Nope. There was no "first" site as you say - it was literally just a list of links.
The most innovative ones were iframes of a single source of links (iframes were all the rage, unless of course you clicked "no frames" as a user, because your internet was so slow).
But even the less formal ones simply listed links to other sites, there was no visit order, and definitely was not directional/circular.
It's "ring" like a boxing ring - as in "those within the ring" not a directional loop like you mention.
The most innovative ones were iframes of a single source of links (iframes were all the rage, unless of course you clicked "no frames" as a user, because your internet was so slow).
But even the less formal ones simply listed links to other sites, there was no visit order, and definitely was not directional/circular.
It's "ring" like a boxing ring - as in "those within the ring" not a directional loop like you mention.