Alive internet theory
30 comments
·November 9, 2025talkingtab
plastic-enjoyer
> The CLICK: "Critiques kill". You want a live internet? Don't critique. If you want a no javascript version make one. If you have a better solution do it. If you have insight into the problem share it.
Yes, and no. I think a problem is critique in the form of action. There are movements such as the indie web (e.g. Neocities, Nekoweb, Agoraroad) that long for the old web in their nostalgia and form a counter-movement to the current state of the web. The websites and communities that emerge from this are more or less an imitation of the websites of the late 90s and early 2000s. My problem with this is that the indie web primarily defines itself by simply being the opposite of the web 2.0. It exists primarily as a counterculture, in which “counter” is more important part than "culture". This movement is cynical in that a better future for the internet and the web no longer seems possible, and the only way out is to escape into a nostalgically romanticized past. For me, this is more of a confirmation of the Dead Internet Theory than of the Alive Internet Theory.
kace91
Good critique to the comments!
imiric
Allow me to criticise your criticism...
> The CLICK: "Critiques kill". You want a live internet? Don't critique.
I don't see the connection. Critiques are also content.
The issue is not related to the type of content, but to what is producing it. Dead Internet is the (proven) idea that most content on the internet is produced and consumed by machines, not humans.
jaapz
Haven't read the rest of the site but I really enjoyed the way you present it using the slider with the prevalent styles of certain periods
gryfft
> alive internet theory is a séance with this living internet. Resurrecting tens of millions of digital artifacts from the Internet Archive, visitors are immersed in a relentless barrage of human expression as they travel through the life of the web as we created it—every image, video, song, and text uploaded by a real person on the web.
I like this a lot. It sort of turns internet history into a lava lamp.
For those struggling with the styling on the splash page, the slider at the top lets you pick an era and stick with it.
philipwhiuk
Seems more 'undead' than alive given the methodology.
throw10920
Isn't the fact that most of the material comes from the Internet Archive somewhat a refutation of the Alive Internet Theory, which is that the internet is alive now, as opposed to some past archived point in time? (yes, I know the IA archives contemporary materials, but the purpose and majority of the content are from the past)
theandrewbailey
The constant re-styling of the page was annoying enough to make me close the tab and not come back.
faidit
I thought it was cool, the UIs of the past evoke lost memories of past eras. But sadly, the images glitched out and stopped displaying after I manually changed the date. Probably due to my internet connection haha
stavros
I managed to brave the cruel and punishing color changes long enough to click the button and was rewarded with an interesting session of nostalgia and exploration.
brulard
I did the same and did not even think about it until i read this!
inquirerGeneral
[dead]
BonitaPersona
I'm open to and interested in the thesis and discourse this website supposedly offers, but the medium forcefully expels me.
Perhaps there could be a static 1.0 version we can read or listen to?
edit: Okay, I get it now. It's an automatic aggregator! Only the style auto-change is egregious then, but the actual webapp is great!
another edit, sorry: The call-to-action button should be at the top, not the bottom. On mobile you have to scroll to see it and it can be missed.
bryceneal
I agree that "the internet will always be filled with real people: looking for each other". The question is will they be able to successfully find each other, and how can they be sure they have?
quantummagic
Presumably, the value in finding each other will be the key to determining you have found someone real. If you literally can't tell the difference, then what does it matter? But many of us believe that there are important differences, that do matter, and that the dead internet can never truly provide.
koolala
it depends if you want real connection. imagine if this reply was a video call. wave emoji
koolala
by using the internet or by using a website? if we included digital telephone would the answer be getting their phone number? i wish hosting a website was as easy as hosting a phone call.
crims0n
I like this, makes me wonder what a curated internet by a benevolent dictator could offer.
batch12
Its a cool idea, just beware. Saw some dead kids and some NSFW among the otherwise interesting content.
ySteeK
That's exactly my kind of humor: the page "aliveitheorie" remains black because I'm not allowing a Java script.
van_lizard
Read my post history here (the fist post).
Mistletoe
I like the sentiment but how will you know as time goes on that the things were uploaded or created by real humans? The early things yes, but as I got closer to now I was less sure, which kind of disproves the alive internet theory.
Somehow, reading the comments made something CLICK for me about how passive and reactive we have all become in this culture.
1. The issue is real. Not sure it is articulated but I related to live vs dead internet.
2. The comments (only 10 as of now) are mostly critiques. (no javascript, call to action, style, theory is wrong)
The CLICK: "Critiques kill". You want a live internet? Don't critique. If you want a no javascript version make one. If you have a better solution do it. If you have insight into the problem share it.
The "follower" internet has somehow instilled the notion that making a comment is the same as "doing something". It is not.
Someone has done something here. If you want to comment, try to develop the thought, not critique. Help build something.