unfortunate news for the rest of you but excellent news for me

[gloomhaunter]

i had hoped, upon joining this site, that i would make some sort of cool entrance that would leave a lasting memory on those who witnessed it, like a scorch mark on their minds but more annoying and less painful. unfortunately, i have never been good at waiting--and i'm not going to get better at it anytime soon--and i crave interaction like a lion craves fresh meat.

my name is moth. i acquired this name some years ago through less-than-memorable means, and by that i mean i have no interesting story to explain where it came from; it simply appeared one day and has made no efforts to leave since then. i use the pronouns she/her and it/its out of practicality, but the fact is that i am intersex and beyond that, violently autistic, and on good days my connection to gender is like that of early dialup internet but much, much worse.

i have been taking a break from programming, web mastery, and all things community-based since 2020, but my love of the internet, archival systems, and web design has returned full force within recent years and i find myself being forced to code against my own will. dear god someone please put me out of my misery. every day i walk the same street knowing the powers that be are waiting to jump me and still i turn the corner they hide behind. my greatest wish is for some poor sap to unchain me from this mortal coil but it appears that the HTML gods have other plans for me--that is, to watch me suffer and laugh at my horrid attempts to run a website.

i desire nothing more than to sink into the cold hard ground and once more reunite with the earth that bore me, but seeing as how this is currently not possible, i turned to my greatest adversary: reddit. while being filled with insufferable crypto bros, reddit does serve one useful purpose--connecting small communities. from here, i gleaned enough to know that i was not the only one currently trapped in the cruel, unkind grip of the internet's patron deity. through more digging (and hours spent figuring out how to view neocities sites on a mobile phone before ultimately giving up and getting out my little chromebook, which has carried me through roughly three years of classes while still managing to be the world's most pathetic garbage piece of shit that it possibly has to offer) i found some fascinating websites that had long since been abandoned. i began to worry--perhaps the chance to interact with fellow web enthusiasts had passed--but simultaneously gave me hope. if interest in oldweb revival had lasted long enough for these websites to exist, then surely there were still people out there with the same interests as i. it had to be that i was just looking in the wrong place.

once again, i turned to reddit. i combed that hellhole and i returned, one evening, with a lead:a link to this site. i opened it and was instantly blinded by the horrific combination of ultraviolet purple and piss yellow. i knew this was definitely the place; only the truly insane and deranged would design a website like this, let alone actively use it. i signed up for an account immediately--inflicting my presence upon you all was of the upmost priority. the admins approved me, not knowing what sort of hellish blight they had just unleashed on their forum.

and here we are.

[Memory]

[removed by author]

[Memory]

Huh? Why do you try to make joining a forum sound so sinister and edgy? I'm confused. 

[DiffydaDude]

oh my nietzche dawg you alright? i think you're taking this internet stuff too seriously. there aint no way i could understand how you see things

[gloomhaunter]

Huh? Why do you try to make joining a forum sound so sinister and edgy? I'm confused. 

i think you misunderstand—this is to be taken as lighthearted and silly

[gloomhaunter]

welcome to the forum. by the (not HTML) gods can i relate. i love your writing style :)

you might like wiby to find more creatively designed sites, but being offline has proven to be a better respite for me. it's a shame that folks who prefer face-to-face interactions are few and far between where i live. oh well, i probably wouldn't be able to follow social protocol with them either!

apologies if quoting is not the standard method of replying, i’m used to the customs of another forum that shut down awhile ago. thank you very much, haha, i try to be funny. i’m currently messing with neocities to create a personal site but i’m not quite sure what route i’m going to take for blog posts on a static site. i’ll have to ask around for suggestions.

[Melooon]

was instantly blinded by the horrific combination of ultraviolet purple and piss yellow

I can't say that this is the nicest comment I've received towards my site designs But yep you are correct that it's intentionally visually overwhelming!

I made it like that because I wanted people to question their expectations of digital design. Why is it that you associate those colours with the word "horrific"? Connecting the idea of visual noise to mental noise is actually a really interesting notion that I see people do a lot - it's part of the argument of connecting design to personality and personality to mental health.

