However, I would like to apologize for the heat that I may have caused. I take full responsibility for my actions and this is where I draw my personal line. Other blogs have surfaced with less than friendly responses to what I’ve said, and what I had exactly feared has come of this. I am not going to participate any further in any negativity of any kind. I have done my best to keep my blogs free of any “bashing,” “bad mouthing,” or anything of the kind.

I can’t really say I have feelings about any of it, because I can see it from an optimistic view- now that people are fired up, angry, offended, talking trash, disagreeing, and arguing once again, we don’t have to call this community dead any more. for some, that’s what they wanted in the first place. people are at least coming out, readily available to disagree with me, and that’s better than what we were doing not that long ago. And let’s face it, we all have the freedom of speech and nobody’s going to sue anyone for saying a danged thing. I’m not going to stop anyone from doing or saying anything, because it’s only the internet.

So I’m taking this time out to apologize to anyone I may have offended, and for the chain of events that I’m sure will come of everything I have said, and I want to especially apologize to Skye, who is not only juggling her personal life, but now this. I didn’t mean to bring it on you, and I don’t mean to leave it on you, but this is where I finish. I refuse to feed the flames of the negativity that I caused any longer.

In more risk of sounding like an even bigger ignoramus, I ask that no one abuse or target my host, or anyone else on this site, or even this site as a whole. If you want to take shots at anyone, take shots at me, not the community I belong to or the people that surround me. I said what I said, and I should take what’s coming to me. Please, don’t drag any of this business onto our personal blogs, or sites, and last of all, do not bring other people into this that need not be involved.

But at the end of the day, we all have to ask ourselves…why so serious?

<b>Name:</b> TEXT
<b>Age:</b> TEXT
<b>Owner of:</b> <a href=”URL”>SITE NAME</a>
<b>Fandoms:</b> TEXT
<b>Other Interests:</b> TEXT
<b>Looking For:</b> TEXT
<b>Contact Information:</b> TEXT
<b>Anything Else:</b> TEXT

And of course, feel free to link to and advertise this meme!

But the effect that Faedubh has had on its readers is quite surprising to me. I think about what FD has done for me- through this blog, i have realized that I am not usually the only one who feels the way I do about this community, and I also realize how human the rest of the designers i know are.

This blog reveals that design is not, and never will be, a perfect system. There’s a lot of things that hang around us like a big elephant that we find too risky or too much to talk about on our own updates, all of which are addressed on this site.

Like they always say, the first step to solving a problem is to admit that there is one. This site says what is on everyone’s mind, but not what is coming out of everyone’s mouth. We’re taking one step closer to changing this internet that we spend so much time on, and one by one, are taking stands to make a difference.

It might not be the same as advocating a cure for cancer, or a fund for homeless children, but it is ultimately making designers more open, honest, and less afraid of admitting the issues that keep us from becoming better.

I am glad that FD has brought so many different opinions- and people- into one place to discuss the one thing we all have in common. It’s exactly what the doctor ordered

The war that I am discussing in this post it a war that a lot of us remember, and would actually rather not talk about. I’m talking about a certain site with the initials AB.

To make things clear, I am not here to bash this site or create any negativity based on the people that wrote on it or voiced their opinions. People are always entitled to their beliefs. I am merely here to talk about the aftermath of this site and what became of its “targets.”

I’m sure that if you were, in any way involved with the occurances centered around AB, then you were affected in some way. For me, the site at first angered me because they really could get away with what they were doing. They mentioned me a number of times and called me something a bit offensive, and they really really targeted one of my good friends, dragging her into a very difficult part of her life.

The site caused a lot of pain for some of my friends and they handled it as best they could, but as Skye mentioned before, the world of design was split into two over the issue. Some people were in complete agreement to the site, and embraced its willingness to say whatever it wanted to say, even if people’s feelings were thrown into the mix.

For me, I was mostly affected because of how hurt my friends were. I’ve been called every name in the book, so I’m very used to being talked about negatively. I didn’t like seeing the community being split apart, bashed, made fun of, and ridiculed in a fashion that made people look like hyprocrites.

After everything happened, I must say that I now look at the community differently, and I’m not sure if it was for the better. These days, I’m kind of looking behind my back, and scared one day i’ll open up my comments to find something offensive and insensitive. It’s a good thing that this doesn’t happen, but who knows?

It has become a complete internet hobby, however, to ridicule and poke fun of people. Others find it funny because they don’t have to actively participate- witnessing it is entertainment enough.

A few months ago, a video was released on youtube featuring 2 hours worth of a girl being beaten almost to death by a group of kids at a house. It is sick to think of such a thing as being beaten up by a number of people, but it’s even sicker to see its 7 million hits. I personally believe those that enjoyed the video were as bad as those who committed the offense.

