Our dear friend Tear Jerker was Phil's Proof has without a doubt one of THE BEST templates I've ever seen for a personal site/blog. He created it himself, which I find amazing. Phil, I need a phone number and/or email address, stat (my own blog stinks on ice). Okay, the content is slightly all over the place, and my guess is a lot of it is written for his pals (he is a student, apparently in Canada - I CAN READ!) There's an extremely hilarious bit of IM'ing with someone's Mom, which I'm still chuckling at.
I can't get over how much I like this template. I'm viewing it in IE, 1152 x 864, and man, the colors and graphics are outstanding. It's neatly organized, there's a picture section (for the ladies and alternately-inclined gents). His "Misc" link seems to be broken, but other than that, this thing is sweet.
I know this is a short-but-sweet review, but I gotta say, a billion thumbs up for this one.
for the template and content.
for being too cool for school with the broken link. Fix it, my friend.
I also really like the layout and design. I haven't had a chance to have a real good look around at the content, which I will be doing later, but was mucho impressed at the inability to leave comments.
ReplyDeleteAlthough unfashionable in the blog world I really dig that. I know I'm commenting right here but when it comes down to someone’s personal site, I empathise with those who don't want other people's thoughts on their actual site.
That might sound arrogant and it isn't meant to but all to often I find that people only seem to want to comment on a site if it can be seen by others. This to me implies that they either have no real faith in their own opinion or are only doing it to look good.
If it's worth writing 'I really agree/disagree with that point' in the comments, why isn't it then worth writing it to the author in an email? Why can you only open dialogue with the author when it’s on public display?
In this instance, and also in mine, you can still contact the author to make a comment via email but it's a slightly more personal affair, which I like.
I'm not sure if I like the lack of comment ability. I can see the perk, but I also can see the pitfall, seeing as noww have no idea how to tell the dude he got reviewed. OH MY!
ReplyDeleteHis templat makes me feel like I'm back in the dorms in undergrad. I love it! I'm feeling old lately, though. Hmm.
Can't you just go into the 'about' section and drop him an email?
ReplyDeleteAhh! But that is too obvious!
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't want to seem psychotic.
Hello IWFTYA,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the warm review! You guys are too kind.
The Misc. section was purposely left out. I haven't had time to make the page yet, so I never enabled the link :)
I've actually received quite a bit of ragging regarding lack of comments ever since my site started up. It was a bit of an experiment on my part, but I do intend on enabling them as soon as I can (hopefully in the next week or so), so thank you all for making it clear that 'no comments = massive suckage'.
I'm sorry, I meant to leave a comment regarding 'why sometimes it may be a good idea to disable comments'.
ReplyDeletePayne hit much of it dead on. There were other reasons why I wanted the 'experiment'. I had seen many successful blogs without comments -- and many of these blogs carry on succesfully and without problems. I am also a big fan of e-mail correspondance -- so I do expect and love it when my readers e-mail me with their comments, and we are able to have a private chat.
These private chats almost always lead to the readers beintg satisfied and they will almost always come back. Compare this to blog-surfers, who may leave comments just so they get the increased traffic to their sites. Well written posts and loyal readers are what I'm after. Not hundreds and hundreds of temporary visitors.
A lot of comments and discussions are made between blogs (you'll often see me write about another blog with my comments), and this to me is just as effective.
Of course, there is the matter of censorship. Nothing huge, but I would like the comments on my site to be relatively well written (No l337 speak, so to speak), and I like proper formatting (HTML links, paragraphs, etc.) and that would require me to post-edit comments. Something I don't really have time to do, and something NOBODY likes to be on the rear end of.
I'll hopefully write up a post regarding this very topic (repeating much of what I wrote here), as well as my erm...findings? Well, since I've already admitted that I'll be reinstating comments, I'm sure you all can guess what the conclusion was :)
Gypsy: You can't?! By the way, I saw your review at the evil haven. Bitches.
ReplyDeletePhil: I completely understand why someone would opt against having a comment section, especially if they offer up their e-mail and invite commenting and conversation that way. Not sure I agree that people simply comment to get traffic to their own blog. I read a lot of blogs (not just because of the fact I review them), and I only comment when I have something to say. It can be daunting to flat out e-mail someone, plus e-mail can lead to losing a bit of the anonymity.
I can't! I read faithfully and have kept trying to comment, but Blogger hates my guts and thinks I'm boring. (I'm lying. Blogger has never accused me of being boring, but in following the trend of the day...) I can comment on Blogger blogs that have is set to allow "Other" commenters, where you type in your screenname and URL (like here). Go figure.
ReplyDeleteI like this blog alot, but I hate it when I can't comment. Not cuz I'm a traffic whore, but because I like the interactive nature of blogs where you have a dialogue with the writer. I can understand that some people don't want that but I don't have to like it. ;)
ReplyDeleteyes, commenting is an interactive and community thing. It's also a good way to find other blogs/people you might share things in common with, by comments they leave at other blogs.
ReplyDeleteIt's often obvious when people are just commenting for traffic, I either make fun of them and/or disable their link.
I suppose I shall change my settings though.
ReplyDeleteI do it all for my fans! =P
and of course, we worship at your slutty goth feet, you emo diva.
ReplyDeleteluv,
just one of your throng of adoring fans