[Mom]

I miss how innocent and small things seemed to be back then. The internet was still seen as a tool you don't mess with unless you needed to do some paperwork as companies were early adopters of emails and whatnot, but that didn't really affect the developing internet "culture" at the time.

As the internet became more mainstream and spotlighted by the powers that be, it feels like it has become more hostile and vitriolic. Many old communities wouldn't survive, 4chan particularly feeling like a shadow of its former self as it's the new "super sekrit klub" of just about anyone who wants to feel like they're the sharpest edge on the block whereas before it was a far more minute community with actual respect to the containment tags. With the flood of people desperate to prove they're the most daring, every board has become some variation of /pol/ or /b/.

Flash is an obvious one considering it's semi-recent death, though Newgrounds did a good job of converting much of its Flash content into something capable of preservation, we've certainly lost a lot to that death. Another site I often visited a child, ArcadePod.com, was one that I think didn't quite survive despite it still being online. I remember it being one of the first websites to host an online emulator before laws caught up with the internet and it had to be shut down. It was primitive, had a limited selection, and couldn't save. I still loved it all the same and is the main reason I can say I finished Link's Awakening and the original Pokemon's in one sitting. (I suppose the lack of vicious corporate control is also something I miss, but that's an entirely too-long rant for now).

Also Tank Ball.