I see AB in that way too. A lot of people enjoyed it quite a bit. a lot of people anonymously posted offensive comments but didn’t want to soil their reputations (but they were later dragged out by AB anyway)

But I was not the only one affected by this ordeal- I later found out that many other designers were heavily hit by what happened. After reading this post, I found out how much damage this little site has caused for people, something that I never thought about until I read it. There’s nothing i can do for these people now to change what was said but it’s tragic that a site like AB would have the nerve to do what they did without thinking of others first.

I was wondering who else was affected by this site, and in what way?

There are several areas I would like to discuss about the changes in the social community over the years. I would like to honestly admit that I feed these flames of separation that occur in the community.

As the owner or Relentless Designs I feel like I am very off in my own niche, a little separated and disconnected to the rest of the designers. We are all busy people, yes, but I can at least make more of an effort to contact my friends and get to know new people. I always felt like, since my earliest design experience, people have shoved me out of their communties because I was so different, but day by day the terrain of design changes and people are accepting the newly-created diversity. This can no longer be an excuse for me.

In many ways, I feel like designing is a lot like high school. A lot of the same sites stick together- I am not going to lie, I do this exact thing. Sites seem to be in their own little cliques and many are unwilling to leave their element. Though I’m guilty of the first offense, I am not guilty of the second. I spend hours online looking for new design sites, looking for something interesting, and it’s fun for me. Sometimes, the sites are not as accepting as i initially thought, and other times other web designers are simply too dang busy to talk.

In the past, a lot of MBs have been built to get the design community together, but the whole elitist thing naturally began. Some of the newer, less experienced designers were feeling the heat put on by veterans, or sometimes other members that simply thought they were better. The treatment of new people on forums was harsh and difficult, and joining a rather old forum became more and more difficult. These MBs died off quickly and proved to be drama-fests.

It almost makes me think that rounding up a bunch of designers is asking for it. Drama always seems to ensue when a huge number of designers get together, just like when you try to unite all the cliques in highschool. There is always backlash. It goes well for a while, and falls apart due to internal conflict. I’m going to remind everyone of a certain, rather critical and controversial site that collectively discussed the entire community.

And that did not go well.

This mentoring program that Skye suggested might not be the absolute end-all for this problem, but it certainly is the first step to a more welcoming bunch of designers and a dozen more open minds. I myself would be more than happy to mentor someone- and I have many many times before. I’m absolutely proud of those that I have taught in the past and would love to do it again if anyone was willing.

I think about my days as a new designer and how much I would have loved to have someone show me the ropes. I felt very alone and tossed into an unfamiliar world where i didn’t know how everyone would receive me. It’s a terrifying thing, and perhaps that lack of support that these new designers are feeling are causing them to abandon ship. I think that the attitude that I entered when I became a designer stuck with me for the rest of my life, which is why I’m a rather antisocial webmistress.

Even so, I have been first-hand witnessing the change in the attitudes of designers. People these days are so open to everything, and web design is now more of an art form than it ever has been, and this surge of creativity and rule-breaking has been healthy and openly embraced.

Now if we were the same way towards the designers that made them…..

I’ve noticed it as well, but in a different way. Our “community” is growing farther and farther apart so that, sometimes, I feel like we’re not even a community at all. Like we’re more just random sites that link each other at times.

I can remember back about five years ago when I first started meeting other designers from different sites. Once I got the hang of it a little more, it felt very community-like. Lots of different friends, lots of socializing, more updates and less “I’ve been busy” posts.

About a year or two ago that started to change. I’m not sure if I’d fully want to blame the fighting that happened a while ago that “split” the community, but I believe it did play a part. Especially since soon after many began to distance themselves to keep themselves out of the fighting, both in terms of closing their site or just becoming more business-like. I’m probably one of the latter as well.

There’s also been talk of different communities when I always percieved us as one whole, not individual communities coexisting. But maybe that’s just me being the oddball non-graphics site (I have more graphics-related content now, but I didn’t for most of SF’s existance).

What happened?

We don’t talk as much anymore. Each site seems more a separate entity than one piece of a grouping. More and more sites are dying off and the new ones popping up aren’t as up to par (and aren’t growing that much).

Personally, I believe that part of why they aren’t growing is because of the lack of community. There isn’t as much support as their used to be. There isn’t as much socializing that kept people interested. Sure, your site is for yourself but part of the fun is sharing that fun with others. And, more important, without all of that there isn’t that group of others to come to with questions, or ideas, or achievements. If you don’t know what you’re doing wrong and/or if you don’t have people to help you grow, how should you be expected to achieve? Sure, you might still if you persevere but it’ll definitely take a lot longer.

