Ephemera began as a simple field exercise: catalogue the open web the way an expedition team logs its findings — methodically, without commercial bias, and with an eye for variety rather than volume. The name itself acknowledges that the web is transient; sites come and go, addresses change, and projects end. The log tries to capture a useful cross-section of what is active at any given moment.
The directory holds 838 approved sites across 22 sections, from the expansive Open Survey to smaller specialist chapters such as Papers & Credentials and Land Claims & Dwellings. Each section is named for the kind of territory it covers, following the expedition-log convention of treating the web as a landscape to be mapped and annotated rather than ranked or scored.
Submissions are reviewed before they appear in the log. There is no payment required at any stage, and no premium placement. A site either meets the basic criteria — active, accessible, and with readable content — or it does not. Those that do are listed in the relevant section and remain there indefinitely.
Ephemera does not track visitors or monetise listing data. The log is maintained on the principle that a simple, human-curated index remains useful even when search engines have grown sophisticated. Sometimes you want to browse a category rather than query a search box.
If you operate a site that belongs in one of the 22 sections, you are welcome to submit it. The form is on the Add a Site page; it takes about a minute and the listing is free.