Yahoo is Shutting Down GeoCities Today, xkcd Pays Tribute, As Archive Team Tries To Download It

Yahoo! is pulling the plug on GeoCities today with very little explaination why.

We have enjoyed hosting web sites created by Yahoo! users all over the world, and we’re proud of the community you’ve built.

However, we have decided to focus on helping our customers explore and build relationships online in other ways. Beginning on October 26, 2009, you will no longer be able to use GeoCities to maintain a free presence online — but we’re excited about the other services we have designed to help you connect with friends and family and share your activities and interests.

The xkcd website pays homage to Geocities as it leaves the internet.

Jason Scott and the Archive Team have created The GeoCities Project and are working non-stop trying to download GeoCities before it shuts down.

To give an idea of some of the valuable internet history being lost with the shutdown of GeoCities, Jason has created an exhibition “This Page Is Under Construction”, to showcase some of the wonderful “Under Construction” GIFs they have downloaded.