would it be a insane thing to write out your entire site code structure on paper

[candycanearter07]

hi!

so, i really need to work on refactoring and cleaning up my site, but theres so many interlocking things there that it would be really hard to just go in and start changing things, but i also feel like typing it out would be way too hard to get all the relationships sorted out.. so do you guys think that like writing everything out would be reasonable or like what would yall recommend to organize it?

for context, some of the issues ive noticed:
dumping images that are used in one page in the general assets/images/decor/ folder
dumping css rules that are used in one page in the main css file
_sass/ (jekyll is weird with how it does css) is very disorganized in general and main.scss is filled with misc stuff
z-index inflation and disorganization
inconsistency with inline and seperated files with css & js
inconsistency with what is an _include and what is a js file (jekyll feature)
generally porting a ton of assets and pages to be in the github repo and not just on the neocities server
reorganizing some pages to be inside the personal/ and oneshot/ folders and remove the forced permalink putting those on root and dealing with all the hyperlinks that breaks

[villain]

If working things out on paper is what works for you in organising other things, then you should try it here! It's your site after all It sounds like a good idea to me, you could link things together like a mind map rather than writing out a linear list which might make things easier to visualise.

[Salty]

I don't think that's a crazy idea at all! Usually, when I want to implement a new layout or page, I always write it in a notebook or make a note on my wife's iPad.    If I'm going for something more large-scale, however, I use a nifty little program called Freemind. It's a really simple mind-mapping software with a small footprint, and it's open source!

[Audball]

At the very least I think having your websites code written on paper is a massive power move. If I met someone who just gave me a binder and said "this is my website's code written with pen and paper," I'd be VERY impressed.

If you think it'd help, no shame in trying! Worst case scenario, you find out it wasn't that much help. Still a neat thing to say that you did!

[malice]

Honestly it would look kinda cool to have a notebook full of code! Also, writing out code on paper is more common than you'd think. I knew someone who took a computer science class and the teacher made them write all the code down on paper for some reason. So if it helps you just go for it! You can do whatever you want forever.

[PurpleHello98]

Honestly it would look kinda cool to have a notebook full of code! Also, writing out code on paper is more common than you'd think. I knew someone who took a computer science class and the teacher made them write all the code down on paper for some reason. So if it helps you just go for it! You can do whatever you want forever.

I know for my compsci class this semester, we at least have to write out code on paper on tests to prevent cheating and all, and also it's helpful to write down examples when taking notes during lectures.

Anyways, I think it'd be a really cool thing to do! And I think writing things down on paper does tend to help with organization, etc.---perhaps because it's more tangible?? I feel like it helps me!

[nuclearblues]

it could be a useful utility when it comes to checking for typos or mistakes. if I were to do this, I'd probably get a 3-ring binder so that I could shuffle pages around for organization purposes rather than a stream of consciousness. it could also be a decent contingency plan if you were struck by a heinous series of misfortunes that deleted any digital record of your code.

[Oceansandy02]

I have not tried it yet, but I think it could work for small pieces of code, so that you can remember what the code does. For all I know, it could work for people! It could also be a good idea to draw what you want your website to look like, so that you know what you are looking for when working on css.

[kzuich]

Not at all. In fact, it might make you a better coder. I wrote my code on an Alphasmart and then in regular ol' Notepad before I ever moved on to Notepad++. I learned by just troubleshooting my mistakes, getting in the habit of closing tags, etc., and I think it's made me more cautious and cognizant of what I'm doing and why.

I do a lot of mockups of ideas and such on paper and it really helps me to visualize what I'm doing. If that's what works for you, then go for it.