A few years ago our community broke apart. I say we fix it.

I’m just one person with one idea. I’m sure all of you will be able to either help me out in making it better or come up with amazing ideas of your own. This post can be an idea “forum” for all of us to pitch in and try and come together again. Are you up to it?

My idea is a more one-on-one approach, so it will need to be helped along with other broader methods. I propose a mentoring project. For designers that are more experienced (at least two or three years, preferably), open yourself up as a mentor. Take on one (or more if you really think you’re up to it) newer designer. Have them apply at your site and pick the ones you think have most potential or need the most help or the ones you would get along with best or whatever. Talk to them, become friends, bounce ideas off of each other, give them advice, help their site grow. And don’t treat it as just a business thing where you’re helping out another site. Look at the person themselves and form a friendship.

Or for those that aren’t as experienced but still want to do something, try and form a partnership with another designer and do the same. Help each other grow and form a friendship at the same time.

If we want ourselves to survive and flourish, we need to rebuild the community. I know this whole post probably sounds like a lot of motivational bull, but I for one am getting lonely. And I don’t want to see this community die.

Let me explain. Sure, my page was organized. Everything had its place and fit together in a natural way. But something about the way my text sat irked me. And I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. I started to focus more on the text and anything but plain color made my layouts feel dirty for some reason. I wanted something cleaner. In essence, I wanted my text–my content–to look good by itself even if there were no images.

Consider the following sites: Intoxicated Designs, The Fanlistings, Synesthesia, Fractured Sanity, Web Designer Wall, and Junk&Trash. (This most definitely is not a complete list; just a quick one made in a few minutes.) They all have varying degrees of imaging and graphic weight, but what I want you to focus on is the text itself. The content. What do you notice?

What I notice is that I feel comfortable, relaxed. The text is readable. The text has space; it isn’t crowded. It is appealing. But how does one achieve this?

Font Size
Is your site’s text large enough to read? It varies font to font but I usually stick with 12 pixels for your average text. (I know, I know, the values of font size in percentages for user adjustability; I’m not there yet.) What about your headers? Are they too big so that the text carries onto multiple lines if your header is too long? Are they too small so that a visitor cannot tell the difference between the header and the text? Is there adequate space between the header and the text?

Line Height
How much space is there between your rows of text? If you don’t set it, the default is that the line height is the same as the font size, meaning there is minimal space and your text is most likely too close together, creating a cluttered feel. Most people say that 150% (or your font size + (your font size divided by two)) should be the standard (for example, if your font size is 12px, 150% would be 12 + 6 = 18px line height). Most feel that 200% (or double spaced; your font size multiplied by two) is too much space. Personally, I feel more comfortable in the middle at about 175%. I give my text room to breathe.

Fonts
Fonts can be beautiful, even if they are the default ones that every computer has. I’m not talking the fancy ones you have to download from DaFont. I personally have a fondness for Verdana, Times New Roman, Georgia, and Century Gothic. Knowing your fonts and using them wisely can add so much to text beauty.

Contrast
Is your text viewable on top of your background color? There needs to be enough contrast so that your text can be seen. It doesn’t have to be as drastic as black text on white background, but text can’t be beautiful if you can’t see it!

What about your text in relation to each other? Do you use the same color/shade for all of your text? Liven it up a little! Try using varying colors or degrees of strength to add depth and contrast.

Padding & Margin
You don’t want each section of your layout bumping up against each other. Space things out using padding and margin so everything has its own space. You don’t want a cluttered design!

And so much more…!
There’s so much more to consider. Do you want your headers to be all caps or all lowercase? Do you want them bold, italicized, etc. Do you want to indent things?

Experiment, learn, and grow!

As we all know, theft doesn’t just mean outright stealing someone’s coding/graphics, it also means not crediting correctly and being “inspired.”

That last one, about being “inspired.” That one’s a doozy. Where is the line drawn between stealing and “copying.” And is copying even wrong? I know a lot of designers that are real stifflers about the whole copying thing. I mean, there’s always been that saying floating around: Imitation is the highest form of flattery.

But I see some people treat it as some kind of personal insult.

I myself am not afraid to admit that I am incredibly lax with my crediting/ etc. Just look at the terms of service on Relentless Designs. I credit the dickens out of everything I make because confrontation emails and vegetables happen to be things I really dislike waking up to, but I don’t really expect and/or care for reciprocation.

I have but one argument for my side of the case: I pick my battles.

