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Hooliganism = acts of
vandalism and violence in public places
Encarta® World English Dictionary
The History
I was a victim of Yahoo's Hooliganism. A long
time ago, I was once a happy ring mistress of several robust and
healthy webrings that were serviced by the irreplaceable
Webring.org. This company invented the concept of a webring
system thanks to the genius of Sage Weil. For those that may not
know, a webring is a group of similar sites which are linked
together to form a ring. I have yet to find another service to
match its supreme functionality or beauty in design and now it
is gone forever. When Yahoo acquired Webring, they decided the
perfectly functional system needed a Yahoo type overhaul. What
they did was hack, chop, and stab the system to its death. On
September 5, 2000 (now known as "Black Tuesday"), the system was unveiled. The
Yahoo!Webring system that
they created barely functioned and life signs were critical!
My own webrings and others like them have
been caught in the violence of Yahoo's actions. The toll has
been horrific. Rings are dead or dying everywhere. A few
survivors have moved on to a form of "after life"
which affords a measure of peace and tranquility. It is somewhat
comforting to know these rings have found a measure of refuge which was much needed after such an ordeal.
Yet, we are victims and its time someone
hears our Screams!
Update!
The screams have stopped and the victims are
now at rest. Yahoo sold WebRing just one short year after it
wreaked its havoc. Perhaps, they didn't care for the reactions of
the public after witnessing their fiasco. Or, maybe WebRing wasn't
the financial boon they expected -- since most of the rings were
destroyed by their own stupidity. Whatever, the reason - as we
will never know - they did sell and that was the one act of
kindness Yahoo can be credited.
The New WebRing, Inc. is far superior to any
ring system. It does still have some of the same look of Yahoo --
but appearances are deceiving. Ring Masters/Mistresses regained
total control of their rings. The options are amazing - that
is what is important and what Yahoo failed to understand or
provide. Every ring
owner has the option(s) to run their rings as they like. The
system is there to assist not overtake the human element. Best of
all - There is a support system which actually answers back and
tries to help!
The Legacy
The legacy left by the Yahoo destruction is
still quite apparent. Many former WebRing managers did move their
rings during the disaster and will not or cannot ask their members
to move again. Some of these have multiple versions of their rings
on different types of ring servers - including, the revitalization
of rings at WebRing. I imagine it will be some time before the
ring world will fully recover.
The list below recounts a small portion of the
rings affected by the Yahoo Devastation. These rings were
originally placed here by their managers as a memorial to the
original Webring. Org. It should be interesting
to follow the progression of these rings in the future - now that
the ring managers can rest and reflect on the changes in the world
around them.
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