Sentimental Mode: On.
I was very saddened today to see the title “Fray is on Hiatus” in Derek’s del.icio.us feed.
Since 1996 Fray was undoubtedly a pioneer in terms of personal story-telling, design and community on the web. Probably more than Derek realises. After 9 years it’s sad to see something that was once such a huge source of inspiration fall by the wayside. It seems to be happening a lot lately (the latest incarnation of Glassdog springs to mind).
But still, I regularly (and proudly) wear my Fray t-shirts and I feel very privileged to have seen the project born, bred and buried, and to have been a part of the yearly Fray Day events. Big props to Derek for all the work and effort he put in.
Back when Fray was new the web was filled with artistic journals - people telling stories, in some fashion or another. One year search engines spiked in popularity, allowing many more people than before to search for things that might interest them. Over that year more and more of the journals were made private, hiding stories unexpectedly found by a boss, a mother, or a friend. The illusion of some amount of privacy was stripped away, and many reacted with what appeared to be silence.
Of that period, I remember three sites clearly that are still alive and public: fray.com, sothere.com, and electricalsocket.com. Fray stories remind me of picturebooks for adults. So.There has published one closure per day since late 1997. The Electrical Socket remains a work of art that surpasses average designs.
Fray shared storytelling with many, and many shared it to many more. Nowadays we have LiveJournal with millions of people each telling a story in their own way (albeit without the visual aesthetics). Fray must have been a part of that. Thanks, Derek, for letting us all listen in.