Electricity

and the bottom image is linux mint with a windows xp theme.)

do you mind linking to the Linux mint XP theme? That looks amazing. I'd love to get that for my own desktop.

I've been debating if I should theme my mint install as XP or Windows 98 and I ultimately cannot decide... I should send my desktops to this thread soon, I just have a lot of them so it'll take me a while to get pics of them all.

https://nippoverse.xyz/
I changed the layout of my site a few days ago. I originally had it as a frame site but decided to put everything on the homepage instead. I think it looks really cute.

And also added a pop-out window music player it's really cool and has some of my favorite music on it (and more to come). Check it out if you're curious!

Looking at it now, I'm not sure if it would count as a video essay because of it's length but here!
It's by one of my favorite creators

I thought this was very cool, thanks for sharing!

I have always viewed profile images in this way, but I never thought that it was something everyone else did, so it was cool to see someone else's perspective.

I don't remember the last time I have ever settled on a profile image that I'd use everywhere. I have always been a fan of gif PFPs, and it is unfortunate that most platforms do not offer them or force you to pay for them. I enjoy it when forums allow me to set a gif image.

I used to change my profile image sporadically on platforms like Discord, but I have been attempting to settle on a single image. I notice younger users tend to change theirs a lot while older users stick to one. I feel like I am a mixture of both, lol.

I recently watched a video essay about profile pictures and it got me thinking how interesting of a concept they are.

Do you mind sharing the video essay? I am interested in watching it!

My profile picture is this cool boppin Pikachu. I used it on AOL Instant Messenger through the Phoenix servers. I wanted a cute gif for it and now I use it here!

I update my images depending on the profile and what my moods are. I like Pokemon a lot, so I may make it that. Sometimes I'll make it my own art. I am sporadic...

Webrings are cool, now give me your favorites!!

I enjoy browsing the Yesterweb ring a lot. There's so many websites on there.

And of course we can't forget the Melon Surf Club (I gotta join that one soon!)

If I was a bit more skilled in techy things, I'd love to have a "dumb" phone and an earlier Windows OS. 7 is just fine if even older iterations would make things more complicated, but I would still love to tinker with those from time to time. Building computers also sounds very appealing, but again, no tech skills

There's no better time to start learning than now!

I remember the first time I tried messing with an old PC of mine to get Windows XP installed on it, and boy I struggled so much. It was even worse because I had a very smart friend helping me and even he couldn't figure it out! But once we did, we both learned what the problem is, so now we won't struggle with it again.

Now, I pretty much know what I'm doing when it comes to installing OSes, and now I collect old computers for fun. Everyone starts somewhere. I think the hardest part is figuring out where to even begin. It feels so overwhelming when you don't know much.

Even if you don't have a spare computer, using a Virtual Machine is really fun too. It could be a bit tricky to figure out, but that's the fun of it in my opinion. If it was easy, I wouldn't enjoy collecting and messing with it all.

If you need help, you can message me and I can guide ya. And I'm sure many others on the forum wouldn't mind too. It's a fun hobby to get into and I enjoy helping others getting started.

Mine is a pretty funny situation. Most people think that my name is associated with "Nippon", but it is not the case.

This was before Super Mario Odyssey was coming out, and so they were releasing promotional material for the game. One of these was an image of Mario shirtless, and the internet decided to highlight his nipples, saying "omg mario is confirmed to have nipples" like any human being would.

So I decided it would be funny to make an Instagram account (when I used it at the time, lol) under the name marios_nipples. I made some friends on the account and someone decided to call me "Nippo" and so it stuck, since it sounded cute.

It is funny when people poke fun at my username and call me "nipple" when it is actually the origin behind the name to begin with.

Most of the people in my life know about my site but don't really care much about it. My family is aware that I have a website and that I take on various coding stuff, etc, but they aren't invested in the technology space to really care much about my specific projects. If they saw my website they'd just say "but Facebook is easier to use, why are you bothering?" My parents are quite old.