For me, that connection between design and mental health is flawed and it does a lot of harm to people; a person should be able to design their world however they like without it being used as a point of judgment for or against them - and that's at least one reason why the forum looks the way it does

At any rate, you certainly made an entrance; so welcome 

☀︎☁︎☻→ You've Received Melon's Welcome Pack! ←☻✌︎☀︎

• If you haven't already check out the forum welcome post, and forum usage guide!
• New to website making? Here is a complete(ish) guide!
• Visit your look/layout to pick a theme and set a default colour/font for your messages!
• Feeling shy and unsure what to do? Maybe post a song you like here!
• Finally don't forget to share the forum and invite friends! We have some way cool graphics over here!

[Memory]

[removed by author]

[Bede]

But yep you are correct that it's intentionally visually overwhelming!

I made it like that because I wanted people to question their expectations of digital design. Why is it that you associate those colours with the word "horrific"? Connecting the idea of visual noise to mental noise is actually a really interesting notion that I see people do a lot ...

Wait, that's on purpose? That's, like, insanely bad accessibility practice (namely, for people with visual or sensory disabilities). There's a reason why people connect visual noise to mental noise; it's because, for people with with cognitive disabilities, that's the reality. And there's a reason why this would be considered bad digital design at first glance; because it is if you're trying to be accessible.

I'm aware that there is a more reader-friendly theme, but in order to change the theme, you need to navigate the overwhelming default one, which is all but impossible for some people. Visually-overwhelming layouts, quite literally, make a page illegible. Plus, the button to switch to the more reader-friendly theme on the layout is not clear in what it does, which is also bad accessibility practice. Around 12% of people have a cognitive disability.

I didn't say anything before because I figured that it was an accidental design choice, but since it's on purpose, I beg of you to please consider attempting to remedy these issues in some way. In the interest of not blowing up gloomhaunter's notifications (welcome, by the way! I promise that you don't get people on their soapboxes about web accessibility every day), if you have any other questions or need suggestions, you can message me!

[Melooon]

that's on purpose?

I guess you've never read the occasional intense discussion we've had about this

BUT that said; asking me to invent ways to make a site more accessible is like asking the sea how to dry laundry If you have specific suggestions that you think would help you can totally bring them up in the forum discussion threads - some are doable, some not so much, but all are considered; we've had a few already!

Design the forum in favor of making it easier to use.
Better compatibility with mobile

[DiffydaDude]

I guess you've never read the occasional intense discussion we've had about this

BUT that said; asking me to invent ways to make a site more accessible is like asking the sea how to dry laundry If you have specific suggestions that you think would help you can totally bring them up in the forum discussion threads - some are doable, some not so much, but all are considered; we've had a few already!

Design the forum in favor of making it easier to use.
Better compatibility with mobile

Mind if i send you a suggestion through DM? I have some ideas! Also yeah, i do kinda agree about accessibility being hard sometimes. It's hard to have personal expression in a website while adjusting for accessibility without taking one or the other away, it's a marginal risk

[gloomhaunter]

I can't say that this is the nicest comment I've received towards my site designs But yep you are correct that it's intentionally visually overwhelming!

I made it like that because I wanted people to question their expectations of digital design. Why is it that you associate those colours with the word "horrific"? Connecting the idea of visual noise to mental noise is actually a really interesting notion that I see people do a lot - it's part of the argument of connecting design to personality and personality to mental health.

ah my deepest apologies melon, i mean no ill will—i find this site incredibly charming. i forget that my tone is not clear without extra indication. what i meant by my comment was that the website was very bold and unapologetic, and the design was unconventional but not ugly. very cool. kind of like those “shocktop” hair dyes that you used to see in the store, if that makes sense. “i’m here! i’m me!” that’s what it said. and i liked that.

[gloomhaunter]

In the interest of not blowing up gloomhaunter's notifications (welcome, by the way! I promise that you don't get people on their soapboxes about web accessibility every day), if you have any other questions or need suggestions, you can message me!

ITS YOU! oh my god, it’s you. your website inspired me so much, you have no idea. and don’t worry, accessibility is a big interest of mine. it’s important that the web is accessible for everyone. 

[BlazingCobaltX]

Ok that was a hilarious opening post Welcome to the site

[Bede]

ITS YOU! oh my god, it’s you. your website inspired me so much, you have no idea. and don’t worry, accessibility is a big interest of mine. it’s important that the web is accessible for everyone. 

AWWWW I'M SO GLAD TO HEAR THAT!!! It's always a little wild whenever I'm recognized for my site, heheh! It makes me feel so happy that it can bring some joy to you!!