My Internet History
I have been making websites since I was eleven (11) years old. I got my start building fansites with "what you see is what you get" (WYSIWYG) editors (now called page builders), and hosting them on free services like Geocities, Tripod and Angelfire. Thanks to a Geocities archiving service, you can check out this absolutely stunning Girl Thing (remember them?!) fansite I made: The Cyberswing with Girl Thing.
After a few years of building fansites, I discovered the world of personal websites. My first personal website was named LaLaLandChick, and I wish so badly that I had evidence of this. I remember the first "layout" being a baby blue mess, but I absolutely adored that website. I used to "blog" by adding my hotmail address at the bottom of every post for "comments". It was a magical time.
A few years in, I decided that I should upgrade my "skills" by learning how to hand-code my websites, and with help from Lissa and viewing the source code of other websites, I eventually built my first ever HTML website. From there, I moved on to using content management systems, such as Greymatter and a very primative version of WordPress to manage my blogs. No longer was I getting comments direct to my inbox, and everyone else could see what had been written. Pretty damn cool, if you ask me!
In 2001, I discovered subdomain hosting, which is when people who had their own domain names would offer a small amount of space on their domain with a URL that looked a lot prettier than the ones that came with Geocities and its ilk. I set up my first subdomain-hosted website at bitch-off.net, under my nickname Nellie for anonymity. Being the ADHD kid I didn't know I was back then, I ended up bouncing around subdomain hosts just for a fun new URL, making appearances at ramshackled.net, one-magic-day.net, pink-trash.org, spark-a-revolution.org, and sassybella.com.
Then came the domains...
This is the point where I start having some visual evidence of my websites. Enjoy!
ev3nstar.org
My first domain, bought for me as a 16th birthday gift in 2003. I was obsessed with Lord of the Rings, so naturally I wanted a domain name to reflect that! The 3 was because evenstar.org was already taken. It was also the first of many .org domains I ended up owning.
piratepunk.org
By the time 2004 rolled around, my interests had shifted to different Orlando Bloom movie and I had shifted into my angsty teen phase (which, as it turns out, wasn't a phase!). I decided to let ev3nstar.org expire and move on over to my totally ~edgy~ new domain.
livingdoll.org
This domain is a great example of how I can hyperfixate on something and act impulsively. piratepunk.org wasn't even close to expiring when I bought livingdoll.org, but I just HAD to have this name for some reason. I only used it for 6 months before moving on to my next domain.
shefadesaway.org
This domain was an altered lyric from the song "Not Like the Other Girls" by The Rasmus. This was around the time personal blogging became a bit more ~srs bsns~ for me and I started shifting into the Web 2.0, valid XHTML and "minimalist" design of it all.
harlequingirl.org
This was probably my most popular and almost longest owned domain. It came from a lyric in this Panic at the Disco! song. I stopped using celebrity images in my designs after discovering that they were copyrighted works and got very involved in one particular blogging community.
choleric.nu
I had wanted a .nu domain for a while, but when the time came that I could afford one, I was apparently into old-timey personality tests? Choleric is one of the four temperaments, and while it's kinda fitting, it was a weird choice for a domain name. I loved this layout though!
athanati.net
Another short-lived interest-based domain name which came from the song "Athanti Este" by Rotting Christ. I was in my metal elitist stage at this point in life and apparently needed a domain to go with that? This layout was a low-contrast nightmare too!
nelliebolical.com
This domain was my first attempt at curbing my domain-hopping behaviour. I thought by using my nickname in the domain itself, it was always going to be personal to me and wouldn't change with my interests. I actually did manage to keep it for two years, but...
harlequingirl.com
The call of my most popular blog domain was so strong that I needed to bring it back! With a .com extension this time. This was the domain where I realised that the word "harlequin" in some form, and rainbows were my "brand". With the exception of my next domain, of course...
spectacjuular.com
Another example of my overwhelming need to make fandom my identity, this domain came from a combination of the word "spectacular" with the song "Juular" by Devin Townsend. I also started using my full name again on this website, because it's a nice name!
harlequimsy.com
My longest lasting domain! I was here for six years, but due to a privacy issue, I had to drop the name. I honestly think I would still be here if it weren't for that. It's a cute af name that made great use of my obsession with "harlequin". I made a lot of cute themes for this site!
metmoxie.com
Because I felt the need to move away from the "harlequin" thing completely after the privacy breach, I came up with Met Moxie. Met means "with" in Dutch, and moxie is another fun word for "courage". I thought it was fitting because I set it up in the middle of the pandemic 😂.
The website you're currently viewing was originally at hypajive.net*, but after my privacy issue was resolved and I started ADHD treatment, I decided that using my name was the best bet for sticking with the same website for years to come! I'll always be me, and I love my name.
* = A play on song titles by three of my favourite bands & artists: "Hypa Hypa" by Electric Callboy, "New Jive" by Sumo Cyco, and "Hyperdrive" by Devin Townsend.