Friends, on the other hand, are a mixed bag. Majority of my friends are also not as invested in tech, and so I never had someone to relate to when it comes to programming. No one to really nerd out with besides through the internet. I love both my parents and my friends, but I definitely long for that person that I can relate to in a real life space.

I am actually curious about WebDAV, can you tell me more about it? And what advantages does it have over just using the CLI?

I don't have much experience with the CLI. WebDAV is pretty user friendly as it just gives you the folder in file explorer (for windows you need another software to do this, I forgot the name of it at the moment). With Linux it's straight forward to set up.

The only complaint I have is that for some reason file transfer speeds are extremely slow. But at the very least it lets me move around things. I don't think it's worth the money if you aren't paying already. I only paid for custom domain name.

I have always coded everything in VSCode, then later upload everything to Neocities. Regarding how Neocities structures files, I absolutely hate it. I use WebDAV because it annoys me so much how they expect you to use their website to organize your files.

I self-host libre.town, so I have full control over what happens on the server, including the file system and all.

If you don't mind me asking, what services do you use to self-host? Do you mean self-host as in literally hosting it yourself from your house/other place, or do you go through another web-hosting service with more freedom?

I ask because I have always assumed there were risks to hosting a website from your own IP address. Are there measures I could take to host in this way while also keeping my network secure?

I have also been generally confused as to how to host a website outside of Neocities, whether it be in my own network or on the internet (I really want to setup a miniProxy to visit https on my older machines, but I always struggled with setting it up).

Sorry if this is a little off-topic, but I thought it'd be a good time to ask :omg:k:

Honestly it is VERY easy to look at past experiences (and even ones you didn't live through) with rose-tinted glasses. Things were never perfect despite seeming that way. I think being on websites like these definitely encapsulate the feeling that old forum sites of the day would've had.

I was born in 2003, so I was able to experience early YouTube and other aspects of the internet. Flash games and animations were all the rage when I went online. YTPs were also very funny. I am very nostalgic for older versions of iOS because I used to watch YT on my first-gen iPad all the time, which I still use for web browsing and YT from time to time.

I also have nostalgia for things I've never lived through. For example, I love older windows OSes like 98, ME, and XP. Although I have encountered XP a little bit from my childhood, I never lived to experience 98 and ME until the modern day where I was able to buy the hardware myself.

You may be confusing nostalgia with a different feeling, at least that's how I think I feel. When I'd boot up my W98 machine and see all the icons load in with the Windows startup noise and the hard drive spinning, it gave me a sense of comfort, and that's all it really is. It's a feeling of "I am safe here". I feel welcomed and at home when using older computers. Nothing is trying to distract me and I could see myself having a good time with it. I am being treated to an open sandbox to explore a time period that I have never experienced before. It's such a mystical feeling, and is why I am so enamored with retro tech.

Just me and my thoughts

I was introduced to the concept of "solitude deprivation" by Cal Newport, whose writing I enjoy. The theory is that even if you manage to sidestep the traps of endless social media scrolling and spend your time deliberately, a lot of us aren't spending enough time with just our own thoughts.

I don't know how solid the science behind that idea is, but it, uh... feels true?

i feel the same way!!! i recently had a trip that was mind-opening and like . i really think you need to spend time frequently doing nothing in your room just thinking about things to get a clear head. staring at the ceiling and noticing the patterns in the wall and coming to terms with the recent goings-on

as for "going online" i dont really value irl life or url life more than the other, i just try to make sure theres a balance of both. i normally just put my phone on do-not-disturb whenever i want to leave url life and go for a walk or something (i may need maps later xD)

but i do sometimes miss when i would wait for a loooong time for my awful pc to connect to the internet and load things

I really enjoy this idea. I always see myself bringing my phone places, and when I am burnt out of my phone I see myself holding my iPod instead because I seem to always reach for some sort of stimulation (though at times I see myself listening to calm music more than anything, to make myself feel better).

At some point I want to try locking up my portable devices for a day and to only have access to the internet through my computer. Though that is becoming harder and harder as smart devices take over.

If the site represents who you are and is made with your own creative passion then it has a purpose to exist.