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100 webmaster questions

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Happy new year, dear blog reader! Let's kick this blogging year off with a questionnaire. This one is all about webmastering. I found it on Solaria's blog and thought it was fun. Here's a handy template.

1. Please introduce yourself.
Hi, I'm Elena and I'm making this site.
2. How long have you been making websites?
Since the early to mid 2000s. I have recently found some old website files and they date back to 2007 or so. But I think I must have started a bit before that. Then there was a big pause of ca. 15 years.
3. And what got you into the hobby?
I've always been curious about new tech. When we got internet at home I was glued to the computer and always online. It seemed to be a natural next step.
4. What kind of website are you most interested in?
Personal ones. Ones where people do what they want to do, where they express themselves however they like.
5. What's your workflow? Do you plan your websites out thoroughly or do you come up with the design as you go along?
When I have an idea for a new page I do think about what I want it to look like, and then I go and try to achieve it or something similar. From there I go one step at a time. I change my mind. I get new ideas. I have to abandon those I don't know how to realise. Basically: I go in with a rough idea and see how it goes.
6. Please link to your biggest inspirations.
I couldn't definitively tell what my biggest inspirations are. The web itself. Music. Literature. Other people. Everything and nothing.
7. What's your favourite part about making websites?
Solving coding problems and learning new things. Putting things out there that I am interested in or proud of.
8. And the thing you struggle with the most?
Winning over my executive function disorder (or whatever is keeping me from starting).
9. Do you keep the same layout on all of your pages? Or do you use different ones?
Pretty much, yes. There are pages with grid/ flex tiles and ones without, and some other differences depending on what's son the page, but the general layout is the same throughout. So far at least.
10. How confident are you with CSS?
I am condfident enought to try and find solutions for my problems online or in books. I'm not afraid of CSS. But I am no expert and don't remember a lot of it off the top of my head.
11. Do you know how to correctly use <dl>?
No. I had to look it up when I copy and pasted this handy template and saw the markup. I'm just keeping the HTML as it is, add some CSS styling, and hope for the best. LOL I think I'll have a closer look at it at a later date though.
12. What is your favourite HTML element?
I've never thought about that before. Hmm... probably <a>. Because without links the web would be nothing.
13. If you're making a new web page from scratch, what is the first thing you do?
Supposing I already know what to put on it, I hit "save as..." at one that is the closest to what I want, delete everything I don't need or want and add from there. For new blog posts I have a prepared file where I only need to add the actual blog post.
14. Do you know JavaScript?
No. Did that keep me from using it? Also no. I shamelessly copied code (that I was allowed to use) for the "top" button that appears on longer pages and the "last listened" box on the index page.
15. How about PHP?
Not a clue.
16. Does your website have a theme that you stick to?
It has a style and I've stuck to it so far.
17. Are you more focused on content or design?
Both, I guess. I like to present my "content" in a pleasing manner.
18. Do you own a domain name? If not, would you ever want to?
Yes, I do. See address bar.
19. What do you think of nostalgia-focused or "retro" websites?
In general I think they're fun. Beyond that I have no opinion. You can do what you want. As long as you love what you're doing, it's all fine with me.
20. Is your HTML valid? Do you even check?
I think it is. I think I have checked it before, but I haven't in a long time.
21. What are your opinion on buttons and banners?
If you love them have fun with them. I don't care much for them. So I don't have any and I probably never will. (I used to have one though, 20 years ago.)
22. What do you think of button walls in particular?
I'm starting to feel like a broken record. LOL If you like 'em, do 'em. If not, then don't.
23. If you started over again, would you make something similar or completely different?
When I started to make this site I did remember that I once had a website decades ago, but I didn't really remember what it looked like. As I mentioned above (see question 2), I recently found the files and it was so funny to see that the colours and overall look are pretty similar to what this site is looking like right now. I may upload them one day just for fun.
24. Are you envious of other people's websites?
No, not envious. I look at other people's sites with excitement and curiosity. But never envy. Coding is no witchcraft, so everything I see on a website is doable. Also for me if I sat down and put some time into it. So there's no reason to be envious of anybody's website.
25. What text editor do you use?
VSCodium for the code and KWrite for drafting my blog posts.
