My new Website/Classified Forum

[The Madd Hatter]

Hiya Folks!

I've finally started to put up a semblance of a site! Its a work in
progress, but I'm working on it almost daily right now. Since this is the
group that contributed the most to my knowledge of the cichlid hobby, I
thought I'd post the link here to let people take a look and post some
feedback....

Please note, you will links that are replicated in a few instances in the
Navigation menu. I just haven't decided which way to go on those pages yet.
so I'll be doing it both ways till i can pick one. Any advice would be
appreciated.

Please note the Free Links section in particular. It is up and running and I
encourage you to use it to post your useful hobby related links, for the
benefit of all. It will let you pick the category your link should be listed
under. I'm still trying to decide the final list of categories, so please
feel free to make suggestions.

Lastly, for now, anyway, I have put up a Classified Board for hobbyists to
post their livestock and wares. You have the ability to post a pic and a
website link in your ad as well, to avoid all the hassles of having to email
pics to all and sundry.

As soon as I decide on the method I'm going to use to display my own pics, I
will also add a section for users to post their own pics as well, for those
who would like to be able to post a link here in the NG instead of having to
post the pics on a biniary NG.

Anyway, the link is listed below, enjoy!!!!

http://www.freewebs.com/maddhattercichlids/index.htm

[Alan Silver]

In article
e.rogers.com>, The
Madd Hatter > writes
>As soon as I decide on the method I'm going to use to display my own
>pics, I will also add a section for users to post their own pics as
>well, for those who would like to be able to post a link here in the NG
>instead of having to post the pics on a biniary NG.

Site looks good so far, although some of the colours are a little hard
to read.

My main comment is about the websalbum. I know it's a cute slideshow
idea, but I would prefer thumbnails of the pictures, linked to bigger
images. The slideshow doesn't allow you to see what's there without
going through them all. It also doesn't fit in a maximised browser
running an 800x600 (not here anyway).

Hope this is helpful. Keep working, it looks like a good start.

--
Alan Silver

[The Madd Hatter]

Thanx forthe feedback Alan!. I know what you mean about the colors. I'm
adjusting them now. The links page in particular was hurting my eyes!

I'm going to scrap the webs album.. I just addedanother link to a Photo
Center type layout where I can organize the pics into sections easier, w/
thumbnail views. It also allows forusers to submit pics as well. I don't
have any images in it yet, but try uploading sdomething and letmeknow how it
works out.

Thanx

Madd

"Alan Silver"
> wrote in
message ...
> In article
> e.rogers.com>, The
> Madd Hatter > writes
> >As soon as I decide on the method I'm going to use to display my own
> >pics, I will also add a section for users to post their own pics as
> >well, for those who would like to be able to post a link here in the NG
> >instead of having to post the pics on a biniary NG.
>
> Site looks good so far, although some of the colours are a little hard
> to read.
>
> My main comment is about the websalbum. I know it's a cute slideshow
> idea, but I would prefer thumbnails of the pictures, linked to bigger
> images. The slideshow doesn't allow you to see what's there without
> going through them all. It also doesn't fit in a maximised browser
> running an 800x600 (not here anyway).
>
> Hope this is helpful. Keep working, it looks like a good start.
>
> --
> Alan Silver
>

[Alan Silver]

In article
e.rogers.com>, The
Madd Hatter > writes
>Thanx forthe feedback Alan!. I know what you mean about the colors. I'm
>adjusting them now. The links page in particular was hurting my eyes!

;-)

>I'm going to scrap the webs album.. I just addedanother link to a Photo
>Center type layout where I can organize the pics into sections easier,
>w/ thumbnail views. It also allows forusers to submit pics as well. I
>don't have any images in it yet, but try uploading sdomething and
>letmeknow how it works out.

Just uploaded a very exciting picture of a rock wall. Worked fine.

