This nostalgic subreddit recreates the happy internet of 2009
It feels like a happier time, even if it wasn't.
By Heather Dockray on February 5, 2019
2009, baby!!! Credit: AFP/Getty Images
> Life > Digital Culture
If you're nostalgic for the Reddit of ten years ago, we have good news: you can now relive it.
The new subreddit r/Stuck10YearsBehind(Opens in a new tab) imagines what the platform was like a decade ago. Unsurprisingly, it's a warm, nostalgic place that reminds me of the days when the internet was fun.
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Do you remember that time? I do. It was glorious time of memes, GIFs, and weird viral videos. Our president didn't tweet out conspiracy theories on Twitter all day long. People talked about pop culture and the "weird internet." We weren't drowning in a sea of social media toxicity. We were dumb and happy (at least happier than we are now).
Here's just a few sample r/Stuck10YearsBehind (Opens in a new tab)posts to give you that warm, fuzzy feeling:
Reddit(Opens in a new tab)
Dylan Perkins, founder of the subreddit, says he came up with the idea for the project out of pure nostalgia:
"I came up with the idea for the subreddit after going down a rabbit hole of old YouTube videos, memes, and forum posts from around 10 years ago and coming out of it feeling like I was in a different world," Perkins told Mashable in an email. "The humor, the low quality JPEGs and awful Windows Movie Maker YouTube videos have a really unique charm to them, so I wanted to make a place where you can just kind of pretend it's still 2009."
Stuck10YearsBehind(Opens in a new tab) was formed at the end of January, but already has over 2,4000 subscribers. That's pretty impressive growth for a subreddit this young -- and it's because Perkins knew exactly where to place it.
"The subreddit grew to 2k subscribers overnight due to me posting it on the /r/findareddit(Opens in a new tab) sub where you can advertise new subreddits," Perkins said. "I guess people really liked the idea and latched on. Since we got so much traffic in a short amount of time we were put on the trending list for new subreddits on the front page of the website."
Because of the boom in subscribers, Perkins has had to moderate the page closely. The subreddit's rules are strict: subscribers must post content specific to the exact date from ten years ago.
"Take whatever date it is currently, and subtract 10 years," the rules state. "It is that time. Do your research and don't post anything that comes after that date."
"The reaction has been very positive from users, if not a bit frustrating for me and my 1 moderator due to the amount of people who didn't understand the strict rules of the page," Perkins told Mashable. "You see, since it is February 5th as of me writing this, it is February 5th, 2009 in the /r/Stuck10YearsBehind universe. You aren't allowed to share anything that was posted after that date, so we have to constantly check and remove posts where the content posted was after that date."
I barely know what happened yesterday, forget ten years ago. Still, I'm grateful for this dose of nostalgia and burst of internet positivity.
Heather Dockray
Heather was the Web Trends reporter at Mashable NYC. Prior to joining Mashable, Heather wrote regularly for UPROXX and GOOD Magazine, was published in The Daily Dot and VICE, and had her work featured in Entertainment Weekly, Jezebel, Mic, and Gawker. She loves small terrible dogs and responsible driving. Follow her on Twitter @wear_a_helmet.