atomicpoet, 
1/ Someone asked, "How can basic HTML pages be social media -- and create something resembling the public square?" So here's a thread 🧵
If you were not around to witness the early web, let me explain what it was like.
During the 90s, most websites just used HTML. CSS and JavaScript existed in the latter part of the decade, but they were entirely optional.
The appeal of the web wasn't "rich media". Again, that came later.
What made the web exciting is what also made it social: hyperlinking