About two weeks and a half ago, on the birthday shared by both the strongest fairy and the best home console ever made, Anti Software Software Club announced they were shutting down cohost. It's very unfortunate, but the writing was on the wall for some time. Alot of cohost's biggest fans mourned the site's demise in their own ways.
Some folks wrote songs, some made art, but as is customary with a website's last days, people made sure to trade information about where to find them after they go their separate ways.
I feel like i'm witnessing something similar to when Gold Roger announced One Piece. Eggbug sat on the gallows and galvanized a new era of posters to go out into the world.
This part has been the most inspiring, because now alot of people, at least alot of folks in my immediate circle, are making websites. They're learning HTML, they're picking up website layouts. They're trading secrets about cool transitions and effects they use on their pages.
I feel like i'm witnessing something similar to when Gold Roger announced One Piece. Eggbug sat on the gallows and galvanized a new era of posters to go out into the world. Tutorials on webdev and RSS feeds have made up about half of this month's posts by volume. People are sharing 88x31 buttons with each other. It's inspiring to see so many people return to the old ways.
There have been plenty of people that refuse to do online anymore. They're tired. Cohost was the last website for them, and there's no home for them on the internet anymore. However, those that are determined to stay online are the ones most dedicated to posting, but they're gonna post on their own terms. They realize that they don't have to remain beholden to the hellsite, the other hellsite, or hellsite 2. They can craft their own environments and make online a better place for them.
I'm not gullible. I know that even if all of cohost's users were on this wave, it would just be a small blip in the overall population of the internet. I know that regardless of how strongly the former chosters feel, the a majority of the internet will use social media. This is just the nature of the beast. It's more convenient, and regardless of the barrier of technical knowledge, a network of small websites is not the perfect answer.
Even still, this has been beautiful to witness. I've mentioned how cohost has had huge problems (like racism and moderation of said racism), but this has been the site at its best. It really shows me the site could've been a better place for minorities if it had some time to get itself in shape.
Unfortunately, that is just a dream in the twinkle of my eye now. There is no future for cohost past October, and the only proof of its existence will be all the posters that ride the cyberwaves in its wake.