26. Why do you use that one?
I liked VSCode but when I learned of the existence of de-MSed VSCodium I switched. And for drafting posts or taking notes a simple text editor is enough, so I use the one that came with my OS/ desktop environment.
27. Do you host your image files on your web server, or on another host?
I host my images on the same server I also host my site: neocities.
28. This might not be relevant to you, but what's your opinion on the Neocities vs. Nekoweb debate?
I absolutely hate internet drama. I've had enough of it over the decades and I could not care less about this one. Seriously.
29. How much server space would you estimate your main website takes up?
Before uploading this page it was 8.04 MB (according to neocities).
30. Do you keep local backups of your files?
Of course!
31. Do you prefer simple or highly visual websites?
Whatever floats your boat. I care about what you have to say, no matter if that is text, images, sound, or your code. How you present it is part of it all, but I don't prefer one over the other just for the sake of it.
32. Do you stick to certain colours? Do you do that on purpose, or is it your subconscious?
I'd say it's subconscious. See question 23.
33. Have you ever thought about quitting? Why?
Coding? No. My job? Every day.
34. Do you have many webmaster friends, or is it a solitary hobby?
I don't know any offline, if this is what this question is about.
35. Do people in your real life know about your website?
I hope not.
36. Do you update your website very often? How often is "very often"?
No. I sometimes do several updates within a short time, and then do nothing for weeks or months.
37. And the overall design, do you change that much? Why or why not?
I haven't changed it much after initially uploading this design. Little tweaks here and there. That doesn't mean I'm not thinking about doing something else entirely. Because I do. And maybe someday I will change it all. It's just working well as it is right now. There is no need to change anything. And so I don't.
38. Is your website more you-focused, hobby-focused, or outside world-focused?
I don't think I can separate myself from my hobbies and interests. My site is about what I am interested in and care about. It's a form of expressing myself. Myself how I am, how I perceive myself, and how I stand in this world. I don't keep separate sites for separate things. My website is about who I am and how I choose to present myself.
39. Do you do web design professionally?
No.
40. If not, would you like to? And if you're comfortable answering, what do you do for work?
I don't think I would want that. It's a hobby and I'm not the kind who make their hobby into their job. I am a trained social worker and am working as a teacher's assistant at a school.
41. Do you communicate with people by email very much?
Not very much, no. But I am open to it. If you like, feel free to send me one: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu.
42. Some people reject social media and use websites as a replacement. Do you keep social media outside of your website?
I do. I'm in the fediverse and you can find me at @theresmiling@ibe.social. Feel free to say hi.
43. How about instant messengers? Do you use a mainstream one like Discord or Telegram? Or something like Matrix? Do you avoid them?
I have Threema and Signal and also use SMS/iMessage. None of those are open to strangers.
44. Do you listen to music while you work on websites? If so, what kinds of artists?
I listen to music a lot. But not neccessarily while working on my site. I need all the brainpower for writing and coding. Music would distract me. I have been thinking about writing a blog post about how I listen to music, but I'm not sure if it holds any substance really that would go beyond a social media post. (For me, a blog and social media serve different functions.) I have blogged about some of my music taste, which you can also have a look at on last.fm or ListenBrainz.
45. Do you keep everything you make on one website, or do you have more than one?
I do have this one site. But it's not limited in any way. I can add sections and subsections as I like it. E.g. I do have a very unmaintained and unupdated Star Trek section that has a different colour theme, but looks otherwise the same. One day I'll make something out of it. Hopefully.
46. On a similar note, do you keep to one topic on your site, or many?
I contain many topics and so does this site.
47. Do you present your real self, or at least try? Or do you construct a persona on purpose?
For me, the web is a kind of safe space, where I do not have to play a role. I often hold back in expressing myself fully in front of others offline. Online I feel I can be myself to the fullest, whatever that means in any given moment. So no, I do not keep a specificly constructed online persona.
48. Have you ever made a good friend thanks to your website?
Define the word "friend". I have made aquaintances, I have met nice people I like to keep in contact with. Though I am not in any close contact with any of them. If you would call them "friends", then they are.
49. Are you happy with the way HTML and CSS currently work?
I know way too little to comment on that. For me they both work fine so far.