--
Alan Silver

[The Madd Hatter]

Great!! I putit in the section for Tank setups... (Is this a wall from a
tank btw? )
"Alan Silver"
> wrote in
message ...
> In article
> e.rogers.com>, The
> Madd Hatter > writes
> >Thanx forthe feedback Alan!. I know what you mean about the colors. I'm
> >adjusting them now. The links page in particular was hurting my eyes!
>
> ;-)
>
> >I'm going to scrap the webs album.. I just addedanother link to a Photo
> >Center type layout where I can organize the pics into sections easier,
> >w/ thumbnail views. It also allows forusers to submit pics as well. I
> >don't have any images in it yet, but try uploading sdomething and
> >letmeknow how it works out.
>
> Just uploaded a very exciting picture of a rock wall. Worked fine.
>
> --
> Alan Silver
>

[Alan Silver]

In article
e.rogers.com>, The
Madd Hatter > writes
>Great!! I putit in the section for Tank setups... (Is this a wall from
>a
>tank btw? )

No, it's a bit of wall near where I live. I photographed it to use as a
model for a fake wall I was building.

--
Alan Silver

[Bob]

why is right click is disabled in the photo area?

I was trying to paste something into a textbox and it beeped at me.

"The Madd Hatter" > wrote in message
.cable.rogers.com...
> Hiya Folks!
>
> I've finally started to put up a semblance of a site! Its a work in
> progress, but I'm working on it almost daily right now. Since this is the
> group that contributed the most to my knowledge of the cichlid hobby, I
> thought I'd post the link here to let people take a look and post some
> feedback....
>
> Please note, you will links that are replicated in a few instances in the
> Navigation menu. I just haven't decided which way to go on those pages
yet.
> so I'll be doing it both ways till i can pick one. Any advice would be
> appreciated.
>
> Please note the Free Links section in particular. It is up and running and
I
> encourage you to use it to post your useful hobby related links, for the
> benefit of all. It will let you pick the category your link should be
listed
> under. I'm still trying to decide the final list of categories, so please
> feel free to make suggestions.
>
> Lastly, for now, anyway, I have put up a Classified Board for hobbyists to
> post their livestock and wares. You have the ability to post a pic and a
> website link in your ad as well, to avoid all the hassles of having to
email
> pics to all and sundry.
>
> As soon as I decide on the method I'm going to use to display my own pics,
I
> will also add a section for users to post their own pics as well, for
those
> who would like to be able to post a link here in the NG instead of having
to
> post the pics on a biniary NG.
>
> Anyway, the link is listed below, enjoy!!!!
>
> http://www.freewebs.com/maddhattercichlids/index.htm
>
>

[RedForeman ©®]

copyrighted material can be partially protected by those who don't know how
to view source, copy and pasted the line of where the picture is into a new
browser, and get the picture outside the script...

--

RedForeman ©®





"Bob" > wrote in message
...
> why is right click is disabled in the photo area?
>
> I was trying to paste something into a textbox and it beeped at me.
>
> "The Madd Hatter" > wrote in message
> .cable.rogers.com...
> > Hiya Folks!
> >
> > I've finally started to put up a semblance of a site! Its a work in
> > progress, but I'm working on it almost daily right now. Since this is
the
> > group that contributed the most to my knowledge of the cichlid hobby, I
> > thought I'd post the link here to let people take a look and post some
> > feedback....
> >
> > Please note, you will links that are replicated in a few instances in
the
> > Navigation menu. I just haven't decided which way to go on those pages
> yet.
> > so I'll be doing it both ways till i can pick one. Any advice would be
> > appreciated.
> >
> > Please note the Free Links section in particular. It is up and running
and
> I
> > encourage you to use it to post your useful hobby related links, for the
> > benefit of all. It will let you pick the category your link should be
> listed
> > under. I'm still trying to decide the final list of categories, so
please
> > feel free to make suggestions.
> >
> > Lastly, for now, anyway, I have put up a Classified Board for hobbyists
to
> > post their livestock and wares. You have the ability to post a pic and a
> > website link in your ad as well, to avoid all the hassles of having to
> email
> > pics to all and sundry.
> >
> > As soon as I decide on the method I'm going to use to display my own
pics,
> I
> > will also add a section for users to post their own pics as well, for
> those
> > who would like to be able to post a link here in the NG instead of
having
> to
> > post the pics on a biniary NG.
> >
> > Anyway, the link is listed below, enjoy!!!!
> >
> > http://www.freewebs.com/maddhattercichlids/index.htm
> >
> >
>
>

[Alan Silver]

In article >, Bob
> writes
>why is right click is disabled in the photo area?
>
>I was trying to paste something into a textbox and it beeped at me.

