| Let me tell you a story my son. Be
forewarned, this is not your normal, modern day fairy tale. This is
like the fairy tales of old, before they were laundered and sanitized
by modern animation factories. Remember in the original "Little Red
Riding Hood" the wolf slaughtered and killed everyone, including the
cute little girl. Some time ago there was the kingdom of Webring.
The kingdom was united and it's people were happy and content. Webring
was huge, grand it was indeed. At it's height it was reported to
include over 80,000 villages, cities and towns (all collectively known
as webrings). Each town was ruled by a ringmaster, and each ringmaster
had unlimited control over his population. At it's height, the kingdom
is reported to have housed well over a million souls (ringmembers).
Although there were the usual problems associated with a large
community, in general the people were happy and content. Happy, that
is, until one day a foul stench wafted through the kingdom. A rumor it
was, horrible to the ears. The empire of Y! was visiting with an
eye towards assimilation.
Unfortunately the rumors were true, and the happy kingdom was
purchased by the empire of Y! A shiver ran through the planet that
day, a foul day indeed.
At first there was little change and the people went about their
daily business. New rings were created at a great rate and, on the
surface at least, all appeared to be normal.
Normal, that is, until one day a memo was delivered to all of the
ringmasters, claiming that great and wonderful changes were afoot.
Things were going to happen now, good things. The kingdom of Webring
was going to change in ways wonderful to behold.
It was common for ringmasters to congregate in the great meeting
hall of Webringnews, which was ruled by a gentle ruler known
mysteriously only as "the Bob". As the rumors of change swept through
the kingdom the loyal subjects began to meet in the hall, rightly
concerned about the vagueness of the notice and the possibilities it
introduced.
Nothing useful was gleaned from the leaders of Y! so the
ringmasters assumed the worst. The halls of Webringnews shook with
speculation and consternation. The mighty Bob had his hands full
maintaining order among the wild and woolly subjects.
During this time rose some great knights. The wise sir James
encouraged all to remain calm. His words of wisdom earned him a
special place in the annals of Webring. The upstart Gunnar, sensing
that this story might not have a happy ending, split from the kingdom
to create a new kingdom - the mythical land of Ringlink. These and
many others contributed to the wonderful conversations and
speculations that went on during these stressful times.
Also came rumor of other kingdoms - the deserted but promising land
of Ringsurf, the hills of Boomis and the wild outbacks of Netring.
Slowly at first but with gathering momentum ringmasters began to leave
the Kingdom. All were sensing doom and destruction at the hands of the
evil leaders of Y!
The fateful day came. It is remembered by all with whispers of fear
and loathing. This is the day that the armies of Y! marched through
the kingdom, announcing the new order that was now upon all of the
subjects. All would be assimilated, all would obey. The day was
September 5, 2000, and it would be forever associated with a curse -
the curse of Black Tuesday.
The mighty Y! put into effect a new constitution, the central
component of which was the sacred Navbar. The Navbar was wondrous
indeed, so preached the minions of Y!, so awesome that it would be
loved by all. So decreed the mighty Y!, so said the holy Bob, and so
it shall be. This Navbar was so incredibly monumental that it was
unleashed upon the kingdom with no advance warning, no training and no
instructions. Surely it would be a new world, a world were all rings
were equal, and all swore allegiance to the Y!
The halls of Webringnews were full of shouting, confused souls that
day. For the next few months all struggled with the new rules, hoping
beyond hope that the kingdom of Webring could one day again be a happy
place again.
The cries from the populace reached new heights as it became clear
that the armies of the mighty Y! were uncaring and, worse still,
untrained and unwashed barbarians. The flaws in the new Navbar became
known, and the basic change in the fabric of the universe was made
abundantly clear.
You see, in the days before the conquest of Y!, ring fragments were
created by Ringmasters to drive traffic to their sites and to the ring
member sites. The Navbar, through it's wicked magic spell, changed all
of that. Now, all sites were connected to the sacred city of
Y!Webring, and that became the center of the entire universe.
Shortly after the unveiling of the sacred Navbar, the mighty Bob
decreed that all will agree with the new Navbar. No longer would there
be intelligent debate in the halls of Webringnews. In fact, The Bob,
who seemed to have an incredible amount of time on his hands, rewrote
the history of the takeover by purging all old entries from the Book
Of Webringnews. The Bob declared that all was well and all happy (so
there), and anyone who thought otherwise would just be purged and
banned.
A vast migration from Y!Webring began, as ringmasters burned their
villages and took their ringmembers elsewhere. Some moved to the
uncharted lands of RingSurf, while others fled to the golden lands of
Ringlink. The trickle soon turned into a river, and then a flood
as people fled the evils of the Y!Webring.
Even the mighty Bob could not stifle the screams of agony from the
ringmasters. Finally, in an act of desperation, the halls of
Webringnews were burned to the ground, utterly destroyed. New halls
were opened in a futile attempt to restore order, but they all
suffered the same fate in the end. Finally, the Bob fled and was not
seen again.
In a final act of desperation, an attempt was made to resurrect the
founding king of Webring, the mythical Sage. A letter was carefully
drafted with all of the correct incantations, but it was to naught.
The Sage had moved on to another plane, and was not interested in
getting involved in the wilds of Y!Webring.
Now, one year later, what is the result? The roads of the Internet
are littered with the ruins of the once-mighty Webring. Broken rings
abound, bits and pieces of ring fragments are everywhere, showing the
greatness that once was.
The new and wondrous Navbar is appearing everywhere, and it's true
purpose has become clear. You see, it was all a plot to lower the
intelligence of the internet user, and it has succeeded. The spell it
has cast over Y!Webring is strong and cannot be defeated.
The land of RingSurf seems to be healthy and it's people
prosperous, although the ruler is missing. The wise and noble
Sir James has become a collector of Navbars, with over 1,200 to his
name! He continues to explore new kingdoms and has allied with the
rogue King Gunnar. Many of the most talented and vocal ringmasters
have joined arms with this man.
The only thing left to do is hope, and perhaps pray to whatever
gods you believe in. Perhaps the rogue knight, sir Gunnar, will have
his way. Perhaps Sir Gunnar can lead us into a new golden age - the
age of Ringlink. An age where all beings are created equal and have a
voice. Perhaps one day ... it will all be true.
In the meantime, Sir Gunnar has released the second era of the
Ringlink kingdom, which may attract a whole new flock of ringmasters.
Perhaps, from the ruins of Webring will emerge a new order. Only time
will tell.
Additional Reading
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