All right, so I decided to try to get some sort of template, but looked around at Beautify and didn't really see anything that tickled my fancy. I've been online now for about 7 years, and while I used to have a fair knowledge of pagebuilding, I've let it wither. There's still a little in there, but not enough to really do a number on things. Plus I don't feel like running around searching for images and image hosters to really do things right. Anyway, as you've probably noticed I did change things around a little bit, basically just taking the most important links and putting them where people can find them easily. I think I'll leave it at that for now.
I noticed a lot of the reviewers on the sites I'm submitting to place an insanely huge emphasis on layout because "a diary represents you as a person and you should strive to make it's appearance very unique. Tailor it to you!" ...or some such hogwash.I've seen some of the diaries that get rave reviews and I can't for the life of me figure some of those fuckers out. Well, I probably could if I wanted to sit around and fuck with it all day, but I really don't. I just want to be abnle to get around on the damn thing, find what I'm looking for, and read some damn entries. And I'm sorry, but I just don't see how having a picture of Blink 182 or of a fish taking up half the screen and forcing others to read entries 5 or 6 lines (probably of hard to read font in light gray on a white background) at a time makes a diary individual. To it, it just makes them kind of annoying.
I alsoi find it kind of disturbing how many said they find diaries boring if there's not a bunch of extraneous crap on them. What type of ADD, MTV-generation stereotype is THAT living up to? "If the diary doesn't have a java application on it that makes it look like fireworks are going off every seven seconds, then, uh, I'm afraid it just can't keep my interest." I mean, really, if you can't get along in life without a bunch of bright, shiny objects laying around you at all times, that tells me something about you that I really don't want to know.
The way I see it, if a diary needs a bunch of pictures and funky fonts too keep people reading it, it's probably not very interesting anyway.
So, believe it or not, I like it the way I have it now, and I didn't have too much of a problem with how it was before. Sorry, but this IS tailored to me. It's minimalist...Sparten, if you will. I don't know how well that sums me it, but it sums up how I want my diary.
You know...maybe I shuld have written this AFTER the reviews came in. Heh.
Wooderson
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