Hello, Melonland!

[Semper]

(This is a piece of art I did for a blog post on my personal website. It is of a small brown dog walking happily through a field of flowers with the lead of its leash in its mouth.)

Hello, Melonland!

Since finding out about the small web / the web revival / the indie web back at the start of 2022 I had felt a yearning for the freedom of expression that a personal website affords. I had not realized what I was missing out on until I saw it right in front of me.

I felt a similar way upon finding this forum and being reminded that there are other ways to socialize on the web that can be enjoyable and engaging.

I had used forums in the past, which consisted mainly of the Neoboards on Neopets as well as the odd video game forum, but I fell off of this mode of socializing once social media became the norm and stuck fast as my main online experience. I am happy to be using a forum again, and the one you all have here for Melonland looked like a very fun place from where I was lurking.

I might do more lurking despite finally being accepted in, since I still have much to refresh myself on forum culture.

Regardless, I wanted to say hello on my first day.

Also, to feed into my love of personal websites on the small web, what is something you're looking forward to adding to your website?

[Phoenix]

I still need to learn how to make a website at all lol, I have never done any website code before

[Semper]

I still need to learn how to make a website at all lol, I have never done any website code before

From my experience the first step is often the hardest. I didn't touch my website for almost a year before I started properly building something out of it. But I also learned that it's alright to go slow with a small handcrafted personal website, and what more it's alright to go back and fix any past mistakes I might have made. A website is a living thing.

I wish you the best in your first step. I'm sure there are plenty of people on this forum who have resources to help you start your coding adventure, but if you like I can link a couple of them that had helped me immensely.

I also realized in my icebreaker question I had not shared what I was looking forward to with my own website, haha. I'm looking forward to getting more of my art galleries set up, in particular my Critter Corner which will house my adoption centre.

[Paprika]

Hello and welcome to MelonLand forum !

It's a really chill place, I perfectly understand your feeling of coming back to something less fast and less disruptive. I believe a lot of people came here for the same reason and you should be happy around here !

[Misanthropic Monster™]

Welcome :)

I agree, there is a lot of freedom of expression in having your own website/digital space! I remember how much better the internet really was back in the '90s when you had forums, e-groups, web rings, MUDs and MUCKs, communities... I made real connections back then online and now it all feels hollow and artificial. I loathe how everything is centralised and forced into a handful of restrictive social media platforms. The internet has become a very ugly and cold place and so finding MelonLand and all the webcore web revivalists warmed my heart in ways I'd not thought possible for years.

Also your doggy drawing is very sweet :)

[Phoenix]

From my experience the first step is often the hardest. I didn't touch my website for almost a year before I started properly building something out of it. But I also learned that it's alright to go slow with a small handcrafted personal website, and what more it's alright to go back and fix any past mistakes I might have made. A website is a living thing.

I wish you the best in your first step. I'm sure there are plenty of people on this forum who have resources to help you start your coding adventure, but if you like I can link a couple of them that had helped me immensely.

I also realized in my icebreaker question I had not shared what I was looking forward to with my own website, haha. I'm looking forward to getting more of my art galleries set up, in particular my Critter Corner which will house my adoption centre.

Oooh critter corner sounds fun

[Semper]

Hello and welcome to MelonLand forum !

It's a really chill place, I perfectly understand your feeling of coming back to something less fast and less disruptive. I believe a lot of people came here for the same reason and you should be happy around here !

Thank you for the warm welcome. Yeah I definitely want to embrace the slow process of getting to know this place, and I'm glad so many people feel the same.

Welcome :)

I agree, there is a lot of freedom of expression in having your own website/digital space! I remember how much better the internet really was back in the '90s when you had forums, e-groups, web rings, MUDs and MUCKs, communities... I made real connections back then online and now it all feels hollow and artificial. I loathe how everything is centralised and forced into a handful of restrictive social media platforms. The internet has become a very ugly and cold place and so finding MelonLand and all the webcore web revivalists warmed my heart in ways I'd not thought possible for years.

Also your doggy drawing is very sweet :)

Thank you! It's kinda like my fursona (I've got a couple, but they aren't as fleshed out). I agree with you on how webcore has been a nice breath of fresh air after a decade of platforms feeling like that was all there was. I look forward to making good slow thoughtful connections again.

Oooh critter corner sounds fun

Thank you! I can't wait to get it done this year.