The four linked archives are hosted here under /history/ as unchanged copies of my supplied folders, including their original mistakes and later file updates. They are historical documents, not current offers or contact details. Legacy scripts, plug-ins, form submission and external resource loading are blocked by hosting rules; some effects no longer work. Links inside the original pages retain their historical behaviour and may lead to unavailable or changed destinations.
I began making websites in the 1990s. I wrote those early sites completely myself, line by line. MAoB was my own name turned into a short identity: Mario Obst.
At the time, I often felt that people around me were not interested in what I was doing with the web. In 2026, I am building with AI, and I recognise some of that scepticism again. That is my personal experience, rather than a claim about what everyone thinks.
1990s — learning by building
Writing the code myself meant working through the details. A misplaced character could change the result, and finding it was part of learning.
1997 — introducing MAoB
The preserved MAoB edition uses frames to place separate documents within one browser window. It is a record of my early personal presence online.
Visit the MAoB 1997 archive (new tab)
1999 — ScreenDesign & WebBuilding
The next preserved edition presents MAoB as “ScreenDesign & WebBuilding”. Its fallback text recommends obtaining a newer browser on a computer magazine’s CD. That small detail says a great deal about how people obtained software at the time.
Visit the MAoB 1999 archive (new tab)
More early projects
Shopping Galeria organised links to online shops through affiliate links. Amsterdam Easy Apartments presented self-catering apartments and studios in Amsterdam, with location, prices and contact information.
I place the beginnings of these projects in the 1990s. The retained files include later updates: Amsterdam Easy Apartments contains a 2003 copyright notice, and Shopping Galeria shows an April 2008 update. Those are preserved version details, not established launch dates.
Visit the apartment website archive (new tab)
2006 — a broader practice
The preserved MAoB page from 2006 describes website design, maintenance, training and work across printed communication. It also states that I had been creating websites and other design work since 1996.
Visit the MAoB 2006 archive (new tab)
2026 — working alongside AI, openly
I want the use of AI to be clearly stated. HTML code FYI was developed and created with its assistance, including structure, text and code. This is essential information about the project, not something I want to hide. I choose the direction and remain responsible for what I publish.
Today, AI helps me turn ideas into websites, explore alternatives and work through code. I bring the subject, the experience and the decisions. Generated code still needs to be read, tested and questioned.
Then & now
Explore 1997 → Today: interactive code comparisons. Three newly authored examples connect patterns in my preserved MAoB files with modern approaches.
The historic pages are evidence of their time. Frames and layout tables are useful to discuss historically; they are not the patterns this lexicon teaches for new websites. Today, semantic HTML and flexible CSS layouts offer a different foundation.
Historical account based on my recollections and the archived files supplied for this project. This draft has not yet received my final editorial review.
Experience becomes a way to learn
Writing pages myself in the 1990s taught me how much one character can matter. Working with AI today makes understanding and checking just as important. The learning paths connect those habits, and Review AI code turns them into practical exercises.