I'm gonna be bitchy for a minute.

Eh, I'm back. I should be watching a video or something. That's what Saturday nights at home are for. I've got popcorn, I've got a sugary drink, and I've got a TV and a DVD player.

I was just reading on Ravelry about the reactions to the very pink and cutesy login page they have now. It's a love/hate thing, I understand. I mentioned that the content of the site is more important that how the front page looks. Don't judge a book by its cover, sort of.

Someone said if the front page doesn't tell a person what the site it about, they would be reluctant to sign up. If it's a members-only place, they can't open the proverbial book to read a few pages. True, true.

Since I don't want to be overly blunt on Ravelry, since I hardly seem to check the forums anymore, I figure I'd be all boorish here. Sites like YouTube and the like have made me gun shy of comments/posts, so I don't often read them. They make me lose faith in humanity if I do, and I would like to keep what I have left!

Here goes. I am just writing this off the top of my head, and it shouldn't be taken too seriously:

1. Since Ravelry is a niche social networking site, people will likely hear about the site's content by word of mouth (or word of blog), and have some idea what to expect when they get there. Granted, just having a picture and a login box steps on those old design rules of your front page should tell people something about the site, make your most important points above the fold, etc, there are links at the bottom of the page for About Us, Rav's Twitter feed, the blog (which contains some of the stuff people see when they first login, incidentally), the privacy policy, all that good stuff a site is supposed to have. This is the most the average website will let you see before you register (minus any site that has a "Click Here for a FREE tour!" link.....those are mostly dirty). Granted, it could be pushed up so people don't have to scroll, but how hard is it to hit Page Down or scroll? People are so damn lazy anymore....Back in my day, we didn't have scroll buttons on our mice, we had to CLICK AND DRAG that scroll bar. Imagine that!
   
2. If the design principles in #1 were sacrosanct, Flash technology would have died the horrible death that some people thinks it deserves, and web pages would not have flashy, but uninformative splash pages anymore. I'd never have to see "Loading..." every time I go to the website of one of the bands I follow ever, ever, ever again. And every website in the world would adhere to web standards.....HA!
   
3. If you're worried about giving your information out to register for a web site, that's what a junk email address is for. Oh yes, and do some research first, like a few minutes on Google. That's what it's for. Not hours, not days, minutes. Actually, you can still see what a screenshot tour of Ravelry still if you type "What is Ravelry" into Google search. A plain vanilla search for "Ravelry" is also has useful information on that first page of results.
   
4. Probably the most important point: The front page probably isn't done yet, nor will it be set in stone forever. Shit changes, life goes on, lighten up.
   
5. If too much pink on a web page makes you uncomfortable, then...how can I put this....maybe you're shallow. I give people too much credit, despite being disappointed by them constantly. I'm still an optimist, deep down, somewhere.

Okay, I'm done being snarky. I guess I'm just touchy from the night before, and I am a temperamental cuss to begin with. Time to crank that Nujabes again.

Y'all can bite me. Just kidding. I don't care.

And now for some post tags that I'll probably never use again, publicly anyway.