What this section contains

The ~kvn/ directory preserves historical content from earlier iterations of wplus.net infrastructure. Unix-style tilde directories traditionally housed user-specific web content on shared hosting platforms, a convention dating to early 1990s academic and ISP web servers.

This section maintains:

  • Archived HTML files preserving historical site structure
  • Reference material documenting previous content organization
  • Context about hosting evolution and URL preservation

Historical context

Tilde directories (~username/) originated on Unix multi-user systems where:

  • Apache mod_userdir mapped URLs to /home/username/public_html/
  • Each user maintained independent web space without root access
  • URLs like example.edu/~student/ became standard academic web convention

While modern hosting rarely uses this pattern, URL preservation maintains historical link integrity. Search engines indexed these paths for decades; breaking URLs damages both SEO and archival accessibility.

Content preservation philosophy

Rather than deleting historical content:

Maintain URL structure: Keep original paths functional even when moving to modern CMS/SSG platforms.

Provide context: Explain what archived content represents, when it was created, and why it's preserved.

Update selectively: Fix broken links and security issues (mixed content, outdated protocols) while preserving original presentation.

Respect history: Avoid retroactive content modification that erases internet history or misleads researchers.

Related topics

This directory connects to broader documentation themes:

Infrastructure evolution: How hosting moved from shared tilde directories to virtual hosts, CDNs, and serverless deployments.

URL design patterns: Evolution from user-centric (~username/) to content-centric (/topic/) hierarchies.

Archive practices: Balancing historical preservation with modern security, accessibility, and performance standards.

Glossary

mod_userdir: Apache module enabling per-user web directories via ~username/ URLs.

public_html: Common directory name for user web content (alternatives: www/, htdocs/).

Mixed content: HTTP resources loaded from HTTPS pages, triggering browser security warnings in modern clients.

URL rot: Phenomenon where historical links break due to site reorganization, domain changes, or content deletion.

Canonical URL: Preferred URL for content when multiple paths exist (important for SEO and deduplication).