It's a very poor attempt at protecting the images. Fails miserably,
especially in IE6+ which has a little toolbar that appears when your
mouse is over an image. One of the buttons is to save the image. Anyone
who doesn't know how to get the image any other way could get it through
this toolbar.

In the meantime, these sorts of attempts at protection continue to annoy
the rest of us who are trying to use the machine in the normal way.

Madd Hatter - please remove this script. It's a waste of time and is
going to annoy people. No point in spoiling a good start with it.

--
Alan Silver

[The Madd Hatter]

Sorry Guys!

I didn't even realize that it was in there. I didn't code the section
mysyelf; its actually a template.... I'm gonna look in to it right now.

Cheers!

Madd

"Alan Silver"
> wrote in
message ...
> In article >, Bob
> > writes
> >why is right click is disabled in the photo area?
> >
> >I was trying to paste something into a textbox and it beeped at me.
>
> It's a very poor attempt at protecting the images. Fails miserably,
> especially in IE6+ which has a little toolbar that appears when your
> mouse is over an image. One of the buttons is to save the image. Anyone
> who doesn't know how to get the image any other way could get it through
> this toolbar.
>
> In the meantime, these sorts of attempts at protection continue to annoy
> the rest of us who are trying to use the machine in the normal way.
>
> Madd Hatter - please remove this script. It's a waste of time and is
> going to annoy people. No point in spoiling a good start with it.
>
> --
> Alan Silver
>

[The Madd Hatter]

should be corrected now


"Alan Silver"
> wrote in
message ...
> In article >, Bob
> > writes
> >why is right click is disabled in the photo area?
> >
> >I was trying to paste something into a textbox and it beeped at me.
>
> It's a very poor attempt at protecting the images. Fails miserably,
> especially in IE6+ which has a little toolbar that appears when your
> mouse is over an image. One of the buttons is to save the image. Anyone
> who doesn't know how to get the image any other way could get it through
> this toolbar.
>
> In the meantime, these sorts of attempts at protection continue to annoy
> the rest of us who are trying to use the machine in the normal way.
>
> Madd Hatter - please remove this script. It's a waste of time and is
> going to annoy people. No point in spoiling a good start with it.
>
> --
> Alan Silver
>

[Alan Silver]

In article
e.rogers.com>, The
Madd Hatter > writes
>should be corrected now

Jolly good.

I would just like to say that I am impressed with the responsible
attitude you have taken to this site. I have seen quite a few people
post links to sites here and they get very narky about any comments
other than "Oh I love it to bits". You seem to be genuinely interested
in making a good site. This probably means that you will succeed ;-)

--
Alan Silver

[Amateur]

"Alan Silver" >
wrote in message ...
>
> Jolly good.
>
> I would just like to say that I am impressed with the responsible
> attitude you have taken to this site. I have seen quite a few people
> post links to sites here and they get very narky about any comments
> other than "Oh I love it to bits". You seem to be genuinely interested
> in making a good site. This probably means that you will succeed ;-)
>
> --
> Alan Silver
>

Alan,
As a website owner, I'd just like to say, many people respond differently to
criticism. Many times it depends on how the criticism is being given. It's hard
to convey an attitude or tone over email. So sometimes, harmless comments come
across as arrogant or down right rude. In the end, if someone is spending time
working on a site to give out information and not gaining any personal profit
from it, then they're just doing it to help new people in the hobby from making
the same mistakes they might have made. At least that's why I do it.
I may seem defensive here, but a month or two ago, I myself got what you'd
call "narky" after a couple posts back and forth on my forum. I was receptive
and understanding for the first post, but the reply to that post just set me
off. The reply I received back was obnoxious and made out of ignorance.
Ignorance in itself isn't a bad thing, but this person was arrogant about it. So
my reply was less than nice. ;-) So hopefully before you dub someone as
unwilling to take criticism, you're looking at the context of the whole.
AC

