Friday, August 22, 2008

A List: Blog Attributes That Bug Me

Given the popularity of lists, the fact that I am "dropping cards" at the moment, and my propensity to rant when things annoy me, here is a list, in no particular order, of:

Blog Attributes That Bug Me
  1. Blogs that have HUGE pictures at the top that fill the entire "first page" of the browser window. I don't care about your picture, I want to see what you wrote.
  2. Blogs that have bad Flash plug-ins that cause the browser to crash or freeze the whole computer.
  3. Blogs that are full of other people's content. If I have to scroll past that stupid "OMG this this so cute kitten scared of RC mouse" video one more time, I am going to blow up the Internet.
  4. Blogs that have horrendous typos or grammatic abuse in static modules (the titles, sidebars, etc.). I understand typos and so forth in individual entries, but spelling something wrong in your graphics or blog title is shoddy. (This of course does not apply to those blogs where English is not the natural language of the author.)
  5. Blogs that have so many ads in the sidebars it's an eye-straining nightmare patchwork of conflicting colors, designs, and themes.
  6. Blogs that have so many widgets, ads, plug-ins, etc., that they take forever to load.
  7. Blogs that say "subscribe to me and I'll subscribe to you!" If I like your blog I'll subscribe to it, maybe; or I might just favorite it so I can see the layout instead of just getting the content. And I don't want to just bulk up my feed subscriber count or inflate my hit counter numbers. I want readers who actually appreciate my efforts, and you should too.
  8. Blogs with the "pay me to write about you" ad buttons. I understand the "Pay per post" stuff is nice for some bloggers or whatever ... I have no problem, generally speaking, with affiliate programs and sponsored blogs. But, similar to #7, I don't want to buy your opinion. If some one is going to write about me, I want it to be honest and legit, even if the post isn't favorable. Own your opinion, don't let it be rented.
  9. Blog layouts in umteen shades of pink. I hate pink. Not only is it an obnoxious color all by itself, too often the people who use it have saccharine content.
  10. Blogs participating in the EC program that don't have fkg EC widgets on their blogs. That's not fair, guys. Also, EC "cards" that link to sites that are not blogs.
  11. Blogs by people selling blog layout templates that have lame layouts for their own blogs. WTF is up with that?
  12. Blogs filled with flowers or cats, or both. There is so much more to the Universe, and so many other symbols of peace, simplicity, comfort, humor, earthiness, etc., dare to be a little original. We don't see nearly enough turtles, platypuses, or loons. Hedgehogs are freakin' hilarious. Give the cats a a rest already.
  13. Blogs that repost "lolcats" from ICanHasCheezBurger.com without mentioning where they "borrowed" the image from. Seriously, give the cats a rest.
  14. Blogs that hotlink. Bandwidth theft is not only wrong, if the image gets moved, you get nothing. Host your own darn images. Photobucket is free.
  15. EC "cards" that use copyrighted material for their images. Intellectual property theft is still theft.

That being said, please, if your blog includes any of the items on my list, don't leave angry comments about it or go out of your way to pick on my blog. Everyone is entitled to hir own opinion, and as an American I have the right to share mine fairly freely. If you see items on my list that could apply to your blog, and some one else comments that they agree that attribute is annoying, please, for the love of the blogosphere, consider a change.

11 comments:

Mike Foster said...

how about blogs that hide their entrecards? I could not find yours...sorry

peace,
mike
livelife365

Bas said...

Some of my most dreaded pet peeves too :-) Good write-up.

Cally the Wild Aspie said...

Mike: That would be ironic if I was guilty of one of the things that bug me ... but my widget and card are both on my blog. Sometimes a refresh is needed. Widget is top left, my own card is in the right sidebar, under my profile.

Thanks for the visit, tho. :)

Cally the Wild Aspie said...

Bas: Thanks for your kind words!

justrenae said...

I also could not find your entrecard.....????? I just read your response to Mike and I will try that. I usually just leave a blog when their entrecard is not visable on the first of their blog.

Thanks, Renae

foongpc said...

I sort of agree with most of your points but I especially get annoyed with blogs that takes forever to load. Also I don't like blogs that have too many ads and other irrelevant stuffs that seem more important than the posts themselves.

Tyson Chaney said...

I wrote a post the other day talking about the difference between free speech and speech without cost. It's at http://politics2000.today.com.

In part, I said people are allowed to say what they want but the First Amendment only says that Congress won't pass any laws to stop them. The rest of us can hate your guts for what you say. If you believe your rant, don't beg people not to leave angry comments. If you don't want to be proverbially shot, don't be a messenger.

Cally the Wild Aspie said...

Tyson: I'm pretty sure I did not beg, but only requested ... perhaps this is a difference of semantics. To maintain the analogy, I don't mind being shot at when the ammunition is legitimate, I just don't see any need to defend my opinion against those that choose to take personal offense where none was intended.

I do appreciate your visit and the time you took to reply. Blog well!

Tiffany Aller said...

Great list! My biggest pet peeve is obnoxious music...that's usually my cue to go on to another site.

RBV said...

YES! Obnoxious music. I can't stand that. I agree with ALL of your peeves in your post as well.

Cally the Wild Aspie said...

Tiffany & RBV: When I was first drafting the list, music was on there ... but when I was ready to post it, the list was an at awkward 18, so I picked the "Top 15." :)

Thanks to both of you for commenting, and your kind words!

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