AOL Hometown

{{Infobox company

| name = AOL Hometown

| logo =

| owner = AOL (Verizon Media)

| defunct = {{end date and age|2008|10|31|df=y}}

}}

AOL Hometown was a web hosting service offered by AOL. It offered 12 megabytes of server space for AOL subscribers to publish their own websites, and included a 10-step form-driven page creator called 1-2-3 PublishHogan, Lynn (1995). [http://wps.prenhall.com/bp_hogan_webchapters_1/23/6004/1537044.cw/content/index.html Creating a Web Page Using AOL Hometown], Appendix C to the online book [http://wps.prenhall.com/bp_hogan_webchapters_1/23/6003/1536892.cw/index.html Practical Computing], published on Pearson Education[http://www.alexandermagazine.com/babystep/lesson19aol.htm Internet Baby Steps - Lesson 19: Creating a Simple AOL Home Page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331004032/http://www.alexandermagazine.com/babystep/lesson19aol.htm |date=2012-03-31 }}, Alexander Magazine, 2001 and a WYSIWYG online website builder called Easy Designer,Willett, Edward (2000). [https://books.google.com/books/about/Your_Official_America_Online_Guide_to_Cr.html?id=akjSpHoyS-QC Your Official America Online Guide to Creating Cool Web Pages, 2nd Edition] neither of which required knowledge of HTML (AOLpress had been AOL's website builder before the introduction of AOL Hometown). In 2001, AOL Hometown estimatedly had 11 million websitesSchau, Hope Jensen; Gilly, Mary C. (2003). [https://web.archive.org/web/20120605233339/http://business.highbeam.com/436955/article-1G1-111982593/we-we-post-selfpresentation-personal-web-space We are what we post? Self-presentation in personal web space], Journal of Consumer Research, December 1, 2003 and a new website was added to it every eight seconds.Musgrove, Mike (2001). [http://brainerddispatch.com/stories/021001/tec_0210010011.shtml Free, easy site-hosting services tap into the urge to post] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004062909/http://brainerddispatch.com/stories/021001/tec_0210010011.shtml |date=2011-10-04 }}, The Washington Post, January 28, 2001 By 2002, AOL Hometown had grown to 14 million websites.Hu, Jim (2002). [http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-827901.html AOL home page glitches irk users], CNET News, February 1, 2002 It was shut down on 31 October 2008.{{cite web|author=Posted on Sep 30th 2008 10:06AM by Kelly Wilson |url=http://www.peopleconnectionblog.com/2008/09/30/were-closing-our-doors |title=We're Closing Our Doors - People Connection Blog: AIM Community Network |date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081102060650/http://www.peopleconnectionblog.com/2008/09/30/were-closing-our-doors |access-date=2020-05-20|archive-date=2008-11-02 }}

Its shutdown led to the creation of Archive Team by Jason ScottScott, Jason (2008). [http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/1617 Eviction, or the Coming Datapocalypse], December 21st, 2008

Scott, Jason (2009). [http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/1649 Datapocalypso!], January 5th, 2009Scott, Jason (2009). [http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/1692 STAND BACK, WE’RE ARCHIVISTS], January 9th, 2009 who was angered by the shutdown. Then it, with the help of the Internet Archive and other activist websites, saved as much of GeoCities as possible when it became the next "critical part of online history" and "important outlet for personal expression on the Web"Internet Archive (2009).[https://archive.org/web/geocities.php GeoCities Special Collection 2009: Saving a Historical Record of GeoCities] to be shut down with short notice in October 2009.

History

=members.aol.com=

Before Hometown, AOL made 2 megs of webspace available for each user name, and had tools "Personal Publisher II" and "AOLPress".{{Cite web | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-03-31-fi-43875-story.html |title = A Web Site is Not So Terribly Hard to Weave| website=Los Angeles Times |date = 31 March 1997}}{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eJVnzcZC5I0C&q=aol+%22personal+publisher%22&pg=PA213 |title=PC Mag - Google Books |date= 9 September 1997|access-date=2020-05-20}} These webpages were then accessed in the members.aol.com or home.aol.com domains.{{cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/qa/0607freed.html |title=Internet Q&A |publisher=Archive.nytimes.com |date=1996-06-07 |access-date=2020-05-20}}{{cite web|url=http://www.gbengasesan.com/fyp/52/ch19.htm |title=Chapter 19 - Getting Your Web Words Online with America Online |publisher=Gbengasesan.com |date= |access-date=2020-05-20}} Personal Publisher let users create webpages without knowing HTML;{{cite web|last=Einstein |first=David |url=https://www.sfgate.com/technology/computing/article/Web-Site-Creation-Is-Free-Easy-3014717.php |title=Web Site Creation Is Free, Easy |publisher=SFGate |date=1998-01-20 |access-date=2020-05-20}} AOL discontinued Personal Publisher circa 2000.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/13/technology/l-unhappy-aol-campers-765694.html |title=Unhappy AOL Campers - The New York Times |work=The New York Times |date=2000-04-13 |access-date=2020-05-20}}

AOL members could also use the "MyPlace" keyword to upload HTML files they created themselves.[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/UK/Mapelin/Maplin-Electronics-1996-08.pdf Maplin Electronics 1996] americanradiohistory.com {{dead link|date=August 2023}}{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LYp7r6OrMdIC&pg=PA40 | title=PC Mag| date=23 April 1996}}

