Granted, I’m in a bit of a foul mood because I have to go in for a venous doppler ultrasound on my leg to check for a clot tomorrow morning. (Update: no clot!) However, I surf through a number of blogs here and on The Simple Woman’s Daybook each week and there seems to be some common threads about what irritates me each week.
Music players. Usually, I’m reading blogs after Daniel goes to bed, when he’s napping, or when I’m listening to podcasts so a blast of music tends to be ill-timed. They make the blogs load slower and frequently, it’s not even music I *like*. If I want to be listening to “Stronger” by Mandisa (which is on my list of favorite things right after having my fingernails removed with pliers), I’ll have it playing on iTunes.
Politically or spiritually-motivated counters. Yes, I’m fully aware that since I opened your blog, 123 babies have been aborted. (Actually, I highly doubt the validity of that number given the small number of doctors actually *trained* to perform abortions and the fact that not all Planned Parenthood clinic actually provide the procedure; but that isn’t the issue here.) I’m also aware that the national debt has gone up $1.3 billion dollars in the last hour and that you are of the opinion that 56 people have ended up in Hell. The problem is… I. DON’T. CARE. If I’m on your blog in the first place, it’s probably because I want to see what you have to say in that particular entry or what your Quick Takes are this week, not because I care about your opinions on the abortion issue, the economic status of this country, or your opinions on the salvation of others. And seriously… if I’m coming to your blog from ConversionDiary.Com or The Simple Woman’s Daybook, I probably agree with your pro-life stance or that Jesus is the Way, rendering your counter irrelevant. (Note: I am pro-life so do not leave me angry comments about how I should care more about the pro-life movement. Such comments will be deleted and you will be I.P. banned.)
Kitsch. It’s great that you have the Miss Sunshine Award, an adopted leopluridon from the Charley the Unicorn Site, and are a member of the Christian Cheerful Sisterhood. However, that schlock is making your sidebar look nasty and it’s contributing to the load time of your blog. Blogger allows you to make “about me” pages. Put all your affiliations and awards there. (Not objecting to a few well-placed images here — it’s the clutter that irritates me.)
Badly re-sized images. It annoys my inner balance when I see pictures on the sidebar that are obviously not re-sized correctly and are sticking off. It can also obscure the text and detract from your message (if you have one). There’s a great program called Irfanview that you can download for free here. I recommend it. This also goes for images in the main part of your blog.
LOL Speak. OMG ur blog lookz teh stupidz when u type liek dis. U R not 5teen. Speakz English plz.
“My Blogs List” on Blogspot sites. The long column of links with the last posting date is dumb and I do realize that it’s a Blogger issue. Still, would it be too hard to have a nice and simple list of links? I don’t care if they’re alphabetical or by type.
Country theme. It’s way too overdone not to mention that most people tend to overdo it on the kitsch factor. My idea of country simplicity is a white background with a picture of a farm or a window view of gingham curtains. Besides, the country theme is now “urban” because of all the people doing it.
For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.
So, did you write this before, or after, visiting my blog? 😉
I actually agree with you about blog clutter (most of your other points, too… HATE music players… I do, however, like the everchanging blogroll). It can make a blog overwhelming to visit, and distract from what the writer is trying to say. I know. Ironic, aren’t I?
In my case, the crowded aspect of my blog is a function of not yet being really sure about who/what my blog is going to be. It and I are evolving… and it’s sort of like my library bookshelves… ‘stuff’ I want easy access to are handy. I hope you won’t let the setting keep you away.
I really appreciate your ‘take no prisoners’ tone and I’ll definitley be back. I hope things go well for you at the doctor’s tomorrow.
Peace!
I love it when you snark. 🙂
Music players annoy me because they repeat over and over and over and over and (oh, better quit that). I tend to open blogs en masse and run off to take care of kids, closing them out one at a time as I finish. The music thing has led me to turn the sound off on my computer.
I have the resized-image problem in one place on my blog, I know…my facebook badge. I’m a techno dunce. Someday I’ll take a class and figure all this out.
And as for the “country” theme…AMEN! Actually, the country theme has annoyed me for years, on blogs, in homes, etc. Because guess what? I grew up in the country. I know what country decor is, and it is NOT what people think it is. It’s so yuppie. LOL (uh-oh, are LOL’s allowed in comment boxes????? 😉 )
actually kathleen, i didn’t even notice the resized-image issue on your site and when i looked, it wasn’t the kind of re-sized image problem that i was talking about. i was referring to ones that hang over the borders between the sidebar and the entry or into the background. yours is ok.
Music – ARGGHHH!!! That is my number one biggest pet peeve on blogs! I will not read them on principle. If music starts up, I don’t even look for the little player where I can stop it, I just click off. I will not read them. I make an exception for photographers who have music on their sites b/c it really does seem to add to the photo slide shows. I expect music there though. It does NOT belong on blogs. I wish more people would realize that.
I hear you on music- usually I am ‘watching’ a show on Hulu or listening to Pandora when I am blogging, so I don’t go to blogs with autommatic music- Ann Voskamp’s blog has music that is impossible to turn off…so I don’t go there- I guess I’m not grateful enough 😉