tl;dr The demand for recency (Chronos!) obliterated the Web’s static directory—and the lowly home page. Strangely, the home page is still out there in plain view. But it has died as an art form.

In a way, portfolio/brochure-style home pages also killed home pages by stagnating the form. On the other hand, home pages are also very alive in the form of wikis (such as Creepypasta) and static directories like Know Your Meme.

I think the underlying appeal is a return to the Old Web. I don’t think this appeal is possible—we’ve moved on—but I think a more cohesive #DeleteFacebook and IndieWeb movement (hang on a sec, the IndieWeb is cohesive! get in here!) could help steer us. Related: Here’s my post discussing what we should take with us.