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greydove.org has 7 Reviews

Below are the reviews left by other members on greydove.org. Jump to review form?

1. 

   Mimi gave it on 5th Dec 2008 and said:

   Reviewed with:
   Mozilla Firefox 3.0.4 | 1440 x 900 Resolution| Windows Vista
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   First Impression:

   I visited your site long ago when I first came into Jem's circle of friends, back when I feared a lot of people that are members here even, you included. :( Sorry! Anyway, my review is not going to be all professional and of course I only have limited knowledge myself so I am just going to address the issues that I have suggestions for. This is not to say that you even need to listen to me, but hell I'll do it for fun if nothing else! ;) Plzdon'tkillme .___.

   Ok, enough rambling. I actually do remember a few thoughts from the very first time I saw your site. The picture that was showing was a picture of your toes (well, I think they were your toes) and I though, "How weird.. her toes... O.o" but I know lots of people do foot-shots so it really didn't sway me much. Now I realize that the photo changes and I must say I really enjoy this. It is not something you see a lot and they are nice photos.

   The only thing that bothered me slightly upon first visit was that the text size underneath the photo is so small, it's hard for me to read.

   Coding:

   I am going to feel same when I assume that not much will be needed in the way of advice here, but I shall look just in case..! Well, your site does validate XHTML 1.0 Strict and your CSS is valid, although there are 9 warnings, in case you are interested in all that jazz. Your CSS and coding are concise and to the point. No extra fluff and stuff there! I did check out the W3C broken link checker and found that the 'Contact' link underneath the main page picture is a broken link. It's just linking to contacts.php instead of contact.php.

   I knew there wouldn't be much to discuss here... damn! I am usually known for my 1000+ word reviews and it's usually due to the coding section. I might not know tons but I know enough to go on and on about it. Kind of like the way I am blabbing here for absolutely no reason at all... It's my biggest flaw. :(

   Design:

   One small thing that bothered me was that a few of your links from the main page are external but there was no indication. Of course this is trivial, but it surprised me when it popped up with a completely different style/setting.

   I, personally, don't like the underline on the visited links on the side there, but this is purely a personal preference so it's also not a big deal. Another thing, I don't really like the use of American Typewriter for your headers simply because the rest of the theme seems pretty clean-cut and something about that font seems old-timey and out of place. Also I don't care too much for the red links simply because I fail to see red anywhere else really on the pages. Unless of course a random photo has some red in it, but so far with all my refreshes I have not seen one yet.

   Shoot me if I am wrong because I am not 100% sure, nor am I any sort of writing genius, but on your writing page where it says:

   together
   we will lay again
   it's just the matter of where and when

   .. shouldn't it be 'we will lie again'? Also the 'I' at the beginning is not capitalized, which might have been intentional... I dunno. :) Wow, that was so utterly random and not really part of the 'Design' section. Crap! Ok, let's get back on track.

   Well, actually, that might be it. :| Damn, this is probably going to be the shortest review in my repertoire. Well, I might think of something later in the review so please forgive my random-osity.

   Content:

   I spot... two 'Coming Soon' links from your main, side navigation. :( I, as most people that I have talked to about it directly, don't think the links should be up if the content is not there.

   Ah, a design section suggestion. Might I suggest that the sub-navigation be moved to the top of the page, rather than the bottom? Seeing as though you are a writer, therefor you write a lot on your pages, if someone got bored with a certain page they might just assume that is all of the ___ section and move on instead of maybe seeing something else that they would rather read.

   I only found one little spelling mistake, well.. it isn't really spelling. Here, let me just tell you instead of more babbling. On your 'Internet History' page, this little section here:

   She basically let me have free rule, and man were my sites awful. I hadOver time, though, I began to learn about web standards, started cleaning up my

   The 'I hadOver time' part.

   I also found another broken link (LOL, I am really having to reach here, ok?) in your site map, the link for 'My Pets', which I am assuming was an old page that was deleted for some reason, seeing as though it's not linked anywhere else on the site.

