Comments on: Dear Avalonstar

By: Nathan Smith

Nathan Smith — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 15:14:48 +0000

Joshua / Jared: I'm with you there too. For an archive, I say just give me the full listing. Ajax calls are funny, because you're basically retrieving text, so the filesize you save in the initial loading is negligible. It's just another layer of separation between the user and the info they're seeking. On the opposite end of the spectrum is my archive page, which is a totally tasteless brain-dump of both articles and external links.

By: Joshua Lane

Joshua Lane — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 13:15:54 +0000

Hi Bryan! I was going to email you, but then realized it would make a nice addition to my “Dear XYZ” collection of posts. I hope I didn’t come off as a dick.

And don’t worry, I plan to do crits of other folks’ sites… next up might be Jon Hicks’ new “un-design” of his site.

By: Bryan Veloso

Bryan Veloso — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 20:50:45 +0000

Funny how I find this through my referrers. Well, I’m flattered that you devoted a whole entry to the site instead of emailing… but I guess the archives were one of the last things on my mind when I was making the site. This was a mistake on my part and is something that will definitely take more priority as I start to redesign.

Thanks for the constructive crits, as I’m always open to it. No, colophonics isn’t a real world, but I like making up words. And yes, I do think we are internet buddies. :)

By: Joshua Lane

Joshua Lane — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 18:21:42 +0000

I see what you mean about BinaryBonsai.com. To his credit, though, he does provide easier access to previous articles down on the bottom right of the home page.

By: Jared Christensen

Jared Christensen — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 13:45:09 +0000

This sort of archive system seems to be slowly popping up around on blogs, and I can’t stand it. For a thoroughly frustrating experience, I recommend checking out the binarybonsai.com archive. For the record, I loves me The Bonsai, but that archive system has GOT TO GO. Like Avalonstar, it takes at least 2 clicks just to see the most recent articles (beyond the ones on the front page). And why do both archive systems START OFF with the fist post even made on the site? Is there some study that shows that people going to an archive page want to start at the beginning of a site’s history and move forward? Seems highly counter-intuitive to me.

Good call, man. ;)