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This paper analyzes the evolving definition of "the Web" as a research domain, arguing that its increasing ubiquity and integration into broader digital life has diluted its focus. It uses the identity crises of the Web Conference and the International Semantic Web Conference as case studies. The authors identify factors like the "academic tragedy of the commons" and the rise of AI as key pressures contributing to this fragmentation.
The very success of the Web in becoming a universal digital environment is paradoxically eroding its identity as a distinct and coherent object of academic study.
This text advances the hypothesis that the meaning of the Web as an object of study has diluted as a clear research domain. One example of this phenomenon is the identity crisis of the Web Conference and the International Semantic Web Conference. At its root is the Web's evolution from a focused technological object into a universal digital environment, a transition whose very success has fragmented its academic community and obscured its core identity. We chart this trajectory from a well-defined object of study to a fragmented backdrop, identifying key pressures such as the"academic tragedy of the commons"and the disruptive force of AI. We conclude that a fundamental community discussion is needed to define what it means to study the Web now that it has become the universal infrastructure for global digital activity.