Parchment78 is a web directory — a manually kept register of websites organised by subject into twenty-two sections. The chronicle currently holds 831 entries, each admitted on the basis that the site was found to be in operation at the time of recording.
The directory is arranged so that a reader may browse by section, moving from Hearts & Courtship to Journeys & Far Places and through all points between. Each entry carries the site title, its web address, and a brief description. There is no ranking within a section; entries appear in the order they were admitted.
Parchment78 is kept for those who prefer a systematic catalogue to a search engine. It is of particular use when one is looking for a category of service rather than a specific site, or when the search-engine results for a given query have grown congested with advertisements and automated content.
Operators of websites may submit their site for consideration through the Add Your Site page. There is no charge for submission. Each site is reviewed before it is entered in the record; sites that are found to be inactive, deceptive, or not in keeping with the scope of the directory are declined. The chronicle does not accept payments for inclusion.
The purpose of Parchment78 is modest and particular: to keep a clear, browsable record of functioning websites in the manner of a traditional subject directory. It does not purport to be comprehensive. It is, rather, a considered selection — a document of what is operating on the web at the time of its compilation.