50. What are practices that you think people should avoid?
Chasing numbers.
51. What about under-utilised practices, or things you think people should do more?
Doing what they like and not what some algorithm or "followers" demand.
52. Do you use a lot of semantic HTML? Or are you guilty of generic structure?
Yes, I do. I think? I don't know all those fancy words man. 😅
53. Do you consider different browsers?
No. I use Firefox and that's what this site works with best. Sorry (not sorry).
54. Speaking of, what's your preferred browser? Convince your readers why they should use it.
I'm not your mother. Use what works best for you. I've been using Firefox for... well, a very long time and I don't have the expertise nor the energy to dive into that hot topic anytime soon.
55. And what OS are you on?
Fedora Linux.
56. Do you have a strong opinion on that, or do you just happen to use it?
Again, I'm not your mom. Use what works for you. Linux works great for me.
57. Are your websites mobile-friendly?
Yes. At least I think they are. I look at my pages on my phone, too and they seem to work fine.
58. What are your thoughts on autoplay?
I hate it.
59. What are your thoughts on webrings? Are you in any?
I like the idea. I'd also like to be part of one. But I haven't found any I really want to be a part of. And I have looked at 100s of them.
60. Do you have any web shrines? What do you like to see in that sort of page?
No, I don't have any. I'm not the kind for shrines I guess. I like the idea though and whenever I stumble across one I enjoy it.
61. Are your websites "cliche", in your opinion?
I don't know and I don't care. I do with this place what I want and so I really absolutely don't care what other people think of it. That does not mean I'm not open for friendly (!!) critique. But it must be clear: This is my space and therefore my rules apply.
62. What is your ideal website? Are you striving for that, or for something else?
My ideal site is one where the person making it is expressing themselves the way they want. So yes, I am striving for that.
63. Are you an artist? Do you draw or design your own assets?
In the sense of Beuys, I guess I am? But no, I do not draw any "assets".
64. What are your favourite resource sites?
I keep a list of links you could call resources. My favourite is always the one that has the info I need.
65. Is there a habit you just can't get away from no matter how hard you try?
In regards to coding? Trying everything because I want to know everything and then get stuck in decision paralysis and not making progress in anything. *sigh*
66. What's your biggest advice for a new webmaster?
Learn HTML from scratch. Learn CSS form scratch. And don't let others tell you what you should and shouldn't do with your site. It's yours and yours alone.
67. Do you keep all your styling in CSS? Or do you hard-code some?
Every styling that is not essential is done via a stylesheet. If I want emphasis on a word, I'll use the <em> tag, but that is essential and not pure styling.
68. What do you think of frameset layouts?
The what now? I have never heard that phrase before and therefore can't comment on it.
69. How about table-based layouts?
Oooh, the good old times. LOL That's how we did it decades ago. There are better methods today probably. But for getting to know how they work and what they do? Have fun with it!
70. Do you subscribe to the ideas of "one-column", "two-column" and "three-column" layouts? Do you use any of these?
I subsribe to the idea of doing whatever the fuck you like. Don't let anyone ever tell you how you should build your own website. Espcecially if it is a hobby project.
71. Do you spend longer on the HTML or the CSS?
That probably depends on what I'm trying to do. But I guess it's CSS I spend the most time with.
72. Have you ever made a page with no CSS? It's useful for your thoughts.
Yes, my naked page.
73. Do you ever find yourself making layouts with nothing to put on them? Or do you only make layouts when the need arises?
I only make layouts when the need arises.
74. Would you consider yourself a beginner? Or advanced? Somewhere in the middle?
I wouldn't call myself a beginner anymore, but I also don't think I'm super advanced.
75. Do you have a habit of looking at the source code of websites you visit?
Sometimes, when I want to know how something is made. But so much code is so full of convoluted divs and stuff I often give up very quickly. Is that what CMSs do?
76. How did YOU learn how to make websites?
I took a course at codecademy and bought a book, too. See links above at question 64. And then I just started to play and add one thing after the other and -bam!- I had a website.
77. Do you ever force elements to do things they're not supposed to?
I don't think I do.
78. Thoughts on floating elements?
No. Except for: Do what you like. (No need to ask me.)
