I'd argue this is a feature not a bug. The internet is a protocol for communication, not archival or retention. Any notion of persistence is owned by nodes in the network. Retrieval from an "archive" over the internet comes in the form of communication. The web introduced hypertext, and a protocol for exchanging hypertext, on top of this communication protocol. But again any notion of persistence of hypertext, and the "links" between hypertext documents, is the responsibility of the nodes in the network.

They were sharing information with the whole world, but in an ephemeral medium.

The web, and internet, is not an inhospitable place for anyone without corporate backing. You can host a somewhat reliable service on a raspberry pi over your home internet connection.