I've been looking for a community of exactly this! This website layout/feel scratches a really deep itch. Let's make a hand-crafted web of enthusiasts and bring back 1999 all by ourselves! :)
Oh wow, are in luck! These kinds of communities have been building up over the last few years (maybe decade or so?), and now they're quite prevalent. I was about to share a few links (like indieweb.org, fediring.net, etc.)...but, then remembered stumbling upon the following blogroll/link page that does a wonderful job of capturing some really good starting points: https://shellsharks.com/indieweb
Some of the sites on this "web ring" (amazing!) definitely have Yahoo chat like applets and GIF animations that remind me of Flash. I miss Flash (kind of).
Enjoy! :-)