   Your poor little guestbook has fallen victim to either spam or an annoying person.. :(

   Ohoh, found another design suggestion. Why do I bother to categorize, you might be thinking? Well, my head is all sorts of jumbled around all of the time and I attempt to sort my thoughts... Otherwise, everyone would be lost. Anyway, I noticed on the links page that you have some code showing (Ohhh, naughty.. haha) for people to link back to Greydove.org. Might I suggest you change the color of the <code> tag to something other than the same red the links are? Just a small thing, it looks like a big link at first glance.

   Final Thoughts:

   I will admit that I was a tad bit disappointed that two of the most interesting sections of your site were closed to the public.. From the photography I have seen so far, I am completely floored. It looks so wonderful, I would no doubt be caught viewing your gallery for hours without any real reason.

   I'm sorry I can't really offer you many suggestions, other than maybe a notification of external links and a few color changes here and there. I would really like to see your gallery so I hope that when it comes up I will find out somehow.

   I am giving you a 3/5 because I love the photos, the unique design but there isn't much to do and the sections that I was looking forward to aren't up yet. T_T

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2. 

   Diana gave it on 11th Nov 2008 and said:

   I absolutely LOVE what you have done with the rotating photographs. The background fits nicely and provides a little busyness to entertain my eyes, but not too much. I think the navigation would be better without numbers. I also think the footer text is a wee bit too small.

   Oh, your About page! This whole setup is so original, it makes me feel fuzzy inside. You have a good control on words as well. I get what you are saying, and you seem to know when enough is enough. Thanks for including more content under "About" as well :) Asks you a question.

   The flowers rotate too~! gd(org) is one interesting page. It's a lot better than domain registration dates and stats. There's feeling behind your domain <3

   I like the piece of writing and image you have up as placeholders for galleries. Can't wait to see the rest.

   On a final note, placing the home link last is genius.

   I lovelovelove this site, girl. You did a great job.

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   greydove's Response:

   I think it's nice to give people two options to get to the main page, the logo and the home link. I'm glad you like my writing! I tried so hard for a very long time to get everything just so. Glad my efforts didn't go unnoticed :) I agree, the footer text is small, but if it's bigger it seems out of place. Maybe it's the color. Nevertheless, I'll implement the suggestion in my next version of this layout :)

3. 

   Sewwy gave it on 10th Nov 2008 and said:

   To start with, your index page is beautiful. It's simple, well set out, and the colours go well together. My only real qualm is that it was very, very slow to load. I quite like the rotating images you have, it gives the site a more unique, personal feel.

   Alright, moving on.

   The layout of the individual pages is quite lovely and well set out. I'm not sure how I feel about the header image being disjointed from the content area, however. I quite like, again, that the header images are different with each refresh, and I also like your choice of images. They are beautiful and work well with the layout.

   About:
   Very informative and lengthy. I felt that I was able to learn a lot from you from this page, and i didn't feel like you were drawing on and on. It was concise, getting across what it needed to do, without being boring, so that's good news. I also quite like how you further information about you to a lengthy detail of your internet life, which is also a very interesting read. Your writing style is wonderful, and it's fairly apparent that you enjoy what you write.

   gd.org:
   Your domain's about page is also very informative and well written. I have no problems with this page. Just long enough, quite interesting. It was nice to see some past layouts there, too.

   Blog:
   It's a shame your server doesn't provide you with MySQL because it would have been nice to see you stick with the theme of your website. That being said, your blog entries are quite an enjoyable read! Again, it must be something to do with your writing style. The content of each individual blog isn't boring every-day i-did-this-then-that type entries, which is also quite a relief. Still, you have a knack for making the mundane seem entertaining. It would be nice to see you move off wordpress.com, however. Have you considered having your blog subdomain hosted elsewhere so you can maintain the overall theme of your site?

