What are your personal website pet peeves?

[wris]

"best viewd at 80 percent zoom"

This is a thing? Serious question, why not just make your website 20% smaller?

[manpaint]

I think probably my biggets pet peeve is pages that are supposed to be zoomed out but there are no warnings/it's nto written anywhere (i mean something like: "best viewd at 80 percent zoom":wink:.
It makes me think the site is broken at first glance tbh also a lot of sites that i have to zoom out on have super tiny text and zooming out makes it even tinier

There is quite a few Neocities sites like this sadly.

[theymightbefoxes]

My personal pet peeve is sites with parts that seem like they might have content but turn out to be "Under Construction." I don't think there's anything wrong with Under Construction signs but I think it'd be more helpful to visitors to clearly indicate whether a section of your site exists or not, because otherwise it feels a bit like I'm Wile E. Coyote smashing into a picture of a road painted on a rock :omg:k:

"best viewd at 80 percent zoom"

This is a thing? Serious question, why not just make your website 20% smaller?

I've been guilty of doing this before (though in the opposite direction where I tell people they can zoom in if they like) and for me it's really because if have your margin and padding set to a particular way that you like it's kind of a pain to readjust every little thing to make your website look exactly the way it does when it's zoomed in (although now that I think about it this would probably be solved by copying the original site, opening it in your browse and zooming it, and adjusting the original in another tab through trial and error.)

[JackFrost]

Whats something you dont like on sites, or just find annoying? For me its sites without a link page, cause that means i cant find more cool sites to bookmark.

[Còbra!]

When I explore a web ring, and the next page doesn't have the widget so I can't continue. (Yesterweb+ fixes this for their web ring, but there's nothing for the others)

[1337nightbug]

sites with awful contrast between the text and the bg (like those pastel "aesthetic" sites that are/were a thing), making it so that i have to highlight all the text or put on dark reader so i can read things comfortably i understand the creative decision if its for an aesthetic or specific vibe, but if the site is text heavy then at least some consideration should go into if things can be read comfortably without having to highlight text or use an extension...

[Cele]

When I explore a web ring, and the next page doesn't have the widget so I can't continue. (Yesterweb+ fixes this for their web ring, but there's nothing for the others)

Also if the next website is broken so you can't continue

It's annoying if the menu is difficult to find (maybe it doesn't exist?) and then if you click on the menu to go to a different section, the menu disappears so you need to return to the front page with the browser's back button to browse the other links.

[jessica]

(getting up on my little soapbox)

the biggest thing for me is accessibility issues and lack of mobile compatibility (cross-browser to a lesser extent) i know it's easier to take short cuts, and more than likely people are just unaware bc it's not something they've had to think about, but ESPECIALLY with accessibility issues you can be denying people with disabilities equal access to information, community, discussions. there are reasons why web accessibility standards and legal protections exist, and while this can require more work and sometimes a creative challenge (and no, did not exist in the 90's because the internet was not ubiquitous), it's more important to me personally to make concessions and to work harder ti create space for diversity. If you don't know how, ask for help or do a little research - there are tons of resources and guidance out there. I think especially in the context of "web revival" as it relates to social issues, it's important to be mindful of not undoing work to improve accessibility. There is a lot of information and resources on the ADA websites about web accessibility that I highly recommend anyone building or planning to build a website read through.

ADA laws don't apply to personal sites specifically, but i still think it's important to consider them. to me it's like saying you need to have wheelchair ramps for banks and schools, but not clubs and community centers because you don't need them to survive. it's still a line you are drawing that excludes a group of individuals, even if only at a social level. it doesn't feel right. maybe because i deal with this so much at work, but i just find it jarring.

and as for cross browser and mobile compatibility...it's 2023 people are using their phones more than computers to browse the internet, and it's also just not that hard to do with all of the free tools at peoples disposal now. not everyone has access to a computer, either. unless i am working or coding, i am almost always on mobile, and if i visit a website where half the links are covered by an iframe i just leave lol.

ok essay over. if you have any questions or concerns about your accessibility, though, feel free to reach out!! i'm happy to help. i know it's initially confusing and can be frustrating, but it becomes second nature.

[Cele]

My websites are readable on mobile but it's probably a bit annoying. Too bad tho because I don't see myself doing much about it. I wouldn't even know where to start.

Anyways, my petpeeve are websites with a lot of views and followers (= they show up often in Neocities website directory) that have nothing to them than like the front page. Try to click most stuff in the navigation and it gives you an error. Why are people even following and visiting this site so much?

Another are sites where you click into somewhere in the navigation and the layout turns into something completely different and the navigation disappears like ok. I was planning on browsing your site though, do you expect me to hit the back button in the browser to access the other navigation links?

