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About the web:
- Web-pages with color schemes or background patterns
that make the text unreadable.
(Actually, when one is browsing in ``black and white'' --
as I used to have to do --
certain color schemes can cause the text to completely disappear!)
For a long, long time, I avoided color schemes on my own pages,
but I finally broken down and introduced color into my
Melissa Joan Hart Pages.
The colors have been carefully chosen, however,
so I don't think there should be any problem.
I'm still avoiding using background images or patterns.
- Server-push and client-pull (unless it's
something really useful).
- Sites that send 150 cookies.
(I used to have my browser ask for confirmation before setting cookies.)
- Most implementations of frames.
(As usual, there are exceptions.)
- Most implementations of Java applets and Javascript.
- Javascripts that screw around with Netscape's status bar.
(That's where the URL is displayed
when you position the pointer over a link.)
- Useless, useless, useless embedded MIDI files (i.e., any and all of them).
- Links that no longer work.
- That some of the older links I have on my pages
(to other web-sites, I mean) no longer work.
- Links that unexpectedly open up a new browser window.
I know how to open a new window for a link
and can do it for myself if I want to.
- Sites that make you register with a password,
even though they're otherwise totally free.
The only purpose of a password in such a case
is to cause you to not be able to access the site when you forget it.
So what's the point?
- When large, useful sites change their URL schemes
so you have to change all your bookmarks and/or links to them.
(The
Internet Movie Database
used to do this all the time in its early web days.)
- When large, useful sites switch to Javascript-based navigation
so you can't bookmark or link to individual pages at all anymore.
(A recent, quite egregious example:
All Music Guide.)
Note to web designers:
Today's Javascript-based navigation
is yesterday's frames-based navigation.
It's totally screwing up the ``ease of use'' of your sites.
Stop it now.
- Pages with a lot of commercial advertising.
(Unless it's at a commercial site, of course.)
- Pop-up ads.
All of them.
Without exception.
- Database-type sites (i.e., music/video sites)
that don't have a search capability or don't have an easy way
to link to their pages.
- That I still haven't added a search box to each of my
Melissa Joan Hart Pages
(like I did on
the homepage
of the whole site).
- Pages that haven't been updated since the last ice age.
(Of course, there are some pages that don't need to be updated,
but those are pretty rare.)
- That most my pages haven't been updated since the last ice age.
- Pages with too many images or too much Javascript,
so they take forever to load.
(Are you getting the feeling I don't like Javascript?
That's not really true.
I just don't like bonehead uses/implementations of it.)
- The Mosaic web-browser.
Specific reasons just too numerous to list.
(This one shows you how old some of these peeves are!)
- Those pesky little issues in Netscape 6.2
that make me not want to switch over to it completely.
(I mainly use Netscape 4.79 for browsing and e-mail because of that,
and the fact that Netscape 7 doesn't have a Windows 95 version.
Oh, my poor, ancient computer!)
- When I find a mistake on one of my pages.
- When I spend all day browsing the web and updating my web-site
(although the latter rarely happens anymore)
instead of doing things I need to do.
- Too much stuff!
(Okay, I guess I wouldn't prefer the alternative.)
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About e-mail / mailing lists / newsgroups:
- When people quote your entire message in their response.
- When people don't quote any of your message in their response.
- When people don't respond at all!
- When people don't know how to subscribe and unsubscribe to mailing lists.
- When people don't know how to behave on mailing lists.
- People who flame or troll for flames.
- Spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam,
spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam,
spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam,
spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam,
spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam.....
- I happen to be just fine with the length of my penis, thank you
(see previous entry).
About things on TV:
- How ``entertainment newsmagazine'' shows
like Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood
refer to actors who play the title role on a TV show by the character name --
e.g., ``Ally McBeal'' instead of Calista Flockhart
or ``Sabrina'' instead of Melissa Joan Hart.
- ``Talking heads'' who can't
get the singular and plural forms of certain words right
(only applies to native speakers of English, of course).
Look...
an exceptional thing or occurrence is ``a phenomenon'' not ``a phenomena'';
two or more such things are not ``phenomenons'', they're ``phenomena''.
(When using the word to refer to exceptional people,
it's okay to use ``phenomenons'', but that's rarely done anyway.)
Television is ``a medium'' not ``a media''
(or you could say it's part of ``the media'');
and the plural of ``medium'' is not ``mediums'',
unless, again, you're talking about people.
Finally, the word ``data'' is plural; the singular form is ``datum''
(but no one ever uses ``datum'',
so I just say ``data point'' or ``data value'').
- And speaking of English errors,
``whence'' already means ``from where'', so ``from whence'' is redundant.
- Giving out that web address on the air?
It's NOT ``backslash'' or ``reverse-slash'',
it's ``forward-slash'' (or, please, just ``slash'').
- How TV stations never, ever, ever do
``breaking news'' or ``severe weather'' reports
during commercial breaks.
They always time it perfectly so they finish the report
just in time to go to the commercials.
- Local TV affiliates who think a little rain is reason enough
to splash a warning bug across the screen
or even preempt overnight programming for endless hours of Doppler radar.
- Oh, and speaking of TV bugs, TV bugs.
About people in general and other things:
- People who think I'm weird for liking the TV show
Clarissa Explains It All.
Jeez... lighten up, people!
- People who think I'm some kind of stalker just because I have a huge
Melissa Joan Hart web-site.
(E! Online actually linked a
review of my web-site
to
an article on stalkers!
They removed the link after I complained.)
- People who drive below the speed limit.
- That new CDs are so expensive.
- That most people apparently are willing to pay such high CD prices
that there's no incentive to sell them cheaper.
(Personally, I'm averaging around $9.10 per CD.)
- That every used CD place I've ever started patronizing regularly
eventually goes under.
(As a result I have to get most of my CDs nowadays from clubs.)
- Lots of things related to the ``position of women in society'':
the salary gap; underrepresentation in the highest levels
of business, politics and the media;
epidemic levels of violence against women;
etc....
- That I haven't done anything about it.
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