The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 13, 1996, Page 6, Image 6
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Feeling tl
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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
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Columbia, SC
29204
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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
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WORKING TOGETHER |
MOVEMENT \
(803)735-0569 : \
SUITE B-2 ^
4949 TWO NOTCH ROAxv |
COLUMBIA,SC 29204: |
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