[wygolvillage]

I agree with the "popular site with very little content" one. It's always disappointing to click on a cool looking website and finding that it's all aesthetic and no meat

[pinkvampyr]

Lately I've noticed that I actually hold a lot of strong opinions about personal websites, and I was wondering if anyone else has common trends on Neocities (for example) as pet peeves. I'm interested because coding is a passion and I like hearing people's opinions... that being said, don't see my own as things that are inherently bad, your website should be coded however you feel most comfortable!

Anyways, mine are:

• All caps/all lowercase: Terrible for screen readers, especially the former. I would suggest doing something with the "text-transform" property on your CSS instead of actually typing like that.
• Seizure-inducing graphics: I have epilepsy, and although I'm medicated I still have some issues with flashing graphics. Lots of blinkies, flashing buttons, etc. should be avoided, or at least have a warning.
• Non-semantic HTML: Ever since I learned that you don't need div tags for everything in your website layout, coding felt a lot easier to manage. Non-semantic HTML still has some use, but it seems silly to me to have "<div class="header">" instead of "<header>".

Anyways, I'll get off my soapbox now. I tried to add solutions to my pet peeves, hopefully you can gather some use out of my tips!

- Alastor

this tbh. I don't mean to be presumptuous bc I'm new to all this but that's one thing that's bothered me about quite a few websites I've seen. I get that flashing gifs give that old web "feel" but it's honestly really irresponsible how some people get with it. like. it sounds like an exaggeration but you could put people's life and well being in danger :^/

[Lyonid]

Snarkiness. Some people really and truly love to introduce themselves and immediately jump straight to personal grudges against strawmen. Long DNI lists, opinions on pronouns, elitist blabber on technology, overall edginess. I get that it's the first thing that might jump to your mind when you write about yourself on a site, but I urge everyone to remain kind. I am here to enjoy your site, and not to have a hypothetical argument with you. Put that in your blog.

Also seconding small fonts because it can't be overstated. I just can't read it! :(

[Cele]

Snarkiness. Some people really and truly love to introduce themselves and immediately jump straight to personal grudges against strawmen. Long DNI lists, opinions on pronouns, elitist blabber on technology, overall edginess. I get that it's the first thing that might jump to your mind when you write about yourself on a site, but I urge everyone to remain kind. I am here to enjoy your site, and not to have a hypothetical argument with you. Put that in your blog.

Also seconding small fonts because it can't be overstated. I just can't read it! :(

Internet, 2023

[shevek]

Internet, 2023

I get the feeling of wanting to prevent investing time into people you will clash with in key views that are important to you, but I also view dni's rather critically as well.
Most people using them have other views and identities of themselves listed elsewhere on their site, and it would be highly unlikely that people mentioned in their dni would even like to interact with them based on that info. And even then, can you imagine someone going "Oh no, racists don't interact! Guess I'll see myself out!" ? So I feel like it is reduced to just signaling specific views, but in a way that's like "I disavow you before you can disavow me" to stay in control of it.

I wish people spent more time really elaborating on their views in relation to themselves again, and more positively, than that. I also simply can't imagine that dni users get inundated with messages and other contact methods so much that they have to release a dni for people to filter themselves out and ease the load. It just makes it seem as if they have hoards of racists and transphobes and homophobes messaging them trying to be their friend or harass them, when that's probably not the case, and even then.. is a dni gonna stop them from harassing you? What is the dni actually accomplishing if you probably have to vet people's online presence anyway before deciding to accept their invite or their chat message?
The cherry on top is listing horrible things (i.e. "nazis dni") together with some ship/fanfic/fandom stuff, as if they are somehow equally bad. I wonder how people can just write that all on a list in random order and not feel weird that they put <shipname> and nazis right after eachother, for example.

[pinkvampyr]

I get the feeling of wanting to prevent investing time into people you will clash with in key views that are important to you, but I also view dni's rather critically as well.
Most people using them have other views and identities of themselves listed elsewhere on their site, and it would be highly unlikely that people mentioned in their dni would even like to interact with them based on that info. And even then, can you imagine someone going "Oh no, racists don't interact! Guess I'll see myself out!" ? So I feel like it is reduced to just signaling specific views, but in a way that's like "I disavow you before you can disavow me" to stay in control of it.

I wish people spent more time really elaborating on their views in relation to themselves again, and more positively, than that. I also simply can't imagine that dni users get inundated with messages and other contact methods so much that they have to release a dni for people to filter themselves out and ease the load. It just makes it seem as if they have hoards of racists and transphobes and homophobes messaging them trying to be their friend or harass them, when that's probably not the case, and even then.. is a dni gonna stop them from harassing you? What is the dni actually accomplishing if you probably have to vet people's online presence anyway before deciding to accept their invite or their chat message?
The cherry on top is listing horrible things (i.e. "nazis dni") together with some ship/fanfic/fandom stuff, as if they are somehow equally bad. I wonder how people can just write that all on a list in random order and not feel weird that they put <shipname> and nazis right after eachother, for example.

i mean in my experience ive seen a dni or two that have genuinely made me say "oh i want nothing to do with this person" so i can say that its not completely ineffective.