Editing GeoCities (section)

=== Acquisition by Yahoo! ===
[[File:FirstGeocitiesYahoo.png|thumb|The first Yahoo! GeoCities logo (1999–2009)|200px]]
During January 1999, near the peak of the [[dot-com bubble]], GeoCities was purchased by Yahoo! for $3.57 billion in stock, with Yahoo! taking control on May 28.<ref name="cnn1999">{{cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/1999/01/28/technology/yahoo_a/|date=1999-01-28|title=Yahoo! buys GeoCities|publisher=CNN.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180407170332/http://money.cnn.com/1999/01/28/technology/yahoo_a/|archive-date=2018-04-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| url         = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_company_file/264577.stm
| date        = 1999-01-29
| title       = Yahoo! moves in on GeoCities
| first       = Chris
| last        = Nuttall
| work   = BBC News
| access-date  = 2009-06-03
| url-status     = live
| archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090427174659/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_company_file/264577.stm
| archive-date = 2009-04-27
}}</ref><ref name="Narasimhandeath">{{cite web|last=Narasimhan|first=Balaji|url=http://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/2009/apr/270409-Geocities-former-websites-IT-Adda-Bangalore-Yahoo-Anglefire-Tripod.htm|title=The death of GeoCities|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090711152822/http://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/2009/apr/270409-Geocities-former-websites-IT-Adda-Bangalore-Yahoo-Anglefire-Tripod.htm |archive-date=2009-07-11 |website=[[Mid-Day]]|date=April 27, 2009|access-date=May 3, 2009}}</ref> The acquisition proved unpopular; users began to quit ''en masse'' in protest at the new [[terms of service]] specified by Yahoo! for GeoCities.<ref name="NYTimes">{{cite news
| url          = http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/LIS/archive/webright/geocities-changes.html
| date         = 1999-06-30
| title        = Yahoo Angers GeoCities Members With Copyright Rules
| work         = [[The New York Times]]
| access-date  = 2009-06-03
| url-status   = live
| archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090725074140/http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/LIS/archive/webright/geocities-changes.html
| archive-date = 2009-07-25
}}</ref> The terms stated that the company owned all rights and content, including media such as pictures. Yahoo! quickly reversed its decision.<ref name="NYTimes" /> During July 1999, Yahoo! switched from neighborhood and street addresses [[URL|Uniform Resource Locators]] (URLs) for homesteaders to "vanity" URLs through members' registration names to Yahoo! (<nowiki>"www.geocities.com/membername"</nowiki>). This service was offered previously only as a premium.

During 2001, amid speculation by analysts that GeoCities was not yet profitable (it having declared an $8 million loss for the final quarter of 1998), Yahoo! introduced a for-fee premium hosting service at GeoCities<ref>{{cite news
| url         = https://www.forbes.com/2001/08/28/0828yahoo.html
| date        = 2001-08-28
| title       = A Community That Stays Together, Pays Together
| first       = Betsy
| last        = Schiffman
| work   = Forbes
| access-date  = 2009-06-03
| url-status     = live
| archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090721164925/http://www.forbes.com/2001/08/28/0828yahoo.html
| archive-date = 2009-07-21
}}</ref> and reduced the accessibility of free and low-price hosting accounts by limiting their data transfer rate for Web page visitors; since that time the data transfer limit for free accounts was said to be limited to 3 GB per month, but was enforced as a limit of about 4.2 MB per hour.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ygcpagebuilderhelp/message/29988|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120724090048/http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ygcpagebuilderhelp/message/29988|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 24, 2012|title=Data Transfer|access-date=2010-06-05}}</ref> The paid accounts were later unified in the Yahoo! Web Hosting service, with higher data transfer limits.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geocities.yahoo.com/ps/info3/index.php |title=GeoCities PLUS and WebHosting Starter|access-date=2010-06-05 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051123234834/http://geocities.yahoo.com/ps/info3/index.php |archive-date = 2005-11-23}}</ref> During 2001, a rumor began that GeoCities was to be terminated; the chain e-mail making that claim cited an article in ''[[The New York Times]]'' that stated the opposite.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.snopes.com/computer/internet/geocities.asp|title=GeoCities Closing|website=[[Snopes]]|date=April 25, 2009|access-date=May 3, 2009}}{{Unreliable source?|date=May 2023}}</ref>