[Alan Silver]

>Alan,
> As a website owner, I'd just like to say, many people respond
>differently to
>criticism. Many times it depends on how the criticism is being given. It's hard
>to convey an attitude or tone over email. So sometimes, harmless comments come
>across as arrogant or down right rude. In the end, if someone is spending time
>working on a site to give out information and not gaining any personal profit
>from it, then they're just doing it to help new people in the hobby from making
>the same mistakes they might have made. At least that's why I do it.
> I may seem defensive here, but a month or two ago, I myself got what you'd
>call "narky" after a couple posts back and forth on my forum. I was receptive
>and understanding for the first post, but the reply to that post just set me
>off. The reply I received back was obnoxious and made out of ignorance.
>Ignorance in itself isn't a bad thing, but this person was arrogant
>about it. So
>my reply was less than nice. ;-) So hopefully before you dub someone as
>unwilling to take criticism, you're looking at the context of the whole.

Unquestionably ;-)

I am a web site designer, so I understand exactly what you mean.

My comments were aimed more at the clueless "Hey I've just created a web
site" brigade who use every dumb trick in the book (other than decent
design of course) and expect everyone to go flocking to their site, even
though it doesn't contain anything of the slightest use.

When someone creates a site of value, then it is a different ball game
altogether. When that someone is interested in feedback, even if some is
negative, then that is a very good sign.

I completely agree about the obnoxious feedback, I just ignore them. If
someone can't make the effort (or doesn't feel confident enough about
their own opinions) to make the feedback in a pleasant way, then it's
probably not feedback of any value. Anyone who actually cares enough to
give feedback in order to help the site owner make a better site will
probably take care to make sure the feedback is accepted. That usually
means being pleasant about it.

End of waffle ;-)

--
Alan Silver

[The Madd Hatter]

Thanx Alan!

Its hard to judge your own work when you're putting a site together, and I'm
by no means an expert in that area. I figured if I'm going through al that
effort to build it for a specific group of people to view, I might as well
ensure that it will be something they Will enjoy using. So far, I have only
had constructive criticism, accompanied by great suggestions. Most I've
implemented. Seems to be on the right track so far!

One thing that was annoying me about my site actually, was the long,
annoying URL. Since I'm using a free web service, I figured I was stuck w/
it, but I finally found a redirect service that would also mask all portions
of my site. My new URL is http://maddhattercichlids.no-ip.com
Hopefully it will be a lot easier to remember!

Cheers!

Madd Hatter


"Alan Silver"
> wrote in
message ...
> In article
> e.rogers.com>, The
> Madd Hatter > writes
> >should be corrected now
>
> Jolly good.
>
> I would just like to say that I am impressed with the responsible
> attitude you have taken to this site. I have seen quite a few people
> post links to sites here and they get very narky about any comments
> other than "Oh I love it to bits". You seem to be genuinely interested
> in making a good site. This probably means that you will succeed ;-)
>
> --
> Alan Silver
>

[Alan Silver]

In article
e.rogers.com>, The
Madd Hatter > writes
>Its hard to judge your own work when you're putting a site together,
>and I'm by no means an expert in that area.

Believe me I know - I'm a professional web designer !!

<snip>
>One thing that was annoying me about my site actually, was the long,
>annoying URL. Since I'm using a free web service, I figured I was stuck
>w/ it, but I finally found a redirect service that would also mask all
>portions of my site. My new URL is http://maddhattercichlids.no-ip.com
>Hopefully it will be a lot easier to remember!

Hmm, not sure this is such a great idea. You lose the ability to direct
people o a specific page as the URL showing in the browser never
changes. Also, you now have pop-up ads which really annoy most people.

I wouldn't worry about a long URL as most of the time people will either
click on it in your sig, or choose it from their favourites. I don't
imagine people would have to type it in very often.

--
Alan Silver