u/Salt-Bath6047

I know in neocities/nekoweb culture, blinkies are typically considered a banner-like animated gif with a border, text, and maybe an image. something like this:

https://img.itch.zone/aW1nLzgxNzM2NDkucG5n/original/6DLqmb.png

I feel like I’m experiencing a Mandela effect, because I don’t remember seeing this style around much in the 2000’s, and when referring to blinkies, you’d be talking about something like this:

https://blinkie.suppi.net/w_images/blinkie3.jpg

Also a gif, this blinkie would typically flash the text as different colors, or something would bounce above along the blocks. Sometimes the blocks would also move.

Animation examples (at the bottom of the page): https://blinkie.suppi.net/w_graphics.php?blinkies

I prefer this style, but I haven’t seen it around much on the indie web scene. Wondering if anyone else has been curious about this?

Back in the early 2000's (I want to say anywhere between 2001 - 2005), I had stumbled on a 3D virtual avatar chat room type place that I haven't been able to find again in the plethora of lists of virtual online spaces. Here are some things I remember (correctly, hopefully):

- It might have been a beta, or at least not fully released/in demo mode;

- You could customize your avatar and be a male or female human;

- It was perpetually night time in the world;

- You could walk around in third-person view around a small town with minimal structures, and there was a lot of trees, greenery, dirt, and rivers;

- There were a lot of French-speaking players;

- The avatar proportions were pretty 1-to-1 for human proportions;

- That being said, they were still stylized, so not like a standard 3D human avatar design;

- The avatars and the world were in 3D.

I've been trying to find some semblance of this thing for over 20 years with no luck. If anyone has *any* clue or hunch to what I'm looking for, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

—

EDIT: Posting guesses already made. It is not:

- Cybertown

- Active Worlds

- Second Life

Question About Blinkies

Looking for a 2000's chat room experience with virtual avatars