79. When you're sizing stuff, what do you use first? Do you use px, em, %, or something else?
That depends on the "stuff". I use rem for font sizes, and px for images and other elements, like margins, padding, and others. I probably have some % in there too somewhere.
80. Do you have a favourite font?
No. I like monospace fonts though.
81. Would you run a website with another person? How would that work?
That would depend on the topic or purpose. I think it could be interesting to cooperate on a website. We would need to talk about what to do and who does what etc. Or, it could also be interesting to not talk about it and have us react to what the other did. Like an art performance in the form of website coding. The evolution of a website through action and reaction.
82. Do you surf the Web to find new personal websites very often?
I wouldn't say I do it "very often", but I do it form time to time.
83. Do you bookmark other people's websites? How would you feel knowing someone else bookmarked yours?
Absolutely. I bookmark sites and follow RSS feeds. I would feel absolutely happy and excited if I knew other people bookmarked my site!
84. What do you want people to be most impressed with when they see your website?
That I made it all myself. No kind of CMS, no premade templates. Just me, my laptop, and the text editor.
85. Are you interested in technology outside of websites? Do you collect?
Sure! I'm interested in a lot of things. And yes, I do collect. Or have collected. Yarn and books on knitting and spinning, tarot and oracle decks, stationery (pens, stickers, washi tapes, stamps and ink pads, paper), etc. *bigsigh*
86. How often and for how long are you online?
Pretty much every day for way too long.
87. When it comes to your website, who is your target audience?
I am. If someone else stumbles upon it and likes it, and maybe even subscribes to the RSS of my blog, or sends me an e-mail or contacts me on social media, that's a fantastic bonus.
88. Have you ever been interested in XHTML?
I'm interested in pretty much everything. But it's not on any to do list.
89. Do you program in general? Have you ever written a program for use with or on your website, not counting simple JavaScript?
I started to learn Python. For Christmas I got an Arduino starter kit and will learn how to use that thing too. I have not written any kind of programme for my site.
90. Speaking of programs that help you make websites, what do you think of static site generators (SSGs)? Have you ever used one?
If you want to use them, use them. I'm not interested in using them though. They seem to be too much for my little hobby project. Besides, for me the fun is building this site from scratch and not fiddling with pre-made themes.
91. Do you keep a hitcounter? Why or why not?
No. I'm not doing this for any kind of numbers.
92. Do you frequent forums? Which ones?
Currently, no.
93. Do you write your page content directly into the editor, or do you prepare it elsewhere, like a text document or a Word document?
I do write my blog posts in a simple text editor first. I have an easier time writing and editing there. I then copy and paste it into my HTML file and add the tags.
94. Do you think you appear cool to others? A more accurate answer now: do other people ever say you're cool?
I'm too old to really care if I appear cool to others. I'm not here to please anyone. I don't remember off the top of my head if anyone has ever called me cool before. I'll take that compliment anytime though. And no, this is not contradictory. You can at the same time not care how you appear and still enjoy a compliment.
95. Are you embarrassed of your old work? Have you ever deleted everything out of shame?
I think I'm also too old to be truly embarrassed. It's a past version of myself that did what they did. There was a reason for it. There's no need to be ashamed of that. We learn and grow as we get older. That doesn't mean that I'd want to show my old stuff to anyone, but it does have a right to existence regardless. I have deleted stuff because I didn't want to have them online anymore. But the reason was not shame or embarrassment.
96. Would you close down your website if you couldn't update it, or would you leave an archive?
I don't know. I haven't thought about it yet.
97. Do you reveal a lot about yourself on your website? Or are you more secretive?
Both. There are things I don't say or show, but do offline, and vice versa.
98. Are you willing to reveal who your best online friend is, and/or if they have a website?
I don't have someone I'd call a best online friend. I have lovely online aquaintances though.
99. And do you optimise the images on your website?
Optimise? I shrink them down, and adjust the white balance if neccessary etc. if that's what is meant here.
100. We're out of time! How do you feel after answering 100 questions? ....other than exhausted.
Wow, that were 100 questions already?

Who's still here? Well done! And now I want to read your answers to these 100 questions. What are you waiting for?

- Elena.

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or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu