30 December, 1999
Today in
15 Minutes, an exclusive
interview with web artist S.M. Moalie, creator of
Photomontage.com and other unabashedly non-commercial sites.
29 December, 1999
Tomorrow: a very special interview in
15 Minutes.
28 December, 1999
Dave Linabury
(Davezilla.com) pointed us to an online
petition to ban internet taxes. Might be a lost cause, but it's probably worth signing anyway. We did.
Little
Dan has the sniffles. Send him a
get well note.
Web authors, have you updated your
copyright notices yet? Only three more shopping days 'til the End of the Worl– ... er, 'til the year 2000. Give your site that "modern" edge! Call it 2000
today.
26 December, 1999
There's a new
Letter of the Month in the
Guest Book. Happy Cog Productions is in full swing, except for the fact that we don't have a company site yet (we're too busy with client projects). Changes are also pending at The Web Standards Project – no link yet, because, as we said, the changes are
pending. In short, we are swimming in a sea of possibilities. Not a bad way to greet the millennium.
The new issue of
Digital Web Magazine sports a feature story called
e-tailer or e-failure, a tutorial on effective
mailing list writing, and an
interview with two of our favorite web designers (and yours), toke and mschmidt.
People sometimes ask why the makers of
A List Apart would support a "competitor" like
Digital Web (or why
k10k would support
Shift, why
0sil8 would support
Glassdog, etc.). The truth is, there's no competition. It's all good. The larger truth is that, if there is any competition, it is between the many makers of independent websites and the large corporate sites that control (or pay fees) to the big portals – thus blocking many people's awareness of all but their own well-funded sites.
The big sites have money, but the independent sites have talent, depth, and idealism. The big sites have advertising, but the independents have links – and links are the building blocks of the web. There is room enough for all, but mutual support is needed to keep the web healthy for all sites, not just well-heeled ones.
The independent content producer refuses to die.
25 December, 1999
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and thanks to all who sent cards, notes, images, and personal undergarments. In a few more days, we all have to update our copyrights. Create happiness around you and be happy.
Released
A List Apart Digest No. 211, on the topics of large-scale content management systems; correcting for gamma between Macs and PCs; and CSS function naming. We love this stuff and you do too. ALA digest is free.
Join us.
24 December, 1999
In this week's issue of
A List Apart: Online journals, the staple of many personal sites, could be more important than we realize. They might even herald a new kind of content. Erika Meyer makes a persuasive case
In Defense of Web Diaries.
23 December, 1999
Today we met a man who used Web work to launch a TV career. We're still waiting to meet one who's used a TV career to break into the Web.
22 December, 1999
WHY IS IT, when some fool makes a buck on the Web, we get junk mail positioning his windfall as beneficial to
us?
Like this, from Andrew Weinreich, president of sixdegrees.com: "By now you've probably heard the exciting news that sixdegrees has signed an agreement to be acquired by YouthStream Media Networks... "
No, Mr Weinreich, oddly enough, we had not heard the exciting news. But of course we are personally delighted. YouthStream Media Networks is the perfect complement to our thrilling alternative lifestyle, and we can clearly see how the millions you just made will enrich the lives of unfortunate souls everywhere. Thank you for sharing. In fact, you've inspired us:
::: BY NOW YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD the exciting news that the maker of zeldman.com has launched a Web company, and undoubtedly you and your friends are wondering how this change in our economic outlook will affect you personally. Rest assured that Happy Cog Productions will rid the Web of ugly, unintuitive design; stamp out bloated corporate brochureware; and utterly remove greed and stupidity from the medium. Little Bitsy is in Heaven, thinking of you, and wagging her tail.
::: THE SERVER PROBLEMS that have plagued
A List Apart for weeks were resolved last night by the good people at
Project Cool, notably Michael Sweeney and Glenn Davis. Our heroes.
Our affectionate
lampoon of Web diaries so upset Erika Meyer ... that she wrote a lovely and intelligent article in defense of the genre. Look for it in Friday's
ALA.
Updated
The Ad Store (notably the front page and the Amazing Ad Cam).
21 December, 1999
In support of the Etoys boycott, we've reprinted
Douglas Rushkoff's speech, delivered yesterday at the Museum of Modern Art, NYC.
20 December, 1999
Our new Web agency is called Happy Cog. It's a cheerful little empire devoted to Web design, consulting, and publishing. We've been too busy meeting with clients to finish designing the company site. Everybody should have such problems.
Take Back the Web: Various folks will speak out against the hijacking of etoy.com at a video screening and press conference to be held today at 6:30 p.m. EST at the Museum of Modern Art's Roy and Nina Titus Theater. (The theater holds 260, so get there early.) For more on the etoy scandal, see
The e-Tailer Who Stole Christmas in last week's
A List Apart.
Teaser: The winners of the High Five - ALA Web Design Contest have been selected! Watch for announcements at
High Five and
A List Apart.
Updates and Corrections: Updated
The Ad Store site. Eagle-eyed readers spotted a word usage error in
A List Apart and a JavaScript error in the
Advertising Graveyard. The errors have been corrected.
18 December, 1999
In this week's issue of
A List Apart Magazine, for people who make websites:
IN PRAISE OF CONTRACTS. Without a written contract, you could find yourself deprived of creative ownership, financial compensation, or the ability to pursue new clients. Scott Kramer paints the pros of contracts for Web designers.
What else?
Refreshed the martini of
Mr Jenkins, updated the
Guest Book, and launched a Web company. (Which sort of explains where we were on 16 and 17 December.) Details sooner or later.
15 December, 1999
The Amazing Web Cam is up at
The Ad Store. It's not so amazing at the moment, and neither is the page design, but an Ad Store party tonight (7 p.m. EST) might at least generate some fairly bizarre snapshots.
Some portals help you find useful information. Others help you find remarkable writing and design. Our
Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves helps you find sites that use our
free graphics. It's not much, but 'tis our own. No venture capitalists were harmed in the making of this page
What else?
More booze for
Mr Jenkins. More thrilling
viewer mail. (Basically we are in lay-low mode while preparing the BIG NEWS we hinted at yesterday.)
