Maddox was right, to a degree

Sunday Jul 17th 2005

I recently read Maddox’s latest article (link). He started firing off about certain internet-only words/phrases that bug him to one degree or another. Some points I agree with, some I don’t.

I didn’t even know what the word blog meant until my 77th post. Is my site a “blog”? I don’t know. Call it whatever you want. It’s true there are some parts of my site labeled as “blog”, but not many.

Maddox seems to be targeting political blogs, mostly. He complains about the really skinny micro-text sized layouts, and any word that has blog in it, such as Warblog, Blogosphere, videoblog and so on.

I would agree that some blog sites use fonts that are way too small or unreadable. This is the reason I offer themes (a special huge-font “Maddox” version is available). However, the one thing Maddox forgot (possibly on purpose) is that you don’t have to read a blog via its web site. You can use something called feeds, like RSS, XML, ATOM and so on - something that Maddox’s site doesn’t even offer (which he could very easily - he is a programmer). If the layout of a site doesn’t float your boat, use a feed. Free software is readily available to read feeds, like Mozilla Thunderbird. Since Maddox openly admits in his FAQ (yes, he does use the word “FAQ” expecting you to know what it means) that bandwidth is an issue, wouldn’t it make sense to offer a feed?

I agree that some blog sites plug things way too much. The reason for visiting any blog site should be its content. Nothing more, nothing less. If you start polluting your pages with links to Amazon, other blogs, advertisements and so on, your site will start to suck - and fast. I see it this way: If you want links to other sites, make a links page.

I disagree with Maddox’s definition of podcasting. Podcasting is not just streaming audio. It’s a broadcast feed subscribed via RSS. Streaming audio is only part of the definition. Read all about it here.

I agree that anyone who pronounces URL as “erl” should be tarred and feathered. URL is not a word. It’s an abbreviation for Uniform Resource Locator. It’s a short-short version for those who can’t bear to say the phrase “web address”.

Small semi-related note: If someone asks me for a web address, I will state it to them as [site].com, such as guitari.st, to which they always reply “Is there a www dot in front of that?” Um.. NO, that’s why I didn’t say it in the first place, you retard. 99.999999% of web sites do not require the “www dot” as you call it. Web domains can be loaded without the obligatory WWW in front of them.

I agree that the term “webmistress” is outright stupid. Yes, it’s true, female webmasters who use this self-appointed title are usually uppity and bitchy as all hell. I’ve run into a few of them in my day. They’re all the same. Most webmasters that are true to their craft only go by one title: “Site Administrator” or just a shortened “admin” - whether male or female. The title for an administrator should not denote gender whatsoever in my opinion.

I do 100% agree that Xanga blogs are at the bottom of the barrel. Here is an actual post from a recently updated Xanga blog. I’m not linking it, because this kid doesn’t need promotion, trust me. Oh, one more thing - I did not edit any of it. I copied/pasted right from that other blog to here.

Hey yall watz ^ me n/m just bein bored..newayz i woke up around 12:30 lol thats waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy to l8 for me ..Then around 2:15 i was gonna mow the lanw but my dad already started and im too tired rite now lol im lazy..Newayz i mite go over to kyles today i dont know.I tlked to ashley yesterday for liek 1 minute but she had to go to her bday dinner.So newayz all i did yesterday was pretty much nutin just sittin on the computer…Are cable got shutoff cuz were tryin to save a little money for kansas city so i dont have no cable lol and i luv my tv.But its freakin hott outside rite now so i mite chill inside lol.Hope u like the new song its by saliva.CLICK CLICK BOOM!!! lol well i guess im gonna go tlk on the computer some more since i got nutin to do..ttyl bye!
I <33 Ashley
EDITTTTT~!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lol i changed my song again.newayz i went over to kyles house and hung out with him and zach so that was pretty cool now im home so i guess i will ttyl bye!
I <33 u Ashley

Holy SHIT is that hard to read. Ugh.

–edit–

Here’s a translation of the above with all errors fixed for the “elite” impaired:

yall = Misspelled Y’all (Texas slang for You all)

watz = Misspelled what’s or what is

^ = Supposed to be up

n/m = Supposed to be nevermind

bein = Misspelled being

neways = Misspelled anyways, which should be anyway in non-plural form

lol = Internet abbreviation for laughing out loud

l8 = Abbreviated late

lanw = Misspelled lawn

rite = Should be right. “Rite” and “Right” are two completely separate and different things.

im = Missing punctuation for I’m which is I am

kyles = Friend’s name without proper apostrophe indicating possession, such as Kyle’s house

i = Improper capitalization for what should be I

tlked = Misspelled talked

liek = Misspelled like

bday = Non-existent abbreviation of birthday

nutin = Misspelled nothing

sittin = Misspelled sitting

shutoff = This is two words, not one. It should be shut off

cuz = Misspelled cause which is the wrong word. It should be because

were = Missing apostrophe indicating proper contraction. Were and We’re are two different things. Were indicates past tense, such as “There were two apples here.” We’re is a contraction of “We are”, such as “We’re going to the movies tonight.”

kansas city = Missing capitalization indicating proper town name. In this case, it should have been Kansas City, Missouri.

luv = Misspelled love. Luv is a model of a Chevrolet pickup truck.

freakin = Misspelled freaking

hott = Misspelled hot

mite = Should be might. Mite and Might are two completely separate and different things.

u = Misspelled you

tlk = Misspelled talk

ttyl = Internet abbreviation for “Talk to you later.”

<3 = Internet representation of a heart, placed sideways.

For those keeping score, that’s 20 errors, not including the abysmal grammar. It’s great to see our school system is teaching our kids so well, isn’t it?

Maddox says lastly “I hate blogs”. Yeah, we all do to some degree. Some are good, some are bad, some are awful… but at least it gives us something to read. Just don’t read Xanga blogs. They’re awful.

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