Opposite of Sequitur

[]|V|[agnus]

I've had my way with a few of you in this forum, but I've not yet put myself on the chopping block. For a while I was waiting until my site felt more "done." Well, as you know, nothing is ever completely done, but mine is at a nice stage right now.

So have at me. :)

http://sethrasmussen.com/

[Mhtml]

Looking good. Valid xhtml. CSS validator isn't quite as kind- http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/validator?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fsethrasmussen.com%2Fcss%2Fneo%2F_neo.css&usermedium=all

Just thinking about it, does sequitur have an antonym?

[]|V|[agnus]

You mean besides non sequitur? According to this (http://thesaurus.reference.com/search?q=sequitur), a few. I doubt they all quite match though. I just wanted a different way of saying "non sequitur." This simple, awkward representation came to me. It honestly kind of annoys me at times, but that's probably part of what I like about it.

As for the CSS, it is true! As far as I know, that should be pretty much a) the validator incorrectly throwing errors with use of the double-colon with ::before and ::after, and b) some -moz- stuff. I should probably look it over though anyway. :cool:

[rmedek]

I gotta say, I love reading your site. And I love the grayscale. If I could get away with a grayscale site on everything I do, I would...

Having said that, though, it sure does look cluttered. Like a really clean and organized version of cluttered. The header promises tasteful, minimalist glory and the body produces everything my mind can handle, all at once. Maybe a little separation (border, color?) on the columns, or, god forbid, get rid of some of it.

The code is clean enough to eat off of, though, and it doesn't look like every other blog out there, which, frankly, is saying A LOT in my opinion.

All in all, very nice...

[ronaldb66]

Too bad you couldn't even make an effort to make it look decent on IE6.0/win; you seem to overlook the fact that some people -like me, at work- just can't choose which browser they use.

[]|V|[agnus]

it sure does look cluttered.

Aye, at times, very much agreed. For the moment, it suffices. I think if you take your time you'll find there's really not a whole lot to take in. :D

Like a really clean and organized version of cluttered.

I agree! Bizarre.

The header promises tasteful, minimalist glory and the body produces everything my mind can handle, all at once.

I'm red.

Maybe a little separation (border, color?) on the columns

Pondered and tried this, I did! Did not sit right, it felt too constricting, even as light as #EEE...

or, god forbid, get rid of some of it.

I'll have none of that! (God, that is. :p)

The code is clean enough to eat off of, though, and it doesn't look like every other blog out there, which, frankly, is saying A LOT in my opinion.

You've already said so much! Hehe, thanks Richard.

Too bad you couldn't even make an effort to make it look decent on IE6.0/win; you seem to overlook the fact that some people -like me, at work- just can't choose which browser they use.

Nah, I simply can't be bothered at the moment. I spend enough time coddling that pile of binary wreckage at work. This is my site. Sorry! :eek: (And besides, it still works fine. It just looks a little drunk.)

Edit: I did add a much needed addendum to the acknowledgements.

Also, I added a single extra IE-only rule to the styles, and eliminated a couple lines of legacy code that make the comments considerably better for IE users.

[Mhtml]

Why do you insist on constructive criticism only to through it back in people's faces?
Nah, I simply can't be bothered at the moment. I spend enough time coddling that pile of binary wreckage at work. This is my site. Sorry! (And besides, it still works fine. It just looks a little drunk.)

[_Aerospace_Eng_]

well lets see gives me this bar at the top if im using IE and says get with the program or something like that, i happen to have FF also, i use it to test my sites in to make sure they ARE cross-browser functional, i keep seeing this quote around the forums and i think its a good so here it is again
Just remember that you code for the user, and the user visits you because what you code is good.

[]|V|[agnus]

M,

Actually, I didn't throw anything back in anybody's face. I gave an honest answer that is wholly justifiable. I _could_ make the site look the same in IE. The simple fact is that I don't _want_ to. Again: sorry! Part of what I am trying to do with my _personal_ site is advocate against IE. By serving a crippled, but not at all incapable visual presentation, I am serving that purpose.

[rmedek]

well lets see gives me this bar at the top if im using IE and says get with the program or something like that
I just checked the site in IE. That's perfect... It looks just like the health warning on a pack of European cigarettes. :D

[Mhtml]

I do see what you mean, however you can never be too sure. You could also read it as- Just focus on the good aspects of my site, I'm sure that's not what you want. But when you asked for us to "have at" you, you were bound to have the IE issue pop up sooner or later and just dismissing it like you did seemed to come across as quite impertinent.

Its a pretty bold move to be making though, serving a somewhat rudimentary page for IE that is.

