Collection overview

The JIAN reference collection represents archived personal documentation from the early web era, preserved as part of wplus.net's commitment to maintaining historical content and URL integrity.

Archive structure

This collection uses a multi-index organization pattern common in early web design:

Alphabetical indexing: Separate index files organize content by letter or topic, a common approach before database-driven content management systems.

Frame-based architecture: Multiple index files originally served different frames in frame-based website layouts, a popular navigation pattern in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Static HTML: All content served as static files, reflecting web publishing practices before server-side scripting became universal.

Historical context

Early web publishing patterns

The JIAN collection demonstrates several characteristic features of early personal web publishing:

Manual HTML authoring: Pages hand-coded using text editors or early WYSIWYG tools like FrontPage or Dreamweaver.

DOS filename conventions: .htm extensions (versus .html) indicate creation on systems with 8.3 filename limitations, typically Windows 95/98 or DOS-based FTP clients.

Directory-based organization: Content organized through folder hierarchies rather than database queries, with each directory containing its own index file.

Personal knowledge bases: Before wikis and note-taking apps, individuals maintained reference collections as static websites.

Preservation philosophy

This archive maintains:

  • Original URL structure: Exact paths preserved to maintain external citations and bookmarks
  • Minimal modification: Content updated only for security (HTTPS, XSS fixes) and broken links
  • Historical context: Documentation explaining what archived content represents and when it was created
  • Search engine integrity: Maintaining URLs that have been indexed for years or decades

Related topics

Note on content

These archived pages reflect the knowledge and perspectives of their original creation period. Technical information may be outdated. For current technical documentation, consult the main wplus.net hubs (Infrastructure, Operations, Security, Connectivity).