Story
Where did the old web go? We followed 657,607 links to find out
1 report
1 website
1 discussion
Latest report
Overview
A restored database of 657,607 links from 2009 to 2014 shows that 76.7% of the crawlable links no longer returned a loading page in August 2026. The data primarily reflects the activity of users in Macedonia and does not represent the entire web.
Summary from 0.mk.
Reports
One report so far. Additional coverage will appear here when it is linked to this story.
Community reactions
Each reaction summarizes sampled comments from the linked discussion.
Hacker News · 0.mk
Hacker News discussion ↗
Historical count: 5 · 5 saved in sample · Historical sample
Analysis ready
Read this discussion’s reaction
Based on 5 sampled comments from this thread. Analyzed 2026-08-14.
- Praise: HN is a living example of a simple website facilitating discussion between humans with a shared interest — a refreshing reminder of the old web's community spirit.
- Praise: The idea that the 'old web' could return resonates with some, hinting at a future where the internet is once again for the 'nerds' and not just corporate interests.
- Concern: Calling 2009-2014 the 'old web' is laughable; that era is far from the genuine charm of the early internet.
- Concern: The expectation that URLs would be permanent is a distant memory now, as people seem indifferent to the fragility of online content.