An appreciation of Flickr’s URL structure. “It was a beautiful and predictable scheme. Once you knew how it worked, you could guess other URLs.”
Advertise here with Carbon Ads
This site is made possible by member support. 💞
Big thanks to Arcustech for hosting the site and offering amazing tech support.
When you buy through links on kottke.org, I may earn an affiliate commission. Thanks for supporting the site!
kottke.org. home of fine hypertext products since 1998.
Beloved by 86.47% of the web.
Comments 5
thread
latest
popular
It may seem silly but it’s hard to overstate just how revolutionary Flickr was. The URL structure was a revelation but so was its tagging system. and was it the first network that allowed and encouraged embeds on web pages (I still stumble across old blog posts of mine which try to embed long deleted Flickr images). I think what struck me the most was the paradigm shift that photos published on the internet should be public by default. After years of clunky photo sharing sites that never worked, it was a revelation.
Letterboxd URLs always remind me of Flickr. In many ways, Letterboxd is the Flickr of the 20s.
i still love flickr for its URL structure and more and i still use it! I have 500, 000 photos and more. flickr.com/roland
I spent some time looking for somewhere to host photos I wanted people to be able to see a couple of years ago. I picked flickr as a suitably unfashionable but viable place. I have not regretted it.
Even the IDs are interesting! (If you're in to that kind of thing.)
It spawned a whole industry of artisanal integers.
Hello! In order to comment or fave, you need to be a current kottke.org member. If you'd like to sign up for a membership to support the site and join the conversation, you can explore your options here.
Existing members can sign in here. If you're a former member, you can renew your membership.
Note: If you are a member and tried to log in, it didn't work, and now you're stuck in a neverending login loop of death, try disabling any ad blockers or extensions. Or try logging out and then back in. Still having trouble? Email me!
In order to comment or fave, you need to be a current kottke.org member. Check out your options for renewal.
If you feel like this comment goes against the grain of the community guidelines or is otherwise inappropriate, please let me know and I will take a look at it.
Hello! In order to leave a comment, you need to be a current kottke.org member. If you'd like to sign up for a membership to support the site and join the conversation, you can explore your options here.
Existing members can sign in here. If you're a former member, you can renew your membership.
Note: If you are a member and tried to log in, it didn't work, and now you're stuck in a neverending login loop of death, try disabling any ad blockers or extensions. Or try logging out and then back in. Still having trouble? Email me!