   All in all, it's a beautiful and well set out site. Kudos, keep it up.

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   greydove's Response:

   UPDATED 10 Nov 08:
   I'm really glad you like my writing style. Half the time I think it's crap, but then I'm like, "Well, gotta put up something..." and then that's what everyone gets. I must be lucky, haha.

   I worked very hard with the way the site was laid out, and how the content was arranged. I didn't want it to be haphazard. So I took some cues from some of the better denizens of the internets, and modeled it off that.

   And I have thought about moving it to another subdomain, but I don't want to ask any of my friends for hosting. Don't want to be a mooch and all that. So I make do.

4. 

   ko0ty gave it on 9th Nov 2008 and said:

   My first impression when visiting your site was "very nice simple layout." I love the logo you created with the dove.. I think that looks nice and communicates your domain well. Since there is only one image on the main page, I was really intrigued about clicking on the rest of the links in the menu because I didn't know how it would appear...

   The About page is nice and informative, definitely serves it purpose. Better yet, it appeared consistent with the main page with the menu on the left. It would be nice if you sub menu expands horizontally at the top just for easier accessibility but I guess having it on the bottom works as well because it kind of forces people to read your biography before getting the sublinks... but that also works against you because some people have the attention span of a fly and might not read your long paragraphs.

   The Site Info page is also consistent with the main page and very informative. The text is legible and big enough so it doesn't hurt the eyes.

   I was surprised to see that your blog appeared on practically a new site... it would've been super cool to see it integrated with the main domain because the design is great on the main domain and you have some good things to say on your blog.

   Maybe your "Words" and "Sights" page weren't complete but it irked me when I saw a appearing in a plain black screen. Again, it would be nice if it appeared in the same context as your About screen.

   Your footer is a little small, which annoys a lot of people but I'm like small fonts. =) I missed it at first, but I'm glad you have your "Contact" page on your footer (at first, I thought it was linked only on your About page).

   Overall, apart from all the inconsistency, I think you have quite and eye for design... the layout looks great overall, the colors used go well together and the composition is well balanced. Good job!

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   greydove's Response:

   Unless I want to pay for my space on WP (which I don't), I have to use their free themes. That's why it's on a completely different site. My server doesn't have MySQL on it, so I can't have WP on my site.

   As for the other words and sights, those will be completely separate sites that are still coming.

5. 

   Clem gave it on 8th Nov 2008 and said:

   I really love your index page - as Aisling said, it's just so striking. I'm having a lot of fun refreshing the page incessantly! I like the logo with your site's name on it, and the navigation looks nice. You've made good use of fonts. There's truly only one thing that I don't like about your layout, and that's the link hover. Somehow the colour just doesn't fit. How about a pale blue or a different shade of grey? The orange is a bit jarring, and not in a good way.

   ABOUT
   First off: I'm loving the randomly-generated image at the top! When you say you're nineteen, twenty on September 13, this is a bit ambiguous. Since September was only two months ago, there's a possibility that you just haven't updated this page and that you are now 20. Adding a year of birth in there somewhere would be fantastic for clarification. Other than that niggly little detail, because I'm nitpicky like that, this was an informative page. Not too much information but not too little - the perfect balance. I like that. The only thing I'm not sure about is the red links. Again, they just look out of place and bizarre.

   I used to like internet histories, but to be honest I'm getting a bit tired of them by now. Yours was actually a pretty interesting read, though - it greatly contrasts those massive paragraphs teenybopper website owners write about every single little detail of their online existence. The basics are enough, yo.

   I only have one beef with your contact page, which is that you should have the form before the "Where you can find me" section. Easy access to important features, you know how it is.

   GD(ORG)
   I just want to stop at say that I really like your sense of humour. It's subtle but definitely there nonetheless. ("FlickrPro costs more than free" made me giggle!)

   The fallen angel metaphor is actually quite cool! Who cares that you thought it up after the fact? The domain name itself sounds nice, and the metaphor just adds to it.

