The bouncing mouse balls, flash animations, pixel dollz, and spinning flame skulls of the 2000s were mostly copied off other sites. So sure, that’s self-expression, but only in the same sense that decorating your bedroom with posters is self-expression. When it’s just text, EVERYTHING on the site is your own words. It’s all from the author. I think that’s a more ‘pure’ self-expression.

If you like the geocities style more, then you can use neocities.