Geocities, once the most popular free online web host In the world, has finally shut down after nearly 15 years In existence. What began in 1995 as a small, community-themed listing service eventually turned into one of the easiest. free ways to create an online presence when the general public first started flocking to the World Wide Web.

Once the third-most popular destination on the Web even with a reputation for hosting pages with horribly illegible text and flashing graphics (cached versions of which are now regarded as artifacts), Geocities was acquired by Yahoo in 1999 for US$ 3.5 billion. Several controversies ensued, including the introduction of paid accounts and subsequent crippling of free ones, disbanding the Community Leaders, and claiming full ownership of all content posted by members including private photos. After watching It decline steadily for a decade, Yahoo finally shut it down on October 27.