What do you think of "webcore/cybercore"?

[xandra]

Thank you so much for your answers. I find it a really interestic topic and I loved to hear everyone's point of view. I hope that my approach didn't seem too agressive towards the people who use these terms, my main objective with this topic was telling people a personal view I had that I felt didn't let me see beyond my feelings.

i hope you didn't feel dogpiled on! sometimes a particular thing we say can end up being the center of a discussion accidentally when it's just kicking off conversation or discussion, but everyone's perspectives have been really refreshing to read, including yours! i know people talk about there being so much negativity online when it comes to hobbies, aesthetics, or just things they enjoy—being able to have a discussion about this stuff without it devolving is really nice and lovely!

thanks for starting this topic. :) i do wonder if anyone in the web revival space isn't a fan of "webcore" as a subculture/aesthetic/etc. does anyone think it might "cheapen" what the web revival is doing or turn the old web into a kind of caricature of itself, rewriting history? i'm curious!

[myleszey]

thanks for starting this topic. :) i do wonder if anyone in the web revival space isn't a fan of "webcore" as a subculture/aesthetic/etc. does anyone think it might "cheapen" what the web revival is doing or turn the old web into a kind of caricature of itself, rewriting history? i'm curious!

this could be said of a lot of "aesthetics" in my opinion - the application of webcore as a label might eventually have the same effect calling something "vaporwave" does now, in that the genre or aesthetic has become so broad that it has dozens if not hundreds of subgenres that attempt to focus the theme but ultimately confuse viewers or degrade the uniqueness it would have without the label.

Kallistero definitely summed up everything I could say about webcore specifically, but there are parallels to be drawn between how people view the web revival from the outside and the current treatment of "aesthetic."

[Bede]

Seconding the folks saying it's a great way to get younger folks into web revival! Although, honestly, I don't mind if they never cross that line and just stay admiring the aesthetics. As long as they're not doing something actually potentially harmful, like showing off someone's actual current personal site on Tiktok for the aesthetic (essentially reducing that creation down to just that), then I'm cool with it all around.

[minttea]

Its kind of odd to me to think that this is something unusual (or a 'new trend'), because these aesthetics have been dear to me for years, actually! Games like dot hack can, in many ways, kind of be considered webcore/cybercore. Dot hacks vibes have long been a load bearing inspiration to me!

When I read the terms, my first thought wasn't it was some new trend, but slight happiness at having search term for a vibe I've long enjoyed, haha.

[PurpleHello98]

It's not really something I had in mind when I designed my site or anything, but I really quite like it! And outside of my site, I'm actually quite a fan of the aesthetic, and the 90s-00s tech aesthetic in general, which often ties into Webcore. Some of my best friends and I have shared Pinterest boards dedicated to things that remind us of each other or each other's aesthetics (or ourselves/our own), and a good half of mine is Webcore. It's one of my favourite aesthetics! Which, I think, ties in to my general retro-ish style---my mother recently described my fashion sense as "retro 80s Bohemian", which I think makes a lot of sense. 

[Kallistero]

I recently thought back on this thread because I listened to a newly released album from an independent music producer, an album that invokes the bitcrushed 2000s-style electronic that accompanies a lot of webcore:

I look at the graphics on this and think, colorful visual maximalism is a pretty shoe-in way to make something that's webcore even more webcore! Then, from that, I thought, one of the most accessible ways to make new webcore elements might be to just make chaotic collages out of lots of 2000s media. It's a big part of what Blingee did, and I think it might be fun to collaborate on collages ourselves.

So on everyone.melonland.net/webcore, we can try it out! Add some elements to the page, and let's see if we can capture the elusive "webcore" with a big maximalist collage! 

[dotmidi]

So on everyone.melonland.net/webcore, we can try it out! Add some elements to the page, and let's see if we can capture the elusive "webcore" with a big maximalist collage! 

Added my own personal touch to some of the collage I hope it is well enough to your standards u_u ! I also put in a crummy 90s techno-inspired song. I found it a bit challenging to figure out what graphics would and wouldn't be classified as "webcore". To be honest, I understand the gist of the concept, as I had been there for multiple aestheticism cycles on Tumblr, but it is such a generalized concept since everything I am looking at is on the web! Hmm.

To anyone reading this, if someone can help me with the marquee tag on the Mario gif I put on the collage, that would be greatly appreciated. I don't quite know why it won't work for me.

[Kallistero]

I hope it is well enough to your standards u_u !

Well, it's not mine, it's everyone's!   

The marquee wasn't marqueeing because in the CSS, img tags were all being set to use "absolute" positioning, so that they can be made to move and rotate and overlap anywhere. That kept it from moving with the marquee. Now, img tags that are in marquees just use their default "static" positioning, allowing the marquees to marquee with the marquees 

[dotmidi]

The marquee wasn't marqueeing because in the CSS, img tags were all being set to use "absolute" positioning, so that they can be made to move and rotate and overlap anywhere. That kept it from moving with the marquee. Now, img tags that are in marquees just use their default "static" positioning, allowing the marquees to marquee with the marquees 

I'm going to pretend like I understand that, thank you kindly. 

[Nova]

I'm gonna put my two cents in:

I enjoy Webcore, it's a type of aesthetic that not only draws attention to the old web style, but it's also an aesthetic that's just pleasing to see.

[XEmoCatX]

I dont mind TikTokers getting into old internet (examples: imageboards, forums, old Youtube before 2016, old twitter from before 2015, old facebook before 2012, msn messneger, xanga, geocities, myspace, old instagram before 2016, flickr, livejournal, old deviantart before Wix ruined it and more, seriously they need to come back).

Modern internet suck ass (there are some good stuff but that's it)

So yea, I don't mind people using the term webcore or cybercore

But idk if these tiktokers are actually into old internet or they are just doing it for a trend

[Yoylecake420]

I dont mind TikTokers getting into old internet (examples: imageboards, forums, old Youtube before 2016, old twitter from before 2015, old facebook before 2012, msn messneger, xanga, geocities, myspace, old instagram before 2016, flickr, livejournal, old deviantart before Wix ruined it and more, seriously they need to come back).

Modern internet suck ass (there are some good stuff but that's it)

So yea, I don't mind people using the term webcore or cybercore

But idk if these tiktokers are actually into old internet or they are just doing it for a trend

And as long as they aren't being jerks, I don't care.
However I would appreciate if they went the extra mile and joined the Indie Web.

[xx_roryriot_xx]

I guess that they are not hurting anyone, and probably slides like this and the whole "webcore" thing may bring younger people to know these corners of the web, but I still have mixed feelings about it.

i briefly got into the whole "webcore" thing in november of.. i think it was 2022? it led me to create a neocities account and now, over 2 years later, i'm still at least semi-active in spaces like this! i actually first stumbled upon the melonland forum a couple of years ago but i was too busy with real-world stuff to join 

[randomtangent]

oh yea pretty much.

lots of kids make older things a surface-level 'aesthetic' and really nothing much else.
i can't blame them since they're still kids lol, they haven't really experienced the old net at all, etc.

though it kinda hurts for me seeing someone go "omg old vocaloid!!" and all they do is pick out World is Mine and old Miku and just leave for a TikTok video.

[XEmoCatX]

And as long as they aren't being jerks, I don't care.
However I would appreciate if they went the extra mile and joined the Indie Web.

Ye it would be nice to see them joined the indie web