Editing GeoCities (section)

{{Short description|Web hosting service active from 1994 to 2009}}
{{use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox website
| name = GeoCities
| logo = FirstGeocitiesYahoo.png
| logo_caption = The first Yahoo! GeoCities logo (1999–2009)
| url = 
| commercial = Yes
| type = [[Web hosting service]]
| registration = Yes
| owner = {{ubl|GeoCities (1994–1999)|[[Yahoo!]] (1999–2009)|[[Yahoo|Yahoo! Inc.]] (2009–present)}}
| author = [[David Bohnett]] and John Rezner
| alexa = 
| launch_date = {{start date and age|1994|11}}
| current_status = Inactive since 26 October 2009<br>(Japanese version inactive since 2019)
}}

'''GeoCities''', later '''Yahoo! GeoCities''', was a [[web hosting service]] that allowed users to create and publish websites for free and to browse user-created websites by their theme or interest, active from 1994 to 2009. GeoCities was started in November 1994 by [[David Bohnett]] and John Rezner, and was named '''Beverly Hills Internet''' briefly before being renamed GeoCities.<ref name="podcast">{{cite web|last=McCullough|first=Brian|url=http://www.internethistorypodcast.com/2015/05/david-bohnett-founder-of-geocities/|title=DAVID BOHNETT, FOUNDER OF GEOCITIES|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528095940/http://www.internethistorypodcast.com/2015/05/david-bohnett-founder-of-geocities/ |archive-date=2015-05-28 |format=interview podcast|website=Internet History Podcast|date=May 11, 2015}}</ref> On January 28, 1999, it was acquired by [[Yahoo!]],<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=173652 |title=Yahoo! To Acquire Geocities |date=January 28, 1999 |author=<!--Not stated-->| publisher=Yahoo!| location=Santa Clara, California |access-date=April 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060502040740/http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=173652|archive-date=May 2, 2006}}</ref> at which time it was reportedly the third-most visited website on the [[WorldWideWeb|World Wide Web]].<ref name="MarshallVNU" />

In its original form, site users selected a "city" in which to list the hyperlinks to their [[Web page]]s. The "cities" were named after real cities or regions according to their content: For example, [[computer]]-related sites were placed in "SiliconValley" and those dealing with [[entertainment]] were assigned to "Hollywood", hence the name of the site. Soon after its acquisition by [[Yahoo!]], this practice was abandoned in favor of using the Yahoo! member names in the URLs.

In April 2009,<ref name="TechCrunch" /> the company announced that it would end the United States GeoCities service on October 26, 2009.<ref name="PCMagGeo">{{cite web| url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2350024,00.asp| title=Yahoo Sets the Date of GeoCities' Death| last=Fox| first=Geoff| date=2009-07-10| publisher=PCMag.com| access-date=2010-11-05| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831064914/http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2350024,00.asp| archive-date=2010-08-31}}</ref><ref name="TechCrunch">{{cite web | first=Leena | last=Rao | title=Yahoo Quietly Pulls The Plug On GeoCities | url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/04/23/yahoo-quietly-pulls-the-plug-on-geocities/ | date=2009-04-23 | work=[[TechCrunch]] | access-date=2009-04-30 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090602013929/https://techcrunch.com/2009/04/23/yahoo-quietly-pulls-the-plug-on-geocities/ | archive-date=2009-06-02 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/10/geocities-closing.html |title=GeoCities' time has expired, Yahoo closing the site today |first=Mark |last=Millian |publisher=LA Times (blog) |date=2009-10-26 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221025310/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/10/geocities-closing.html |archive-date=2012-12-21 }}</ref>

There were at least 38 million pages displayed by GeoCities before it was terminated, most user-written.<ref>{{cite web |last=Shechmeister |first=Matthew |url=https://www.wired.com/rawfile/2009/11/geocities |title=Ghost Pages: A Wired.com Farewell to GeoCities |publisher=Wired.com |date=2009-11-03 |access-date=2012-02-20 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115003059/http://www.wired.com/rawfile/2009/11/geocities |archive-date=2012-01-15 }}</ref> The GeoCities Japan version of the service endured until March 31, 2019.<ref name="GeocitiesJ">{{cite web |url=https://info-geocities.yahoo.co.jp/close/index.html |title=Yahoo!ジオシティーズ |publisher=Geocities.yahoo.co.jp |access-date=2018-10-01 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224041126/http://geocities.yahoo.co.jp/ |archive-date=2012-02-24 }}</ref>