Skip to main content

Look What I Got For Christmas




Yep, last week...the week leading up to Christmas...Christmas eve as it were...nonamedufus got a metaphorical lump of coal in his stocking.  And here I'd done my best to be a good boy.  Let me back up.  Around late summer/early fall I submitted my blog to Ask And Ye Shall Receive for review.  When a couple of months had passed and I'd had no response I figured they'd passed me by and I put it behind me.

Lo and behold, last week a very nice fellow by the name of People In The Sun reviewed my blog.  Now I should have picked up on their preternatural disposition to other people's blogs.  The domain name of their site is, after all http://iwillfuckingtearyouapart.blogspot.com/.  Yeah, enough said.  And, I knew going in they had a mad on for humour bloggers, in particular members of Humor Bloggers Dot Com.  But it must have been my good Catholic upbringing because as an adult I still crave to be punished for no good cause.



The review, titled Blame Humor Bloggers, is kind of meh.  It doesn't focus on the content at all but rather criticizes my blog template and the number of widgets and badges in my right sidebar.  For some reason they don't like the "looks" of my blog, in particular the number of references to Humor Bloggers Dot Com.  Hey, my feeling is that the folks at HBDC allowed me into their somewhat exclusive club and the least I can do is provide a link or two to their site and participate in some of their events.

Feel free to read the review at the link above and the comments some of their frantic fans have posted...and let me know what you think.

I'm willing to take their criticism at face value and to that end I intend to do some tweaking here and there.  As Canadian handyman Red Green likes to say: "I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess."

On balance, I found the review to be basically, um, er...balanced.  I would like to have seen more reaction to my blog's content but if they left it well enough alone I guess they didn't have a problem with it.  And as I said in my comments to them, I should be happy with their rating of "one star", seeing how there were 4-5 categories, including flying fiery fingers to pass through to get to it.  So Ask And Ye Shall Receive thanks, I think.


Comments

My only question is, why is the layout so much more important than the content? We all have our own tastes in humor and I guess you're just not this guy's cup of tea. Doesn't mean he should get all nasty and sanctimonious about it. What I do know is that I enjoy you blog and enjoy hearing from you! Long live the Dufus!
Me-Me King said…
After reading your review, I felt you got off pretty light considering I have read other reviews where the blogs' design and writing have been totally ripped apart.

Why "they" have such mad on for HBDC is beyond me.

A blog is in the eye of the beholder. This beholder, for one, thinks you rock!!!
nonamedufus said…
CatLady: Thanks for your hearty endorsement CL.
nonamedufus said…
Me-Me: You're very kind; thanks for your support.
Dr Max Tunguska said…
Good grief. Layout is a pretty weak criticism. Not everyone is a HTML/CSS/Javascript expert. Not everyone has an artist's eye for layout. It certainly shouldn't detract from the humour or quality of the writing.

As Cat Lady says humour is very personal. Your blog makes me laugh. It's on my list of blogs I like to read, so there! No review will make me change my mind.
nonamedufus said…
idifficult. Now, that's what I want to hear. Thanks.
Anonymous said…
They be dissin' on my NOMIE?

That ain't right. Cuz what you write is more than all right.

You have a great blog and make me laugh or smile all the time. That's why you are always a must read for me.

Templates be damned! Heh heh heh.

You did get off with a lot less scathing than I've read before from them.

So kudos Noname! You must be doing something write, erm, I mean right! *smile*
nonamedufus said…
Quirks: Thank you ma'am. That was pretty much my take. After all the guy said He didn't not like me and that I wasn't pretentious. But I can't figure out their pre-occupation with templates over content.
Donnie said…
Like I said before you got a relatively legitimate review. At least based on the crap they generally spew. Not bad.
Jen said…
Actually I think you had a pretty good review. They liked the content, liked you and had some really good constructive criticism. I didn't bother to read their other reviews because I like the blogs I like and don't really care what others think however I understand they probably send a fair amount of traffic to whomever they review, good or bad. That said they offered some solid advice that if taken might mean the difference from a 150 hit count to much more. My template sucks, I know this and am working with someone to change it. I know it doesn't change the content but people do judge books by the covers and might leave before getting a chance to read if they don't like the layout. All in all this was a favorable review.
nonamedufus said…
Don: Thanks, Don. I appreciate your thoughts on this.
nonamedufus said…
Jen: Yeah, I think you're right and I appreciate the time you took to review their critique. You make some good points. I'm a total noob when it comes to templates and coding. So I'm starting by cleaning up the template I've got. We'll see where it goes from there. Thanks a bunch, Jen.
injaynesworld said…
All in all, I don't think it's a bad review. Clearly, the guy really wanted to hate you and then couldn't. Maybe the template criticism is worthwhile. I don't really know. In the end, it's what your readers thing of you that counts. And clearly, by that standard, you're pretty darn successful. Although, I will make one suggestions. Get Disques for your comments. It is so much easier for people to leave comments and for you to respond to them. And best of all no one has to deal with the m'f'ng word verification.

Happy New Year, Dufas.

