@grammargirl's interview with Doug Harper of etymonline.com is well worth a listen;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nswr96XGt7k
https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl/
They talk briefly about the origins of the site. Where Harper mentions how much easier it was to establish a website as a landmark when the web was new, and how crowded the landscape has become since.