing the different jumps illustrated them well, and the girls provided good descriptions of how to execute the jumps. This is a good nostalgic site for older girls and women who were once young cheerleaders.
