what are webrings?
webrings are a solution to a problem that doesn't exist anymore, with the creation of high-functioning search engines. finding a website that has information you need is easy these days, and the ones with the best content and optimizations get floated to the top on sites like Google and Bing. but this wasn't always the case.
let's talk about webrings. what's a webring? well, this is one. and this is one too. a webring, like the name implies, is just a ring of websites that link to each other. earlier in the internet's history, webrings more-or-less existed for 1 or 2 reasons: 1, to link together a string of websites about a related topic (say, dog-lover fansites) or 2, to link like-minded people together, who maintained personal websites. at its most basic explanation, it was a way of getting more visibility into your site. if you enjoy one site, you might also enjoy the other sites in the webring.
how does the ring work? basically, your site can only link off to 2 other sites in the ring: the one that joined the ring before you and the one that joined after you (or the original member's, if you're the last participant). then the site after yours links off to an additional site, and so on and so on until to reach a point where you get to a site that links back to yours. so you keep navigating from site to site, until you go full circle and end up where you started.
even though search engines have made webrings essentially obsolete, they're still fun to participate in. i encourage you to check out this curated list of webrings and see if there's any that you think you would want to join.
here's a list of webrings that basement community joined, to give you a feel for how they might look.
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