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protonet:about

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About PROTONET

There is a growing interest in computing history, computer networking and how it all came to be. In early 2000's I started noticing a increase of early historically significant web sites going offline. I didn't want an important part of our culture disappear, so around 2011 I started a long-term project with the goal of preserving web sites that are disappearing and primarily focus on archiving, and later on build a comprehensive service, where archived web sites can be browsed and searched as if they were still online. Over the years I've placed a special emphasis on preserving the look and feel of the early Internet experience as close as possible. For the scope of the project, mid-to-late 1990's was chosen. There are several other reasons this timeline was chosen.

  1. Internet experienced a strong global expansion around this time, with half the population in the US in 2000 accessing the Internet on a regular basis.
  2. Most consumers were able to have their first experience of the Internet around this time
  3. Many early web services opened around this time
  4. There are more resources available for restoration and archival purposes

There are some key aspects our service differs from other web archival sites such as the Wayback Machine at archive.org.

  1. Web sites are browseable with original period correct hardware.
  2. The web sites have are restored to functional status. Broken links are fixed, and manual work is put using several sources to restore functionality.
  3. Several protocols (including HTTP and FTP) are supported, and more will be added over time.
  4. Dynamic website content, such as web searches are supported.
  5. File downloads are restored.

The project's aim is to preserve the user experience of visiting web sites historically accurate, and provide a guide for future generations. It is a service that can be freely used by computing history museums and institutions demonstrating the early Internet, and by individual vintage computer enthusiasts. It allows users and interested parties to browse the Internet with classic web browsers, and experience the early Internet as it was in the late 90's. That is what PROTONET is, and the service continues to grow, as more resources are brought in thanks to the several people that work hard contributing content and fixing broken links.

Quality over Quantity

PROTONET isn't meant to be an extensive archive. It's purpose is mainly to focus on quality of the user experience and present the archived content as it was with accuracy. Over time the the archive has grown as we've reconstructed and recovered files from a plethora of sources, and we've worked tirelessly to restore website functionality including dynamic content such as search engines, guest books and visitor counters. Emphasis has also been given to finding and restoring rare downloads, and they have been made available along with the pages that link to them. FTP sites that no longer exist are made available through the service and are free to use.

Preserving the past

The project is no minor undertaking, however we remain committed to bringing these web sites back and restore them to their former glory. You will be able to again experience web sites that have not seen the light of day on this side of the millennium.

protonet/about.1597175453.txt.gz · Last modified: 2020-08-11 19:50 by omolini