about lokiden

Q. What resolution and colours are your pages best viewed in?
A. The lokiden pages are best viewed in 800x600 resolution in 16-bit (65,536) colour or better.

Q. What HTML editor did you use to create the pages?
A. None. I used text editors - mostly joe running in an xterm under Linux and also a bit of edit under Win95 DOS. I might have saved some time by designing the tables using some HTML editor - but I would have ended up checking the generated HTML and fiddling with it anyway so it probably works out about even.

Q. What about the graphics?
A. I used Paint Shop Pro 3.12 running under Windows 95, it's a very capable shareware program. I would also probably have used GIMP under Linux except I couldn't figure out how to use it properly. Consider GIMP an "honorary" participant in the creation of these pages. With the exception of the gallery pics on femme is fatale and the Undernet logo on IRCdom, all images are original.

Q. What browser do you use, and why?
A. I use Netscape because I think Microsoft has enough dominance in the computer industry without helping it achieve more dominance through Internet Explorer. Besides, Netscape is available for Linux, and IE isn't - so naturally it's nice to be able to use the same browser under both Linux and Windows 95. Since I use Netscape, it's almost certain that my pages look better under it, and probably always will. I have also striven to optimise my pages so that they look as good as possible under text-only browsers such as lynx.

Q. So why the name "lokiden"?
A. Hmm...good question...it has the word "loki" in it, and I couldn't think of a better name.

Q. I saw your Ways to Die page and I think it's sick! Are you obsessed by death or something?
A. Well some would say that's a debatable question, but personally I don't think that I am.

Q. What is with that UGLY green you use as a background colour on some of the pages?
A. Um, well, I happen to like it you know! If you don't, then oh well, to each his own.

Q. Why don't you use some animated GIFs on the <blahblah> page?
A. Because they SUCK! Yes, I know I used one on the initial cover page - but that was used to increase the feeling of actually entering lokiden, of entering another space or dimension. It's not that animated GIFs in and of themselves are bad. It's the way people use them - some people cram as many animated GIFs on their page as they can. I hate that, and I especially hate the little animated GIFs saying "email me!".

Have you noticed that effective TV ads do not have multiple points of interest? At any one time there is basically one main point of interest which you are supposed to follow. The focus may change to something else later, but at any particular time it's a single thing. Animated GIFs break this idea and have the page present multiple points of interest simultaneously to the user. This is (I think) one reason why they are annoying. If you like them then good for you (you would be annoyed a lot less than I am while wandering the Web), but excuse me for not being a magpie.

Q. Why don't you use any background pictures? I bet the <blahblah> page look would great with such-and-such-a-background!
A. OK, I'm not going to say I hate background pictures - some of them look quite good, in fact. It's true that they are also often misused (anyone who uses a background picture with little contrast from the text or links should be flogged in a public place and then have lemon juice poured down their back).

However, the reason I haven't used them is because I feel that so many people use them on their personal home pages already, it's almost a cliche; personal home page, background picture. I wanted to make a page (or pages) that shows you don't have to do this, that you can still make a great looking page without resorting to background pictures (or a single animated GIF, for that matter). Hopefully, I've succeeded and you found the pages visually pleasing.

Q. I've noticed you use lots of horizontal rules in your pages - how come?
A. Well since I'm not using background pictures I really don't need to use graphics for separators, especially when browsers have a perfectly good built-in mechanism for separating different sections of content on a page. Moreover, this built-in mechanism doesn't require a separate network connection and the download of additional data to display, which means faster overall loading times. As for why I use so many horizontal rules (as opposed to why I use them and not a graphic), I rather like them. So to sum up what I've just said, I guess the final answer is "just because".

Q. Why have you put the words "delete_me" in your email address in all your mailto URLs?
A. Well I've seen the spam, sonny, and it's an ugly thing. There are bots that roam the Web and Usenet collecting e-mail addresses to send junk mail to. As protection against this kind of auto-collecting, I've placed "delete_me" in all my mailto URLs. To mail me simply remove the "delete_me" from the destination address.

Q. I like your page, do you want to exchange links?
A. Maybe. I don't exchange links with just anyone because any links I put are to pages I actually personally like and am impressed with. The links on some of my pages (notably the Redirectory but also some others) don't necessarily fall into this category, but they're just put in in the interest of a reasonably comprehensive set of links. To me, putting a link to someone else's home page is kind of an endorsement of that page as being aesthetically pleasing, interesting and inspired, so I choose very carefully what pages I link to - don't be offended if I decide not to. If you find this weird, selfish or arrogant, imagine your webpage was a painting. Imagine there are other people you know who also have paintings. Would you put the words "also check out John's painting" somewhere in yours? I wouldn't, and that's why.

Q. Will you marry me?
A. Well, despite possible accusations of sexism, let's clear up one thing first: if you're not female, the answer is an automatic no. If you are, then...maybe ;)

• me, of course, since I wrote the original lokiden pages after learning HTML way back before the untold masses did and before the onset of HTML editors for any operating system except *gasp* Unix.
• Quack for rendering the pictures in the original lokiden (Yes, there were rendered pics. Sorry, but I don't have the talent/inclination to do any myself, which is why lokiden II is without any.)
• anyone who's helped me test this page under other browsers, other resolutions, other colour depths, other countries and other cheeseballs.
• all those who gave feedback on the original lokiden, especially the many many many who commented on Ways to Die, most of it positive. I received e-mails from people telling me they'd never laughed so hard and also people telling me it was the dumbest page they'd ever seen. At least they probably remembered the page, and cared enough to mail me.
• toffeebee helped a bit with picture selection, credited here because she's been whinging and whining constantly that she's not on the credits page, so just to shut her up...

• the lokiden main page
• the Redirectory
• Ways to Die
• lrant (formerly known as lokivision)

• femme is fatale
  
• about lokiden
  
• Fish Cam
  
• IRCdom
  

All text © 1997 loki. This document may not be transferred in electronic or physical form without the prior consent of the author. I don't think this matters though, since I can't really see too many people wanting to pass it around. Email loki if you have comments/corrections/etc. on this page.