Okay, so let’s imagine the worst. Some guy completely rips off my design and says “Yeah, I did it. It looks sexy, don’t it?” and everyone is like “yeah it’s awesome” and then someone finally goes “hey i think that chick at Relentless stole your layout.”

Then it gets even worse, that guy’s lackeys start calling me a thief and therefore my name is forever soiled blah blah.

Is my life over? no
did i lose any money over it? no
do people think i’m a lying, cheating, dirtmonkey? yes
do i care? not really.

i mean, my close friends and i will trust that i do not steal and they’ll know the truth. when it comes to web design, a thief will always be revealed when he attempts to make another layout that most definately sucks.

I get a lot of guff for being so carefree about the whole credit/link back crap. But it’s HONESTLY not a big enough deal for me.

A while back someone was caught copying a layout of mine. I was then shown about five other copiers of this same design. All I could do was laugh at the horrible editing they’d done and get on with my day. I sent them all emails going “nice try! =)” and went back to dinner.

a couple of people who’d allegedly “stolen” this design were completely petrified that i found out and emailed them and sent their apologies swiftly. which was nice of them.

in another example, some girl made a layout very strikingly similar to one i’d made. they weren’t spitting images but the elements were there and it was very obivous that she was “inspired” by my work.

a couple of acquaintances of mine were like “aren’t you gonna get her? aren’t you gonna bust her out?”

i said no, and i got a lot of odd responses. nobody understood where i was coming from.

i ain’t gonna lie. i get inspired all the time. i even admit to it in my portfolio all the time. does that make me some big, bad crook?

can you put andy warhol at fault for “stealing” the image of a soup can?!
can you yell at michelangelo for using David in a statue because he’s a real guy?

trust me. i’ve tried the whole “make noise about a copier” angle. it ended up in a lot of frustration, tears, and enemies than i had the time for.

once upon a time, i found this chick with a very similar layout to one i’d made. i called her out on it and she said she’d done no such thing.

then she went to the photographer of the image that we both used and the photographer emailed me saying “she did not steal your image.”

yeah, like you’d know, buddy.

and after that, she displayed my IP address on her web page, along with some of my friends for her friends to harass.

that violates a million amendments.
and there’s only like. twenty something amendments.
including the one about the right to bear arms.

that’s just a lot more pain and suffering than i’m willing to or wanting to go through ever again, and for what? so she can take down some layout that KIND OF looks like mine?

screw that, i’ve got bigger fish to fry.
tastier ones, too.

bottom line is. riddle me this, batman, am i SO wrong for not being a nazi about the theft issues, or are there just plain more important things to worry about?

me: they always show the two guys that run google.
me: but who runs yahoo?
him: idk….
me: ….i bet it’s batman.
me: batman wouldn’t want anyone knowing he runs yahoo
me: because he’s already a bajillionaire
me: maybe he’s a bajillionaire because he runs yahoo????

let me finish.

How important do you think it is to know who is running a site?

For example, there’s some sites out there that are strictly business. Nowhere on their sites will you EVER find any information about who is running it. And if you do, it’s one or two paragraphs that go like:

“Hi I’m jane. I’ve been designing for two years now and I opened this site on a cloudy day. The end.”

Is that really enough?

I kind of want to have the comfort of knowing that the site I am looking at is not being run by a robot.

It’s good to show your human side, you know? Sure you’re running a business like site, but sometimes you have to go mom-and-pop-pizza-shack and really open up. I didn’t learn how important this was until probably last year. There’s people out there that are dying to know that you’re a normal human being and not some crazy l33t kid sitting 24/7 on their powerbook designing all day.

Because that would be unpleasant.

I don’t know, there’s always that added comfort knowing who you’re dealing with. For example, Skye gives a LOT of opportunity for you to get to know her through her blogs, networks, and her friendly invitations to talk on messenger.

Before I got to know Skye, I was pretty sure she was a robot that didn’t want to talk to anyone, which made me scared of her, which made me not want to affiliate with her, which made me even more scared of her, etc etc.

But I was pleasantly surprised after meeting her that we share a lot of the same interests and she laughs at my jokes and stuff. It started a great friendship.

For other sites that give you NO info about the owner, I kind of feel like I’ll never get to know them, nor will I ever get the chance to, and I tend to forget that they’re human beings with feelings, hobbies, and interests just like everyone else.

i think it’s one of my worst nightmares to get so caught up in design that people think i’m not even real. there’s absolutely nothing wrong with letting people know that you’re a normal kid that likes ramen noodles, dancing, and fallout boy.

all i’m saying is…it’d be nice to know that batman really enjoyed watching julia roberts movies and listening to enya. he might meet more friends that way.