Not talking about Metaverse or any of the other “virtual reality” stuff, but rather, places on a computer that feel liminal. Was wondering if anyone else knows what I’m talking about.
The most classic example I can think of is the System32 folder. The feeling that you’re not meant to be in there if you venture into it, the cryptic files and folders, and the looming fear that you might accidentally break something. Most laypeople don’t know what it does but know it’s really important, and there’s almost a lore and mysticism around it, complete with creepypasta written about supernatural exe files hiding out in there, I think partly due to the fact that malware often do inject malicious files into System 32. I think the Windows Registry also has a similar vibe to it.
Or, have you ever been delving deep into the system applications on a computer (especially Windows where this is not that uncommon), and out pops a window that’s so obsecure and legacy that it was clearly designed for a much older version of the OS with a clearly outdated design language and was never updated, and it looks super out of place with the rest of the up to date apps?
Or maybe the vibe you get playing around on a retro computer or obsolete operating system? Same with old websites that were never updated to “modern” designs, etc. Again, there’s a certain lore and mysticism about it. I put it in the same class as analog horror and VHS found footage series.
Or, have you ever used a school or work computer with some shared drives on it that you have access to but rarely use because they aren’t relevant to what you use it for day to day, and it feels kind of liminal when you have to venture into it or open it one day out of curiosity? Tons of files and folders that you don’t really know the purpose of? Same with if you buy a second hand computer or hard drive that the previous owner forgot to wipe, and all their stuff is on still there (though you should definitely wipe that right away both for your security and their privacy, I definitely don’t condone snooping on someone else’s personal data).
Does anyone else get what I mean? Do any of these feel liminal to you?
I think I could say this for the servers at work when I login outside of business hours to run updates. It’s like a school at night. Everything is there, all the applications are running but nobody is using them, it’s just waiting.
Also logging in to old accounts where none of your friends/contacts are online, like PSN, Xbox Live or AIM when it was running. It’s a shadow of its former self, like looking at a street you used to play on as a kid which is now empty.