[pradocchia]

I'm glad I experienced the old internet back in its heyday, when high quality sites linked to other high quality sites, and Google exposed this natural topology for all to explore. Google's success eventually led to the end of the old internet: AdSense captured its value and then SEO perverted it with noise.

I expect within 5 years some crotchety old programmer will have build a search engine that penalizes sites for anything more than basic markup. No JS, no CSS, no hints of a CMS. Maybe it's already been done. "Old Skool Search"

And it will still be a poor imitation, because if there is one thing you can't recreate and experience for yourself, it is an internet gone by.

[ForHackernews]

This is kind of how I feel as well.

Google figured out how to monetize links. Good for them. Now they get to deal with the consequences of monetized links.

Live by the sword, die by the sword.

[dwd]

Ahh, the Eternal September...

I sincerely believe we need two Internets, or we need two Googles.

We need what started with ARPANET, but this time never let it commercialise. PageRank works for that network.

We also need the commercial network that works like a better Yellow Pages but actually gives valuable local focused information on businesses and services that can't be gamed and has different rules.

Trying to apply the same ranking rules to both types of searches pollutes the academic and destroys every local small business who are unlucky enough to not make it to the magic first page - because nothing else counts and the winner takes all.

Google has taken on a lot of responsibility dictating what they think we are looking for and they are failing us (and especially small business) big time. Maybe they are thinking about this? Maybe Google Local will factor more than PageRank for commercial. Maybe they will change the layout so more than 10 lucky links get to page one and you never get to have multiple listings for the same company. But right now it is bad and only getting worse.

[cousin_it]

> No JS, no CSS, no hints of a CMS.

Also no ads or commercial content, and no cookies. I'd like to use that. Maybe I'll build that.

[anon1385]

>Also no ads or commercial content

A bit of nostalgia: http://www.arachnoid.com/freezone/

[andybak]

> No JS, no CSS, no hints of a CMS

I'm fascinated to know what positive features you think correlate with the lack of useful development technologies and basic formatting.

[ForHackernews]

High levels of personal investment and low levels of bullshit.