Neocities.org

nah i don't think it's petty to dislike people objectifying your work. "minor" things can affect people in major ways. it's like how when people listen to depressing japanese songs and say "Wow, this sounds to happy! If only it wasn't for the lyrics..." like I don't get how it sounds happy. In most cases, it's probably not meant to. It's just a weird interpritation that peoples' misery is "so kawaii xdxd"

i completely agree.. i've gotten a lot more stressed about how peole view my site. it feels like people just see it as an aesthetic instead of something i put work into, something that is like an extension of me almost

Man, that diary entry pulled some complicated feelings from deep within me, ones that I usually bury. But no, wanting to be truly seen, and not just simply looked at, is not hateful, spiteful, or bitchy.

Big agree on what niicespiice said, all these parts are not at odds with one another, they are part of the same whole.

I don't like your site *just because* there are bunch of pretty blinkling lights, and not *just because* there is a diary with a lot of venting, I like it because it feels like I'm stepping into someone's home, treating it any other way feels disrespectful.

At the end of the day, we have to hold those who earnestly try to see us for who we are close to us, and tell the others to kindly piss off.

not bitter. i get you. theres a large crowd that scrubs the personality out of anything in favor of aesthetics; dont even read the words people write, just admire the layouts etc etc. i cant help but play with code and try to make things look nice, but sometimes it does certainly feel like thatll be the only thing that ever 'matters'

I think it’s like when people only compliment appearance, but not character. Even if you changed your website to just a blank page I would still wait for updates, to know that you are well and for love to your poetry. Your layout it’s beautiful - it showcases your interests and hard work, but it’s not the best nor only part of velvetblue - you are.

I recently followed your site because I respected your site approach, but knew it and liked it even before that. I think there are more shy people like that than there are the kind of people you're talking about here. :)

also for the record, i don't care for the "old web revival" stuff. i look at neocities to see peoples' personal thoughts, but i don't care about it as some sort of "let's bring back the old internet." i don't LIKE modern social media but i also don't care about the old internet either, ykyk? they have their own flaws, and it feels very "owo im quirky," obsessing over retro things.

when an artistic work is released to the public, it inevitably becomes an entity with a life of its own separate from its creator. this happens with novels, paintings, and yes websites. for better or worse, this is just the reality of art let out into the world

i guess you just have to determine whether the good connections you make by going public outweigh the reactions you perceive as negative, and just enjoy the process of creation

I have a lot of mixed feelings about Neocities' social-media features (follows, view counts, stats, number of likes), and I could do without them, I've been thinking of dusting off my coding skills to make a userscript to hide that stuff.

However I do appreciate the message & comments feature, in some ways it feels like a slightly more exclusive guestbook, since you know that these are other webmasters who are more likely to appreciate and engage with what you put out, instead of passersby who are just in it for the c00l aesthetic.

I understand. I'm conflicted about this too. I want my next web project to be a very personal thing for me. At the same time, I lament about how people are going to receive it. Eventually my website starts to feel awkward. Like I don't know where to put it. Or if I should host it anywhere at all.

For everybody here, web design is another art form. Can't say the same for other people though. No matter what you do, just know that you have my support. Expressing yourself, especially like this, takes a lot.

reply to soulbox: I also used to feel conflicted about wanting to make my art for myself but also wanting it to be received well by others, I eventually landed on "creating not just for personal expression, but for communication, not to be liked by people, but to be understood", that mindset sort of resolved that for me, personally.

While I don't usually reply to site updates, I do remember to check them every week. I don't think most people separate someone's personality and their site on here maliciously, but it is 100% valid to be frustrated at that. I love aesthetics as much as the next person, but it's really the authors' words and expression of themselves that ultimately makes me keep checking back in on their sites, including yours.