   WORDS
   I'm excited for the launch of this portfolio!

   SIGHTS
   Oh my, I hate that you've posted a tidbit! I mean, I love it because I really like the photo, but this is making me wish it was up right now!

   BEYOND
   Nicely-organised; not much you can say about a links page!

   Overall, I have enjoyed browsing your website. I can't give it full marks, because you're still working on getting some of your content up. There weren't really any problems with the content that was up, and I only had a few minor issues with your layout. I would like to give your site a 3.5, but since I can't I'll be nice and round it up to a 4. Good luck with your writing portfolio and photo gallery - I can't wait to see them!

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   greydove's Response:

   Everything looks better on my Powerbook screen as far as colors go, which is so unfair :P Because the orange looks cool, and so does the red. I would change it, but I'm not, because I'm doing a complete overhaul on color scheme and photos in December. Have to keep it interesting, you know?

   Um um um... yeah. So look back for an overhauled color scheme sometime in the middle of December :)

6. 

   Aisling gave it on 8th Nov 2008 and said:

   This layout is simple but still manages to be incredibly striking. The photo provides a fantastic focal point, and the fact that it changes means an exciting new layout each time. The background is interesting, but not too busy. The only thing I would suggest would be fixing it, since it kind of bugs up my eyes a bit when I scroll. Sure I don't need to scroll very much, but you never know.

   Your about page was very informative. The pictures at the bottom are super cute as well, and really show what a fun person you are. Reading your Internet history was fun, since my own history is so similar!

   I thought the greydove/fallen angel thing was so cool! I never knew that's what it signified, but it is definitely a more sophisticated metaphor. I also didn't know your site used a specific font! Now I kind of feel like I should go hunt it down, even if I won't die.

   I am so excited for your writing and photo portfolios! I wish they were around for me to review. :( Although, I suppose as art is subjective, I wouldn't be able to review it anyway. :)

   I really can't think of any extra content to suggest, because I think your two portfolios are really going to bring an extensive amount to the site, and what more could a visitor ask for?

   Excellent job!

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   greydove's Response:

   Yeah, I've noticed that about the background. I never thought about fixing it though. Great suggestion!

   I really look forward to implementing the two portfolios. It probably won't happen until about December, but I think that, whether or not everyone thinks my stuff is crap, people will enjoy seeing that aspect of me, nonetheless.

   The greydove/fallen angel metaphor happened to be something profound after the fact. I don't know how much credit I can get for it if I came up with it several years after the domain's conception, you know?

7. 

   Tiffany gave it on 8th Nov 2008 and said:

   I love how clean and simple your index page is. The single randomized image works so nicely. But I think the navigation would fit better without the numbers.

   I love the type you use for your headings, but it's a little distracting in all caps. I also think you could add some line spacing.

   My other issue is how the pages don't match with the index. The index consists of 3 colors: blue, brown, and yellow. But the pages don't contain any blue and instead replaces it with red.

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   greydove's Response:

   The numbers in the navigation are aligned left and the names of each page are aligned right, so it kind of makes this uniform column look. I took them away, and it made it look a little disorganized and haphazard, personally. The numbers make it look more streamlined. Maybe it's just me, ;)

   I do agree about the line-spacing... I'll go about implementing that soon. I love the font, too. I wish I could ensure every computer had it so they could view greydove.org as I want it to be seen. I like it in all caps... so... it's staying that way. Haha. I'm a bit of a spastic person, anyway, so it suits my personality.

   And yeah, I know what you mean... I tried to incorporate the blue, but it honestly looked terrible on the yellow background, and the orange used for the hover on the navigation didn't look much better... it wasn't dark enough, and if I made it darker/increased the saturation it looked too close to the brown of the main text or was too bright, respectively. The red just ended up looking nice, so it stayed. It'll probably change once I switch up my color scheme, and hopefully you'll find it more aesthetically pleasing :)

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