You're young. Young enough to have to google my username meaning. Maybe also google what GIF means: Graphics Interchange Format. Long tima go you could find images on the internet, and they were always GIF, because JPG didn't exist.
But yes, it's quite strange nowadays, I agree Oh, yes, I used the net before smileys were a thing :-)
https://x.com/devruso/status/1766396800703807977