This archive started with forum software because that's where the idea began. But the same disappearing-history problem applies to the CMS platforms, billing systems, and blogging tools that ran alongside those forums — so that's where we're going next.
Everything currently in the archive — the specimen pages, the timeline, the gallery — documents forum and bulletin board software. That collection isn't finished, but it's the one we've actually built out, and it'll stay the anchor of the site as everything else grows around it.
142 entries and counting, with filters by language, license, and era.
None of these have specimen pages yet — this is a statement of direction, not a finished collection. Categories move from idea to research to live the same way forum software did: one well-documented specimen at a time.
The blogging and publishing engines that took over from hand-edited HTML — and, in WordPress's case, ended up running a huge share of the web.
ResearchingThe shopping carts and invoicing systems that let small sites sell things online before hosted platforms took over that job.
PlannedPersonal publishing tools that predate and overlap with modern CMS software, many now discontinued or barely maintained.
PlannedCollaborative editing tools that grew out of the same era as early forums, with their own distinct history of forks and standards.
PlannedReal-time software that ran alongside forums for the conversations that didn't fit in a thread.
Idea stageThe simplest form of web feedback, and one of the least documented — most guestbook scripts left almost no trace.
Idea stageSoftware that shaped how a lot of sites worked, or introduced ideas that spread widely, gets priority over niche one-offs.
We need enough archived manuals, screenshots, and firsthand accounts to document something accurately before we'll publish it.
Suggestions submitted through the archive get weighed alongside our own research priorities, not treated as a separate queue.
This is still a small, volunteer-run project. A category moves from "planned" to "researching" when someone picks it up.