[]|V|[agnus]

Of course I don't want people to just sit and praise me, but it's not reasonable to expect someone to satiate each and every criticism. I assumed the IE issue would come up, of course, and my dismissal of the issue was not meant to be rude at all, just simple and honest. :)

[hemebond]

Too bad you couldn't even make an effort to make it look decent on IE6.0/win; you seem to overlook the fact that some people -like me, at work- just can't choose which browser they use.Firefox can be run without installation, and can be used entirely from external media such as a USB stick. There's no excuse not to run it.

[]|V|[agnus]

Rich, I liked your perhaps unintentional suggestion. I've modified the IE banner now, and made it a little more helpful. ;)

[brothercake]

Firefox can be run without installation, and can be used entirely from external media such as a USB stick. There's no excuse not to run it.
Other than the excuse of not liking it, of course.

[mindlessLemming]

|V|[agnus']Rich, I liked your perhaps unintentional suggestion. I've modified the IE banner now, and made it a little more helpful. ;)

Bahahaaaa! Now you need to and add a sick photo of a diseased lung or tumorous brain.

You already know I hate your site and all your crappy drawings, so I won't say anything else :p;)

[bradyj]

I like it a lot -- I like the BW look of it. I think I'd like it better if the header flexed left to right, full screen, and the bottom was fixed width... what happen to your photo, I thought that looked snazzy as well. Much cleaner, and better typography than before -- this one feels like it has more of a 'style' than the previous one, I dig it :thumbsup:

Edit: I can see how users can view the body section as cluttered -- The center is right on, it's really the left and right side that probably could use strong division headers or different types of separations at times to organize my reading a bit more.

P.S -- if you're gonna block out IE PC users, atleast don't discriminate. Block out the IE mac users for the other half of us as well (since it breaks almost as bad).

[]|V|[agnus]

Nobody is blocked out, as far as I know. IE just doesn't get all the additional perks. I'll try to remember to look into changing that anti-IE <div /> to be displayed using some CSS hacks rather than conditional comments, since, as far as I know, you cannot target IE mac with conditional comments.

[tsguitar2004]

In general, I agree with much of what has already been said. Those sidebars need something to separate the content in them. It all just runs in together and looks like just a whole bunch of stuff thrown together without any real order to it. One of your H4 headers is "Categorize," ironic since that seems to be exactly what you haven't done in that area (I write "seems" since the impression is a lack of categorization; I understand it's merely a lack of order, though). Whether it's borders, backgrounds, lines, something needs to be put in place to give a structure to those sidebars. The titles aren't enough.

The header graphic seems to promise something that the rest of your site doesn't deliver. I can't put a finger on it, but maybe it's just that I'm expecting to see that gradient background again somewhere. Or maybe it's that I'm hoping to see more sticker-looking things like the "version whatever."

I like the drawings and humor is strategically placed throughout the site. Nice.

I love the rollovers on the links in the sidebars other than the home page (the way the text becomes bold and the background becomes diagonal lines).

That link to rememberme.net in the top nav is quite jarring. It's a completely different site design and takes me out of the experience of your site.

--In "About the site"--
You've misspelled license on your colophon (first sentence in the NOTE of "Can I steal your stuff?"). You don't have SQL in "What is this site made of?" I'm sure SQL feels like a jilted lover now.

How can you say the site is "very" accessible when you've taken measures to serve IE a botched version? It's quite a mess in IE6/pc. Is it accessible? Yeah, I can read it, but you haven't tried to make my experience enjoyable. I guess this is a semantic issue on the word "accessible," though.

That really long, unbroken line in "Because titles are meaningless" doesn't wrap in NS7/pc, so it runs out of the content area and behind some of the sidebar stuff. Looks odd.

And for the record, while I understand and may even agree with what you have to say about IE on your site, I hate sites that try to tell the public what browser they should be using. I don't tell you that you should be using Movable Type instead of WordPress or that your use of WordPress is somehow bad and you should know better. It's insulting to the viewer that somehow you know better which browser to use. A message letting IE users know why the site looks the way it does in IE is helpful and more likely to encourage people to switch. Attract more bees with honey than vinegar...or something like that. Of course, it's your personal site so you'll do as you wish, but there's my comment on it. It's annoying and arrogant to assume you know what's best for my browsing tastes.
-ts

[]|V|[agnus]

Those sidebars need something to separate the content in them. It all just runs in together and looks like just a whole bunch of stuff thrown together without any real order to it. One of your H4 headers is "Categorize," ironic since that seems to be exactly what you haven't done in that area (I write "seems" since the impression is a lack of categorization; I understand it's merely a lack of order, though).

I would agree that those columns are perhaps not as strong and clear as they could be. However, as much as it may sound like a cop-out, there is a certain awkwardness that I honestly want prevalent with the site. Your comment on the irony of "categorize" is understandable to a point, yet you seem to forget the title and pseudo-theme of the site.

Whether it's borders, backgrounds, lines, something needs to be put in place to give a structure to those sidebars. The titles aren't enough.