= Hometown start date =

The site initially launched as "Hometown AOL"{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PVTSzf0g3_IC&q=aol+%22personal+publisher%22&pg=PA154 |title=PC Mag - Google Books |date=1999-04-06 |access-date=2020-05-20}} in October, 1998. Within the first year, in 1999, the site was redesigned and rebranded as "AOL Hometown" to align the name with the rest of the AOL properties' names (AOL + property name).{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

Official online information as to when AOL Hometown started out is scarce. whois.pho.to gives a registration date of "before Aug-1996" for the domain of hometown.aol.co.uk, though that probably relates to the basic AOL domain itself as the "domain name" in the registration is given as "aol.co.uk".{{cite web|url=http://whois.pho.to/hometown.aol.co.uk|title=Website |access-date=August 21, 2011 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic|date=Jun 2017}} First mention of AOL Hometown in a Google Scholar publication dates from 2000, which is Quick Guide to You'Ve Got Pictures, Aol Exclusive Version by D. Peal.Google Scholar search result for [https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=%22AOL+Hometown%22&btnG=Search&as_sdt=0%2C5&as_ylo=&as_vis=0 "AOL Hometown"] Prior to that, AOL Hometown was mentioned in a Deseret News article on September 30, 1999.Nii, Jenifer K. (1999). [https://web.archive.org/web/20121024013229/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/720343/Family-history-Web-site-joins-AOL.html Family history Web site joins AOL], Deseret News, September 30, 1999

Two tools for AOL Hometown on the internet suggest a start date of 1999 or before. The copyright notice to the AOL Hometown StatCounter reads "Copyright 1999-2011".[http://statcounter.com/aol_hometown/ StatCounter provides free customisable hit counters, visitor tracking and website stats for AOL Hometown] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624075818/http://statcounter.com/aol_hometown/ |date=June 24, 2011 }} The imprint to the download page of James S. Huggins's AOL Hometown easyDesigner says that it was "created: before Thu, 01.Nov.2001", and its copyright notice reads "© 1997-2011"Huggins, James S. (1997?). [http://www.jamesshuggins.com/h/rng1/wig-aol-easy-designer.htm Using AOL Hometown easyDesigner]

= Legacy sites =

Over the time of its existence, AOL Hometown incorporated websites of formerly independent services acquired by or merged with AOL, including, but not limited to Ancestry.com, MyFamily.com, Netscape, CompuServe,{{cite web|access-date=2008-04-15|url=http://www.news.com/AOL-CompuServe-deal-cleared/2100-1033_3-205177.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120905142647/http://www.news.com/AOL-CompuServe-deal-cleared/2100-1033_3-205177.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 5, 2012|title=AOL-CompuServe deal cleared|publisher=CNET|date=1997-11-10}} eAccess[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20040518a4.html AOL Japan to transfer Net business to eAccess], The Japan Times, May 18, 2004,Matsuoka, Ken (2008). [http://kenmzoka.com/081031AOLStopFTP.htm AOL Announcement: "AOL Hometown/FTP is closing 31st October 2008"], 5 December 2008 AcmeCity[http://www.freewebspace.net/forums/showthread.php?5861-AcmeCity-and-AOL-Hometown-Collaboration AcmeCity and AOL Hometown Collaboration], 2001 and others.

Thus, it contained an unknown number of websites that had been online for longer than the existence of AOL Hometown itself. On the German forum antispam.de, one poster complained in 2008 that with the shutdown of AOL Hometown, AOL had deleted his website that had remained on the internet "for more than 17 years" (since at least 1991)."Immerhin hat AOL im Gegensatz zu manchen anderen Providern oder Gratisangeboten immerhin eine 'Haltbarkeit' von über 17 Jahren gehabt." ("Different from what other providers or free services would have given me, AOL gave my site a 'durability' of more than 17 years.") Chactory, thread [http://www.antispam.de/forum/showthread.php?21245-Google-warnt-vor-der-gesamten-AOL-Domain/page5 Google warnt vor der gesamten AOL-Domain]{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ("Google advises against all AOL domains"), 2 October 2008

References

External links

Dillard, David (2008). [https://archive.today/20120709053334/http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Net-Gold/message/25893 "Meet the Googles" Visits the Grave Site of AOL Hometown to Ponder Its Past All to Short Life], Temple University, posted on Yahoo Groups, 18 November 2008
Scott, Jason (2008). [http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/1617 Eviction, or the Coming Datapocalypse], December 21, 2008
Dr. Jitter (2008). [http://houseofjitters.blogspot.com/2008/11/aol-hometown-shut-down-finding-old.html AOL hometown shut down. Finding old sites.], House of Jitters, November 12, 2008
[http://www.taimantis.com/get-my-aol-files.html How To Retrieve Your AOL Files], November 11, 2008
[https://intoolate.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/aol-hometown-users-your-files-are-not-deleted-yet-grabm-while-you-can/ AOL Hometown Users: Your files are *not* deleted yet – grab’m while you can!], November 24, 2008

Category:Internet properties disestablished in 2008

Category:Products and services discontinued in 2008

Category:Web hosting

Category:AOL