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by 1vuio0pswjnm7 662 days ago
There have been some websites in the past that allowed one to browse www content by IP address, covering what seemed to be the full range of IPv4 address space. For example, a page with a list of IP address ranges where each address range is a hyperlink. One could then drill down by following hyperlinks to a specific IP address and view whatever was hosted at that address (default host in the case of virtual hosting). Not sure why these websites do not persist. Quite useful. IMHO.

DNS zone files are a decent starting point for exploring the web. Not every registered domain name has an associated website but most do. The largest zone files are available to the public for free.
2 comments
1vuio0pswjnm7 662 days ago
Organisating a directory of websites, or information about websites, by IP address/range is still common. For example, we can see news.ycombinator.com listed here:

https://www.robtex.com/cidr/209.216.230.0-24

https://www.robtex.com/ip-lookup/209.216.230.240

The above directory has been online for at least 18 years.

Here is one I can remember that disappeared:

https://web.archive.org/web/20090907060026if_/http://onsamei...

link
nucleardog 662 days ago
> view whatever was hosted at that address (default host in the case of virtual hosting). Not sure why these websites do not persist.

You probably answered your own question here--I imagine at this point the amount of things on the internet that aren't using some sort of virtual hosting are quite tiny.

Even ignoring everything else, with the IP address exhaustion and the push for SSL (can't get a certificate for an IP address), websites available directly at an IP address just aren't really a thing anymore.

link