“Chat is under construction”: Verbalization of web design process in the vernacular web of 2000s

Abstract

The selection is an original perspective on the early internet in Russia explored through the practice of writing on the websites that the latter were under construction. Such verbalizations are not only a reminder of the contrast between the web of the 2000s and the contemporary Internet, but they also signify a specific approach to the Internet through the metaphor of collaborative construction. The selection consists of textual variations of the “under construction” phrasing found on the websites of Tomsk and Arzamas, the cities that have some of the most extensive early web archives available to researchers in Russia. The materials were collected during the expeditions of the Club for Internet and Society Enthusiasts, conducted to research the history of the internet in Russia.