The Windows 95 ".chm" help pages [1] were basically HTML pages, displayed in an application embedding Internet Explorer. IIRC this lead to login exploits (since the login screen was able to show help pages).
That doesn't make it better. We should be realising the mistakes of our past and improving with time
From my experience, web developers don’t recognize their mistakes, they dig deeper and deeper holes for themselves.
Microsoft Compiled HTML Help (.chm) has been the bane of all that is good and true ever since 1997.
Before that we would have had lovingly troffed manuals, checklists, man pages, binders, and libraries of books sitting in our spacious cubicle. Embrace tradition imo!