People are stupid. They need guidance. I can give it to them, provided they aren't to pig-headed to take constructive criticism.
I give constructive criticism on a handful of sites. One of them in particular has a stupid forum cropping policy, with posts just a couple of months old vanishing into a gaping hole in the t'interweb.
Thus this is primarily an archive of my genius and advice given, for the less fortunate to be referred to and to learn from.
We all know that as with any other gathering, forums tend to form a hierarchy amongst the members. Regular members often inadvertently form almost impenetrable cliques, and it is only after a period of induction that a new member is 'allowed' to feel welcome.
You can usually easily recognise clique members. They have far more posts than seems healthy, and tend to keep those 30-page threads going. They often develop a sub-culture and language, full of in-jokes like a bad middle class BBC comedy that a casual browser would not understand. Wannabe clique members - those on the periphery of the group - tend to gravitate around the main participants and post inanities, desperately hoping for and hanging onto a reply or even acknowledgment of existence.
With the possible exception of two forums in the past, I've never been one to join the cliques. Maybe it's my inner punk, but I just can't stomach the relentless arse-licking and dumbing down of free thought required to be an active member of such a clique. It's far more fun posting freely and honestly about what I feel than agreeing with the main protagonists for the sake of social harmony.
And so this brings me to a new member on a forum I frequent. She joined and asked for feedback on a variety of aspects of a couple of web sites she commissioned. She didn't join in any other discussions, although did respond to some of the issues raised about her sites.
Different people visit forums for different reasons. Some visit to post in "What are you listening to" and "Word Association" threads, whereas others visit once or twice for coding or design advice. Not sticking around does not in itself make someone a spammer
Of course, the poster in question may well have joined in the hope of garnering new members. However, as she actually engaged in conversation rather than the usual post-a-press-releas-and-go approach of spammers, I would give her the benefit of the doubt.
Site:
http://miloszorica.info/.
I like this a lot; the clean canvas and centred portfolio works perfectly to draw attention to the quality of your work. The splatter of paint branding works well.
I also like that you've had the balls to see through the stark simplicity rather than clutter the site with unnecessary crap. To embellish the design too much would be to take away from the showcase. As a showcase to highlight your work it does the job incredibly well.
I would work on your hover underlines; perhaps use margins on your nav rather than forcing it with an extended block of #FFFFC7 on web.gif. I'd also add a simple contact page, if for no other reason but to comply with the Companies Act.
Critique of a site for Ronald J Treitner
Has anyone actually given you an honest critique of his work? I'd hate to come over like Simon Cowell, but you just isn't up to being a web designer. (more...)
