University of South Carolina Libraries
Webmas things at Do you ever want to yank all of the cords out of the back of your computer and chunk it out the window? Well, so do I. Your reasons may differ, but my guff is with some of the geniuses who crank out websites without any thought to how they'll look on the other end. After a while, you tend to notice some common goofs and annoyances, such as... 1 .Websites with no purpose. God help the big companies who are suckered into having a website by companies with dollar signs in theineyes. There has been a disturbing trend lately to stick a website out there just to have one, whether or not there is any reason to have one. The corollary to this trend is that websites that have a lot of possibility often fall short of expectations. For example, the Best Buy site (www.bestbuy.com) was an empty shell long after its inception, when it had the possibility of providing up-to-date info and specials on consumer electronics. And Wachovia's website (www.wachoviacom) is completely lacking in any useful information. On-line checking? Forget it. 2. It's so darn moody. I get status reports all the time from my company's internet service provider, BBNPlanet. BBNFlanet is the thinly-disguised internet wing of AT&T, and they provide service to the big boys like IBM and Netscape. They have a pretty big area of responsibility, and when something goes down on the network, they try and let HairCar CassKe Hair pros < Beauty am Thanksgiving Special $5.00 Off Cut & Style and additional 10% for USC Students $2.00 off Barbering Cuts ! Call for an j Appointment iLeChlc Johnny L. Smith J 1332 Main St. Columbia, SC 29202 (803) 254-5022 pI Re I axe rs >p j Color ; Highlights ! Permanent Waves j Designer Haircutting j Manicures & Pedicures i ; Aromatherapy i ! t_ pear BN novem tf>-r nnini I'VX out the \ everyone know whafs going on. Well, I'm here to tell you that parts of the Net go up and down on a daily basis, and consequently websites are getting less and less stable. Any web user will tell you that even one failure to reach a certain website will forever taint the perceived reliability of that site. 3. Out>of-date material on a site. One thing that is a complete certainty about web users: they hate old ___________ news. w . . I hate going into a site We DSII8S YAl and seeing that it was last purpOSC. Gl .updated in June 1995. ftg bja con This is old information, . and in the computer WnO are Sill world, old information is jntO Having useless information. Look wphssfF hw at ouuic ui uic y^uaivc ZMtca like Stomped CORipsniCS (www5tomped.com) - they dollar Signs have news that is updated thgir pugc so often that the news bulletins usually have not ?==SS==B51 only dates but times of day they were posted. There's nothing cooler than logging onto a site and seeing a tidbit that was just posted five minutes before. 4. Just plain crappy-looking sites. Ifs really neat and all that everyone and his mother's brother are churning out Web pages, but remember the old adage: you get what you pay for. If you're a fairly large company (more than 50 employees) find a well-respected web development company in your area, don't just go for the lowest bidder, because it shows. I can't believe some of the design boo-boos that are out in plain site on many websites. For decency's sake, fellow webmasters, please make it so we can read the text e for Af in Ali & more d Barber 3714 N. Main St. Columbia, SC 29210 (803)799-7700 EXPERT ADVICE ON HAIR CARE AND NAIL SERVICES Conditioning by Aveda, j Affirm, and Redken 5 min. from U.S.C. j ring in coupon and I get 25% off Any Services Exp. 11-31-96 | olina lakfai ^witl * i 1 _ oer z 1 ts out ar Porld Wid of the site. If I see any more bright green a text on pink backgrounds Fm gonna blow F chunks. 5. Flash-in-the-pan sites. Why does ti every movie that comes out have to have o its own named website? I remember that t Batman Forever was one of the pioneers t (www.batmanforever.com). What is it h now? A ghost site, that's what, p Independence Day not only had a movie F essssssss!ss!^ site, but a friggin' o ... Independence Day Home a m Video site. And there are t< 3d Help no less than three domain I laanies names assigned to the new . . Star Trek movie. ii CKered Studios should have I 3 websites, with subsections tl for their current releases, ... but they're getting a bit fi slap-happy with these sites, a ?in A responsible company a should expire these sites tl when they are no longer ti useful. Fan sites always end up being more comprehensive' a anyway. ii 6. Sites that take longer than the k O.J. case to load. Whether due to high g traffic on the Net, or a badly-designed y site, a slow site is an unpleasant "1 experience that tends to make a sort of p PavloVs-dog association that causes the g user to dread having to come back to the c site. Please, please, don't put gigantic c graphics on every page, or the user will a L L X- Xl_* 1 1 X XX_* J * sian 10 minx aooui geuing up una gomg it to fix a snack. ti 7. Sites that make it freakin' e impossible to get to useful information. V I got on Lucasarts' homepage the other day (www.lucasarts.com) to find out u rican An BUS. (803) 771-6569 RES. 731-0950 CREATIVE Hi By Shanay Starks No Appointment Necessary /y , tf/ tytt* titi/Aou^ pouvkai* 66t ?