OK, so it’s not technically dead. I guess dying would be more correct. I hate to say. I really do. It used to be one of my sources to find potentially interesting and insightful websites, the likes of which I would peruse for hours on end. But all of that has ended.
The tag-board, used rarely and infrequently by only the ‘old-timers’, or rather, those that were around near the beginning. Or at least, those that continue to hang on deny the onset of the symptoms of death.
For those of you unfamiliar with Yoursite, it’s a social website where webmasters can submit their sites, along with information and a screencap, for other webmasters to comment and rate. The whole process is supposed to streamline the transition from horrible coding and horrible spelling errors to semi-literate, multi-browser capable HTML/XHTML validated websites with no errors, and a brand new slant on the overall design and process of the site in question.
Or at least, it used to be.
Now, the process takes on a slightly different approach. For this example, you are Person A reviewing the website of Person B.
Person A visits the member page of Person B and writes a 4-600 word review of Person B’s website, giving it an appropriate rating and a few suggestions, along with some helpful links to websites to lend a hand in the coding, implementation of Javascript if necessary, and overall tweaking of the design of B’s website. Person B not only responds with two lines of either hurt-filled angst or puckered up kiss assery, they also review Person A’s website in about 10-50 words, with most of the sentences ending in “!”, and most of the sentences (usually 2 or 3 sentences) mimicking this pattern: “OMG, the design of your site is awesome! I like how the colors blend and stuff. Neat!”
Of course, if the scenario had taken the route of Person B responding to Person A’s review with hostility and or some type of negativity, the most likely course of action to be taken next would be for the person to get so worked up, they completely tear their site down (but don’t close commenting, thus leaving yet another ‘dead site’ in the directories.)
And then there’s the third scenario where Person A reviews 60+ websites and gets a return rate of about 1 review from another person for every 20-25 reviews they do themselves. (Or Person A will get a response from their review, but the person Person A has reviewed will not return the favor.) This is especially frustrating when you take into account that Person A spends a good chunk of their time writing a well thought out review and the only response they get is “Gee, thanks. Tee-hee.”
Here are a few sample reviews (all spelling in the quotations is as-is from Yoursite. Nothing has been altered, removed, or changed in any way.
1.
Dcutie writes the following about Icons :: 100×100.
“This site was cool. It didn’t have anything I’d want but it’s still all good.”
2.
Yellowcab writes the following about Revelati0ns.
“It’s okay. Maybe work on the layout a bit. And ass dome stuff to it. But it’s okay.”
3.
Gilmoregirlsfan writes the following about JTUM.
“I love it, so there yoju go1 great layout +content.
well,
I
will
see
you
soon”
These examples could go on forever, but then, my head might explode. The above is a true sampling of example reviews that you could get from the users at Yoursite. That website you’ve been spending hours and hours on? It could all be summed up into one nonsensical sentence that could very resemble what you have just read.
Not only could you get nonsensical one sentence reviews, you could also pull your hair out trying to deal with the many obvious flaws in the coding of the website itself.
Or maybe the lack of updates? The Tutorials section has had the same set of tutorials since I joined. which was about 2 years or so ago.
My advice? Stay as far away from this website as you can. I still visit for shits and giggles, but unless you’re just looking for something to pass that 15 minutes of time you’re wasting while waiting for the next Woot, Yoursite is not the place for you to show off your hard work.
Unless you’re a masochist who enjoys “Website Reviewing Communities” that are slowly but surely sinking into the deep abyss that is the equivalent of a star imploding on itself.
0 stars out of a possible 5.
October 28th, 2007 at 1:45 am
[...] is dead… still. I hate to repeat myself, but yes, this site is still dead. The only reason I am repeating myself is as [...]