Re: Request for group

by "Mike Taylor" <lonewolf(at)one.net>

 Date:  Tue, 5 Jan 1999 19:03:37 -0500
 To:  <hwg-critique(at)hwg.org>
  todo: View Thread, Original
>I would like to make a respectful request to the group. I know that there
>are many(well apparently most) of you who will not critique personal sites.

If I were ever to try to critique a personal site, I can almost assure
myself that the person on the other end will end up getting hurt in some
form or another.  Professional websites are easier for strangers to critique
because they (usually) have a clear objective, the success of which depends
greatly on the overall look, feel and navigation of the site.

A personal site is all about YOU.  It makes up your personality and is in
itself an expression to other people out there of what makes you tick(ed).
The only aspect of a personal site that I would feel comfortable critiquing
would be (maybe) the HTML coding used to achieve the end result.  If I feel,
for example, that there's an easier or better way to achieve the same end,
then I might offer that to you.  But who am I to tell you that the photo of
your cat is too gaudy or distasteful or that your poetry is predictable and
weak?  (this is an example, by the way --I've never been to your site!).

I really enjoy personal sites, and I feel they are a lot more important than
commercial websites in many ways.  They are a great way to touch other
people, or to provoke them, or to inspire them.  It's one of the last "free"
ways we have to show the whole world that we are individuals and not merely
statistics (insert national anthem here).  It's one of the reasons why I was
originally attracted to the Internet, and I truly hope that their existence
doesn't get overshadowed by all the money-making sites out there peddling
who-knows-what.

So, as far as personal sites are concerned, it's an open book.  You alone
can dictate the contents.

Mike

PERSONAL WEBSITE:  http://w3.one.net/~lonewolf/

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