Now my second rant is going to take on a topic that has been bothering me lately with the internet and websites I visit. The purpose of a website should be what it is rather than what it looks like, and what it looks like should take the "multi-platform phenomenon" into account. Although I have seen problems with both these issues in almost any type of site, they seem to run most rampant in fan sites, such as the ones I frequent for various anime series, including Sailor Moon.

First of all, form should follow function in everything from furniture to the internet. A pretty site full of frames and JavaScripts but has maybe a few sentences on each "page" does not hold the viewer's interest for long. Neither does a site that is so artistic with it's layout that it is hard to figure out the navigation. Even though work must have gone into such sites to make the graphics and arrange them such, in the end what is the point? They have missed the FUNCTION of the internet: content.

Content should be the backbone of any site, since it is what peaks interest and holds it, even prompting visitors to keep coming back for more. And, this content can take the form of many things, depending upon the desires of the creator and the subject the site itself represents. Given a manga-based site, you would expect to find such things as character or story descriptions, while an anime-based site my have more complicated multimedia like music and video. But, whatever type of content the site has, it should have enough to take some time to go through it all.

Another form of content that sites should have at least some of is interactivity. Unlike other mediums of communication (from books to television) the internet is unique in the ability of the viewer to use the medium through anything from forms to send in opinions to polls to guestbooks. But, even just a posted email address for the webmaster, a guestbook, or a short quiz adds just a touch of the user coming in contact with the site or site creator.

Just one more thing irks me about the content of websites. Because of the nature of the internet, there is the possibility of obtaining up-to-the-minute information. Unlike books where new editions takes years to come, websites can update monthly, weekly, daily, or even hourly. In most cases, anime websites updating at least every other month is enough, especially once it is well-established with content. I feel there are only a few cases where a website should be completely "dead" and even just a bi-yearly cleaning up of a links list would not be bad.

But, even with good content, a website can have poor form, that is so artistic, it is difficult to figure out how to get around. For this, I think I will illustrate with one of my favorite examples, Manga Style. A few versions back, there was a layout based around a television picture and dials to go to various sections. After a few tries, I got bored with trying to figure out how to find specific portions of the site which are ones I like to view, like manga images. But, a few months later, I tried back, and there was a completely new look. There was a tight, consistent layout with every link listed on the main page, separated by section. I explored the site for weeks in depth, and continue to visit today, more than a year later. And, a newer layout has been implemented since. Still easy to navigate, the new version employs scripts to view links by section and frames to make it a pretty, and fast-loading experience. That is why Manga Style is now one of my favorite Sailor Moon sites.

Even with good form and good content, one more thing must be taken into consideration for a website. Form may follow function, but the ability to function is sometimes determined by the form. ~.^ In other words, please keep in mind that the internet is a "Multi-Platform Phenomenon"! Unlike a medium where it works for everyone you are communicating to, the internet has such a variety of where and how it is viewed, which I think is one of it's most interesting aspects. Not only do people get online on various computers, there are also a variety of browsers from which to choose. (Although the big ones are Netscape and Internet Explorer, with AOL and WebTV in there as well.) I think one of the things that irks me the most when coming to a site is their inability to function on most of the platforms out there. Even just a message of "IE recommended, Netscape users be warned!" will annoy me. Sometimes I am in a situation where I cannot choose which browser I am on, if it is at work or at the library, or on my parent's computer. So, am I supposed to not view the site at all? Do I have to put up with it looking horrible? Not loading all the content?

And, I must admit that sometimes I am in one of the smallest minorities online. About half the time I am surfing the internet on a Macintosh G3 with Netscape on a monitor with a resolution of 1152 by 870. Crazy, ne? Well, first of all, being on a mac changes 2 main things: the default background color is medium grey instead of white. So, if you don't set a BACKGROUND=WHITE in that BODY tag, it looks pretty bad on my end. And, for some reason, macs tend to view text alot differently, making it much smaller. So, if it's small and cute on a pc, I am straining my already contact-wearing eyes just to make out what you are saying. Sometimes I copy and paste the text into Simpletext to read it, but most of the time I just move on, going to a site I can actually read.

So, I think my message in the end is this: if your website does not have the content and usability for most people to access and enjoy it, you are losing out on at least some of your audience. Because I for one like something to come back for, and being able to read what it is in the first place.

Rant written March 2001