Out of Site

It's surprising to think that a website can just die, but it's possible. With so much space on the World Wide Web and the ever-increasing popularity of new tech fads, some websites fade into the mist. They don't exactly die; they just retire into that great big electrical void. There were some sites I thought I'd never get tired of, but as the years go by, I lost interest, and my browsing history was filled with more and more new experiences and adventures (For the record, I am NOT talking about porn).

www.wwe.com

By the late 90s, early 21^st century, I was big into wrestling, as was half of my friends, the other half being DragonBallz fans. I would always check WWE.com (originally WWF.com) to check on PPVs I missed since we didn't want to pay for them. I'd sleep at night anticipating the results online the next day. Moreover, I would obsess over superstar statistics and championship history like a fantasy football pro. Alas, by high school, I grew less and less interested. I started to shed the Pokemon, DBz, WWE shell of middle school and began watching more movies, listening to the annals of hard rock, and even reading more books. Additionally, I became a much bigger fan of women, so I had to focus on stressing over asking them out, I couldn't waste time on The Rock or Stone Cold anymore. Plus, video games started to become really, really good during my high school term, with the Xbox and PS2 churning out some all-time classics Furthermore, I started watching NFL football, so when it came time to chose between real sports and fake, I opted for the former. Plus, why pay for Wrestlemania when you can watch the Super Bowl for free ("free" in comparison)? Wrestling became a thing of the past. It didn't help that a lot of my friends moved on, so I had no one really to relate to. So in the spirit of Social Darwinism, I adapted and overcame by abandoning the "sport" altogether.

www.homestarrunner.com

Another relic of my middle school days, Homestarrunner.com was a quirky website that had its 15 minutes of fame before completely vanishing off the map. My best friend Blake introduced me one day, and the style of humor really grabbed me. Home Star is an online cartoon website with original characters and a host of unique cartoon shorts. Nothing profane, nothing raunchy, just nerdy/sarcastic humor. The site's zenith came with the arrival of Guitar Hero II, when the game included a song from the site, Trogdor, about a made-up dragon. The dragon's theme song was a huge hit, and including it on the most popular game at the time was a wise marketing strategy. The problem was, a lot of my friends didn't know about it, so I only had a few people to talk to about it (The humor was either you got it or you didn't). Once they moved on, I would check it out on occasion, but it would update less and less often, so my patience would wear thin, driving me into the arms of other sites. Nowadays, I check it once every 5 months, if that.

www.eonline.com

By the end of high school, I was addicted to movie reviews. Say what you will about listening to what the critics say, but it's always good to have a second opinion, especially when you're considering spending money on what could potentially be a giant turkey. E! Online was one of my favorite sources of movie gossip and reviews, but eventually they changed the layout, and it became harder to find the actual movie reviews. The site also became more focused (in my opinion) on tabloids and celebrity data than entertainment as a whole, so I stopped going. I also stopped watching the channel altogether, if that says anything about the slight trauma brought on by their change. It all worked out, as I found actual movie sites that cared about movie news and not what Lohan or Lady Gaga is in trouble for now.