faery-lights - 2004-03-12
curiosekwe - 2004-02-10
splash-girl - 2004-01-09
shaynasanerd - 2003-12-24
poetgrl224 - 2003-11-30
2003-09-09 :: sandrytris

A little entry. Nice boredom factor to it.

Style
There are times when this question must be asked, "My site looks like ass, should I have it reviewed?" This is one of those times. The answer's in the question, my dear.

My first impression of your site was a string of broken image links (picture by Koitsukihime). My second impression was the broken streaked tears link (looks like you have a malformed template variable). As I scrolled down your page, what do I see? Yes! More broken image links! You, like any number of repeat visitors to your site, have learned to avoid anything below the current post. This explains why so many of those images have gone unnoticed and unfixed. However, I'm at a loss to explain why the main graphical presence on your site is broken. Do you not look at it?

I also advise creating seperate pages for the roughly half mile of link-outs following each post. There's really no good reason to force people to load them for each page they visit. Create new pages for these links and delegate space in your template to list the new pages. This will clean up your pages, shorten download times, and spare unwitting visitors and site reviewers the head-scratching bewilderment of four graphical links to deathblossom's site.

I appreciate how the visited links assume the same style as the normal, non-link text. Such brazen confidence to throw usability out the window like that! I've always thought having clear navigation was overrated.

The Javascript on your page to reposition the browser window is very helpful. I was thinking, just before I opened your site, how I'd really like my browser window moved, but I was just too lazy to drag the window myself. That little script fully helped me out. I wish more site authors would take the initiative and decide for me where I'd like to position my window. No, really.

Substance
You've evidently gone to great lengths to avoid paragraph usage. Each post I read seemed like dialogue in a screenplay. I wanted there to be character names and stage direction before each line. For example:

Sandry [walks stageleft to knife rack, takes smallest knife from rack, makes small incision horizontally across wrist, places open mouth over cut in wrist]

M [looking at Sandry with eyes aghast]: Oh.

Sandry [mouth still over wrist with trickle of blood running from corner of mouth]: Mmm-Hmm.

Sandry [removing mouth from wrist with a sucking noise]: That times a thousand. Think all the way dowm my fucking arm with a bigger knife. Don't worry, I haven't even gotten the chance to do this much for a few years. [begins sucking wrist again]

Sandry [aside]: And now you know exactly why M is so stupid.
Constructing your posts like this would be clever and creative, but alas!. They aren't. Each entry reads like a poorly scripted stageplay. They convey a strong message of grammatical naivet� on your part. The subjects of your posts are interesting and, at times, entertaining, but your diction and style undermine them. Use a more sophisticated writing style with a more conventional structure. It won't be quite as avant garde, but it will help.

Suggestions
Fix your broken links, fix more of your broken links, proof your site before posting new entries. If it is within your knowledge to do so, use a more sophisticated writing style and plenty of engaging adjectives. Relegate the litany of links at the end of your template to a seperate page(s).

D
'D' might be for darkness, but coincidently, it's also your grade. With as many page errors as I encountered when loading your site, I considered not reviewing it at all. I will give you props for the flashy, marqee-style link back here. Unfortunately, all that flash is just a patina, because the link is broken! I was also unable to find a link to your archive, so only the five links listed on your homepage were used in this review.

I wholeheartedly encourage you to fix your site and request another review when that's done. You are not without hope, but your site is.

N.B. [2003-09-11] This is probably unprofessional, but some things are too irresistable even for me. I mean, it really just doesn't get any better than this. No joke! Or maybe it is.

Jon