Jayne
Deb said…
It's really hard to take comments seriously or even call it constructive criticism from a site with that title, whether the comments are good or bad. What are their qualifications? I've read a few other HB reviews by them and you by far made out the best...for whatever that is worth.

Your blog is yours. You have a lot of followers/repeat visitors. You will never make everyone happy, but as long as you make YOU happy, mission accomplished! Blog for the fun of it, not for what others want...unless this is your meal ticket. Just keep doing what your doing, NND, 'cause it's great!
nonamedufus said…
Jayne: Thanks for the vote of confidence and the useful advice.
nonamedufus said…
Deb: Thanks, Deb. You make a guy feel pretty good. Appreciate the kind words.
How many times do I have to tell you that content's not important,NoName?!? It's looks that count, because if you look marvelous, you feel marvelous!

P.S. -- Fuck them, and the Internet they rode in on.
nonamedufus said…
Mike: You mean it's not what I say but the background against which I say it? Now you tell me.
Exactly, my friend. In fact, you don't really have to say anything at all as long as your site looks nice. Just put some flowers, kittens and bikini-clad ladies on it and you'll be golden.
Anonymous said…
I didn't bother reading what they did to other blogs. I have to say, I was offended. I can see where it might have hurt your feelings. I found his comments to be hurtful.

What a douchebag.

Which made me wonder. What kind of hits is *he* getting?

There is a website called www.websitevaluecalculator.com It said that your website is worth $119. That other dude's website, in comparison, is only worth $111.

So see? You're $5 ahead of him. :-)

In further comparison, I have a buddy who pays $100 a year for his website, and it said his is only worth $86. At least you're not in the hole...:-)

Sorry for your icky Christmas gift.

Hugs!!!

Ms. 30 Something
Anonymous said…
PS - I cannot add. You're $8 ahead.

Haha!!

And to think, I majored in Accounting before I switched my major to English. Good thing, eh?

Ms. 30 Something
nonamedufus said…
Mike: Now, you see, if they had have said it that way I might have taken it to heart.
nonamedufus said…
Ms30?: Hey cool...but your math's a wee off.
nonamedufus said…
Ms30? A-ha. Yeah, I was never one for math either. Must be why I couldn't count the many widgets down my right sidebar...which I've since cleaned up. Thanks for taking the time for your input on this. It's great to know there are some fiercely loyal followers out there.
Anonymous said…
Nice post and this fill someone in on helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you on your information.
nonamedufus said…
Anonymous: Don't know how I helped but happy I could.
How many times do I have to tell you that content's not important,NoName?!? It's looks that count, because if you look marvelous, you feel marvelous!

P.S. -- Fuck them, and the Internet they rode in on.
Anonymous said…
PS - I cannot add. You're $8 ahead.

Haha!!

And to think, I majored in Accounting before I switched my major to English. Good thing, eh?

Ms. 30 Something
idifficult said…
Good grief. Layout is a pretty weak criticism. Not everyone is a HTML/CSS/Javascript expert. Not everyone has an artist's eye for layout. It certainly shouldn't detract from the humour or quality of the writing.

As Cat Lady says humour is very personal. Your blog makes me laugh. It's on my list of blogs I like to read, so there! No review will make me change my mind.
Quirkyloon said…
They be dissin' on my NOMIE?

That ain't right. Cuz what you write is more than all right.

You have a great blog and make me laugh or smile all the time. That's why you are always a must read for me.

Templates be damned! Heh heh heh.

You did get off with a lot less scathing than I've read before from them.

So kudos Noname! You must be doing something write, erm, I mean right! *smile*

Popular posts from this blog

The Polka Dot Door

A long time ago, when I was 22, my first child was born.  That kid grew up on a little Canadian kid's show called Polka Dot Door, produced by the TV Ontario network.  And Dad, more often than not, sat through those shows with his little one. Nine or so years later when a brother, and a year after that when a sister came along number one son was moving on to Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard.  But there was a nice overlap where his siblings picked up where he had left off with Polka Dot Door.  And Dad was right there to welcome them. So you're looking at a Polka Dot Door veteran.  The show began in 1971 and ran to 1993.  I didn't watch the full run but I did get in my fair share.  The formula was pretty simple.  A young male and female host, which seemed to change every week, sang songs, told stories, made crafts and generally did their best stimulate little brains.  The show opened as follows... Imagination Day!  Oh boy!  You know what happens on Imagination D

My Back Pages - November

I know, I know, I know I should have reported in before now. But sometimes real life just gets in the way. I attempted 5 books in November. I say attempted because I slapped a big DNF (did not finish) on Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon. I just can't seem to get into this guy. It's the second or third of his I've given up on, Not so the other four, starting with a biography of Stephen Stills called Change Partners. This followed by a hilarious biography of the guy responsible for National Lampoon called A Stupid and Futile Gesture - How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever. I ended the month reading yet another biography, this one of the man behind Rolling Stone magazine,. It was called Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine. A fascinating read. So last month I hit the magic number 50 I'd imagined for myself back in January. If I roll this month into my yearly total I'm at 54 books. And I still hav

30 Days of Photos III #4 Sour

Check out Ziva's Inferno for the rest of today's photos.