Understanding the hosting infrastructure that made Matt's Script Archive and CGI scripting possible in the golden age of web development.
In the 1990s, web hosting was vastly different from today's cloud-based, scalable infrastructure. Understanding this context helps appreciate why CGI scripts like those from Matt's Script Archive were so revolutionary and widely adopted.
Between 1995 and 2004, most websites ran on shared hosting accounts where dozens or hundreds of sites shared the same server. These accounts typically included:
| Disk Space: | 25 MB |
| Bandwidth: | 2 GB/month |
| Email: | 5 accounts |
| CGI Access: | Yes |
| Database: | None |
| Price: | $25/month |
The cgi-bin directory was the heart of dynamic web functionality in the 1990s. This special folder allowed users to execute server-side programs - a feature that made interactive websites possible.
When a web server received a request for a file in the cgi-bin directory, instead of serving the file as static content, it would:
public_html/
├── index.html
├── images/
│ └── logo.gif
└── cgi-bin/
├── formmail.pl
├── guestbook.pl
├── counter.pl
└── data/
├── guestbook.dat
└── counter.datScripts needed:
Common Error: "500 Internal Server Error" meant you forgot one of these steps!
The cgi-bin directory was both powerful and dangerous. Poorly written scripts could expose servers to attacks, which is why modern hosting moved away from shared CGI-bin access.
Launched in 1994, GeoCities offered free web hosting organized by "neighborhoods." Limited CGI support, but included basic features. Acquired by Yahoo in 1999.
Another popular free hosting service that competed with GeoCities. Offered similar features with limited CGI capabilities.
Lycos-owned hosting service popular with hobbyists and small sites. Offered basic features for free with upgrade options.
Founded 1996, known for reliability and full CGI support. Popular choice for Matt's Script Archive users.
Large hosting provider that acquired many smaller hosts in the late 1990s. Offered full CGI support.
Started 1997, still operating today. Known for generous resources and developer-friendly features.
In the 1990s, uploading files to a web server meant using FTP (File Transfer Protocol). There was no web-based file manager, no drag-and-drop interfaces - just command-line FTP clients or desktop applications.
The most popular Windows FTP client. Its familiar two-pane interface made file transfers intuitive.
The go-to FTP client for Mac users throughout the 90s. Simple and reliable.
Another popular Windows option with more advanced features for power users.
Built into Unix/Linux systems. Many webmasters preferred it for its directness.
ASCII vs Binary Mode: The most common mistake!
On a 56k modem (fastest home internet in late 90s), uploading a 100KB script could take 15-20 seconds. Large sites with many files could take hours to upload!
By the early 2000s, web hosting began changing fast:
By 2004-2005, most shared hosting had:
Matt's Script Archive scripts, designed for the CGI era, became historical artifacts.
Today's serverless functions (AWS Lambda, Cloudflare Workers, etc.) are conceptually similar to CGI - but with modern security, scaling, and management.
Understanding the hosting environment of the 1990s helps us appreciate:
How developers worked within severe constraints to create interactive websites
Why scripts like FormMail were revolutionary and widely adopted
How far web hosting has come in three decades