I'm not sold on that, honestly. I think a healthy margin can be division enough. Lines, backgrounds... they're very concrete and defining thing which is not necessarily what I want. As I said, I did play with some literal line divisions and such, but it felt too constricting. There's obviously a balance to be struck that is of course an ongoing process.

The header graphic seems to promise something that the rest of your site doesn't deliver. I can't put a finger on it, but maybe it's just that I'm expecting to see that gradient background again somewhere. Or maybe it's that I'm hoping to see more sticker-looking things like the "version whatever."

Hmm, that is an interesting sentiment. There is definitely something unique about the style of the header, but I think that might be okay.

I like the drawings and humor is strategically placed throughout the site. Nice.

Haha! Thanks! Interesting that I manage to pull off strategery(hehe) and aggrevating disorganization in one fell swoop.

That link to rememberme.net in the top nav is quite jarring. It's a completely different site design and takes me out of the experience of your site.

This is definitely something that hasn't sat all that well with me at times as well. However, I've no better options for displaying photos in a way that's close enough to what I want.

You've misspelled license on your colophon (first sentence in the NOTE of "Can I steal your stuff?"). You don't have SQL in "What is this site made of?" I'm sure SQL feels like a jilted lover now.

Ha! Thanks for the heads up. :)

How can you say the site is "very" accessible when you've taken measures to serve IE a botched version? It's quite a mess in IE6/pc. Is it accessible? Yeah, I can read it, but you haven't tried to make my experience enjoyable. I guess this is a semantic issue on the word "accessible," though.

Very arguably, yes. Again, my feeling about IE is that all of the content is still accessible without an unreasonable amount of distress. The tightness other browsers will enjoy I consider their reward for honoring forward progress. If all IE users stopped visiting my site, I would not consider the endeavour a failure. And all in all, I don't really think it's as messed up as people are making it out to be. Most of the inconsistency is visual presentation and layout which are ultimately minor details if you ask me.

That really long, unbroken line in "Because titles are meaningless" doesn't wrap in NS7/pc, so it runs out of the content area and behind some of the sidebar stuff. Looks odd.

Again, thanks for the heads up...

I hate sites that try to tell the public what browser they should be using. I don't tell you that you should be using Movable Type instead of WordPress or that your use of WordPress is somehow bad and you should know better. It's insulting to the viewer that somehow you know better which browser to use. A message letting IE users know why the site looks the way it does in IE is helpful and more likely to encourage people to switch. Attract more bees with honey than vinegar...or something like that. Of course, it's your personal site so you'll do as you wish, but there's my comment on it. It's annoying and arrogant to assume you know what's best for my browsing tastes.

Eh, I really think it's something that's not meant to be taken so seriously. It is my honest opinion that IE users are making a poor choice, and furthermore, whether they are aware of it or not, it does a disservice to us designers and developers. I can't exactly hold that against people, but I don't have to reward it either.

People give their opinions about what people *should* do all the time. We could be here all day deciding where you draw the line.

I appreciate the thoughtful feedback, sir. Thanks.

[Basscyst]

If you are really looking to show people the benefits of ditching IE, why not make a section of the site where you explain that the site is currently being catered to their inept browser and that they should look into switching to[Insert browser here]. Then put a link that they can click that will show them what the page will look like if you hadn't taken them into consideration. This way, you can get your message accross, and you still fall into an acceptable place when accessability and cross browser functionality is scrutinized. BTW - nice site, except for when I'm at work. :p

Basscyst

[]|V|[agnus]

Comments on how I could do more to better educate people and present a more approachable argument are very valid. At this point, I just don't have the desire or energy to put that forth, and I think sites like Browse Happy and Digital Proof are doing ample work in that department for anybody that's interested.

[rmedek]

|V|[agnus']I would agree that those columns are perhaps not as strong and clear as they could be. However, as much as it may sound like a cop-out, there is a certain awkwardness that I honestly want prevalent with the site.

You know, if I couldn't figure out how to make the sidebars on my site nice and clean, that's the same thing I would say...

:D Face it Seth, no one likes those columns, man...

As far as IE goes, I say to hell with being polite about it. If you code to standards, and a suck-*** browser can't display your page correctly, why should they get a polite anything? They should get a broken site. Then they should think, "boy my browser sucks," and download FF or Moz or Opera. And until more sites do exactly that and stop "being polite" for the sake of IE users that's not gonna happen. I liked your first warning banner the best.

[]|V|[agnus]

You know, if I couldn't figure out how to make the sidebars on my site nice and clean, that's the same thing I would say...

:D Face it Seth, no one likes those columns, man...

Haha... whatever... I'm not denying that people don't like them, not in the slightest.

I liked your first warning banner the best.

Heh... I'm trying to be *somewhat* diplomatic... ;)