While working on another post, I decided that I could get more perspective on the subject by visiting one of my favorite websites: textfiles.com. For those of you who don't know, and shame on you for not knowing, textfiles.com is a website dedicated to archiving the many textfiles distributed in the 1980s. Even though the website now archives files before and after that time, its purpose has remained the same. It's purpose is to preserve the works, ideas, and culture of the early web-runners. The website continues to be both a useful resource and inspiration to me, and it does help me generate an idea or two from time to time.
While browsing through the old files, I made a rather novel observation. These files, while containing text and text alone, are fascinating to read. And I'm not necessarily referring to the topics or ideas contained in those files either. These files are a pleasure to read even though they don't contain any images, sounds, or animations. Hell, the text isn't even formatted in most of these files! Yet, they are still beautiful.
But why are text files beautiful?
Needless to say, text files are all about the text. They don't have any images, animations, or sounds. Just text. So how does an author capture a reader's attention without resorting to stylized themes and color schemes? The answer is simple enough. To capture the reader's attention, the author must write well. A finely crafted text file is a wonder to behold. And is as yummy as an 8 oz. sirloin steak, cooked medium-rare. The authors weren't virgins at their craft either. They were veterans whose mettle had been routinely tested on the BBS battlefields. After all, they did receive feedback on their posts. And the feedback wasn't sugar-coated.
Additionally, text files, by their nature and aesthetic, seem very direct and honest. What you see is what you get with a text file. No clandestine tricks or hidden fees. No ads or bullshit. A text file is just the author's pure, undiluted opinion on a subject. Not to everyone's liking, but this frankness is very refreshing to me. Sincerity is hard to come by today.
In addition to the above, text files are an iconic part of computer and tech-culture. Kind of a stretch, but hear me out. Text files, perhaps more so than any other part of Internet culture, including BBSs, fully capture the spirit of the Internet and its users. And really, what would the Internet be like if its users didn't exist? Likely a very boring, sterile place. People create culture and, on the Internet, they create culture by creating content. Content packed neatly within a text file. Hence, text files not only perfectly capture the spirit of the Internet, they are the spirit. Beautiful.
And, finally, text files work as excellent preservers of the past. Since they are often written from a first-person perspective, they wonderfully capture the author's ideas, notions, and perspectives of the time at which the file is written. But text files also cover a large variety of subjects like hacking, anarchy, politics, sociology, human nature, economics, programming, and more. They can, and often do, reach outside the world of computers and the web. While these files are equally important in the preservation of the past, I still prefer the text files that deal solely with computing. Keep in mind the authors of these text files are de facto historians. They likely had no idea that their writings would, one day, be seen as windows into the past. Nevertheless, text files from decades past expertly chronicle the times in which they were written. And for that reason, if for no other, we should respect them.
Sadly, text files as a means of communication and expression have gone by the way side, but they aren't gone completely. Still, text files are on life support. You won't find many current ones. However, you can find files written within the past few years on textfiles.com and, unbelievably enough, they fully capture the spirit of the text files of old. Indeed, I can hardly tell the difference between a text file written in the 80's and a text file written in 2014. Of course the technology has changed, but that radical and rebellious spirit is still alive and well. So there's hope!
No matter how big the Internet gets and no matter how much animation, features, and Javascript flood it, text files will always have a place on the Internet. They are as inseparable from the Internet as wet is from water. I encourage anyone reading this to visit textfiles.com and even pen your own text files. Don't worry if you can't write worth a damn; most of the writers of the 80's couldn't either. Yet, they still wrote and textfiles.com has preserved their legacy. So take up the pen...er keyboard and add to this legacy. You've got nothing to lose but a few minutes of your time and you might just enrich this generation and the next with your works.
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