<?/(M <4/heu^ h^ya/lot l& ^ A4Z4J/. prod rt f H VIIW 8:05 a.m inoying leWeb bout their newest title, X-Wing vs. Tie 'ighter. Well, after I clicked the first graphic 3 get me into the real homepage (because, f course, the first page was only there o show a pretty graphic and to tell me hat I had now reached the Lucasarts lome page... well, duh!) I clicked on the icture that said X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter. 'rom there I went through three, ounfem three, different pages, basically sking if I really, really wanted to get d the page about X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter, just kept clicking. Finally, five pages after I clicked "See ^formation about X-Wing vs. He Fighter," actually got to see information about he title. Wow, ain't that efficient? 8. Dead links. There's little more rustrating than trying to research an rcane topic on the web than coming up gainst a link to a page that just ain't here anymore. This item is closely related a the Old News item. 9. Schmucks who proclaim that they re the "King of the Web," or other equally ritating rhetoric. Dude, if you were the ing of the web, your page would be etting more than two hits a day and ou wouldn't have that lame animated Under Construction" graphic on your age. Get a life. Oh, and don't tiy and et me into a pyramid scheme where I an "Make Money Fast." 10. Too much smut. Seems like you an't get on the net without seeing an d for a pom site. Apparently even Yahoo j now showing ads for these sites. I think here are too many pictures, and not nough instructional, interactive guides, there's the Kama Sutra? -Luke Robinson can be reached at )ebmaster@city-online.com. lericans VIR DESIGNS 4606 Monticello Rd. Columbia, S.C. 29203 ? ^ i ?Imi/ (3)ixon//?Pty>U?6 76 tyuwJ\lc/c/i' tylosu// lisnv/in, ty.W. 29223 (803)865-9050 ^ty)(isxrv/tiwnX 0n(f luetic ted , prest( Feeling tl C r^ntrihi I Li Health and Wei KARIENE HAGLUND Staff Writer Do you often feel angry, impatient or aggravated at yourself or others? Do you get upset when you have to wait for things to happen? Do you feel "pushed around" by life, overwhelmed by all you have to do?? If you can relate to these questions, then you may be under stress and should consider some tips for "destressing your life." Stress is your body's natural reaction to the demands of day-today living. This is a normal and necessary part of life. However, there is a lot we can do to keep stress from taking over our lives. When your body is under stress, your brain sends a signal to produce adrenaline, which stimulates the release of stored energy, giving us the energy to combat the confronting challenge. However, if you stay under stress too long, it can wear on your body and make it difficult to return to your normal, relaxed state. Our bodies sometimes manifest this stress through headaches, neck and back pain, muscle aches or feeling tired. Some signs to be aware of in order to identify stress include loss of appetite or overeating, upset stomach, lack of sleep, teeth grinding, rapid heart beat, sweaty or trembling hands and feeling cranky or depressed. To build your resistance against stress, you should try to eat well, exercise and get plenty of sleep. In | It 4, Oatu \ 5112 Two Notch Rd. Ti Columbia, SC 29204 Lillie's Speciali All Your Hair Relaxers Cur,s B Ctv) Latest Ha Lillie Gayten Owner/Hairstylist 6920 N. Main, G *^(^unevye A GROUP OF STYLISTS TO PRODUCE STYLIST BERNARD "NARD" JOHNSON ROSETTA B. JOHNSON LAKISH A SQUIRE CATHY MACK ---------- Y/^/****************** **********'"* "'" >ns c< st/ // / / C/ >n dining lie stress jted by lness Programs addition, there some tips to help control stress: Get up 15 minutes earlier in the morning. Prepare for the morning the night before (make lunch, take out clothes, organize books). Don't rely on your memory. Write down appointments and leave yourself reminder notes. Laugh! Almost every disaster has a humorous side. Plan ahead (don't let your gas tank get below 1/4 full). Give yourself time. Allow 15 extra minutes to meet friends and to get to class. Learn to say "No!" to extra projects or social activities you don't have time for. If you are feeling the effects of too much stress, take some time out to fight back with some of these great stress busters: Take a warm bath Take a walk Practice simple stretching Deep breathing Call a friend/talk to someone Go see a movie Listen to your favorite CD or tape Exercise?take a bike ride, go for a swim, lace up your Rollerblades Play with your pet Meditate for 15 minutes For more information on stress or other health issues, stop by the Drop-In Center, located in the basement of the Thomson Student Health Center, or call 7-8248. I MM?p| JOYCE W. CANNON Hair Designer Saloit, ip . Fri Q-nn A M . R-nn pm '! Sat. 8:00 A.M.-3:00 P.M. \ 803 735*0363 j se of Beauty izing In Care Needs Haircutting lues Sat. ir Trends Phone "Cookie" 754-8129 Hairstylist reenview Plaza Wi tic (3 'Stylesj WORKING TOGETHER | MOVEMENT \ (803)735-0569 : \ SUITE B-2 ^ 4949 TWO NOTCH ROAxv | COLUMBIA,SC 29204: | - - A ,,,,,,,,,,,,, ilpnrl Us i I room .