Mississippians have been getting political news online for the past decade, and thanks to a helpful website known as the Wayback Machine, we can look at old websites as they looked on a certain date. Sometimes the pictures don’t always work, same with the links, but it does provide an interesting snapshot to the way things were.
I suppose it has slipped the mind of many because the vote occurred nine years ago this spring, but few issues in recent history have attracted the attention of the April 2001 flag referendum vote. And it’s worth noting that the vote was taking place at the dawn of the Internet age for many, so let’s take a look back.
MS Opinions (www.msopinions.com) served as a popular platform including a forum (or message board) for people to sound off and you can even still see some of those nine year old comments. Its original mission statement was to “provide a service to the citizens of Mississippi in helping them reach an agreement and a conclusion of the current controversy surrounding their state flag.” The website, which was a clearing board of sorts, provided tons of information, polls, links, news, and history for all interested parties. Here is a direct link to the flag info.
For a (very boring) screenshot:
And sticking with the throwback theme, here’s is some information about the website from the July 6, 2001 Magnolia Political Report- the first online issue. According to MR, “The web site which received a lot of attention for its flag vote forum, www.msopinions.com is now for sale as the owner will be moving out of Mississippi soon. A message posted on June 27 mentions, “Given its low traffic at present, the price is not exorbitant.” Those interested should contact webmaster@msopinions.com by e-mail.”
Supporters of changing the flag hit the websites hard, especially with the website NewMississippi.org. While we don’t have any pre-vote archives to show you, you can check out the website as it looked in July of 2001. The website featured the reasons why they wanted to change the flag, resources supporters can use (i.e., talking points), a list of prominent supporters, and related links.
For a screenshot:
And while we’re looking at old websites, if you want to see the CNN writeup on the vote from April 18, you can check it out here from the original website.
Check back later for as we take more strolls down memory lane…