I actually don’t care if the color is blue, whit or purple with a hellish green lining. As long as that choice was made deliberate
Now they just seem so random.

Electric circuits. Those are more like the flow-sheets used to determine the layout of theaters, factories, etc. So I understand you. Your adduction is both alpha and beta. I am pure beta.
I will question everything, whiteout question things the thinking stops.
The question Why did you come to this site and what makes you come back. wasn’t intended to you personally, but a general question.
If I was Marina, I would use the question as a homework assignment. NOT a poll, cause than you already give the answer, you want the answer to be in their own words. We both know what the answer is, but we could be wrong.
Sometimes I think she reads all the posts and sometimes I don’t think she does. So yes it does feel like she isn’t listening. She did state it’s tough to figure out when I have new posts… difficult for me to communicate with you guys. That would implement she isn’t able to read them all.
Marina has a special place in your hart. To be honest I care more Leonard, Venomrock67, Beevee14, CJ, GP, Bob, you. They / you really talk to me. All the replies I ever got from Marina were questions to clear up what I meant. That’s not talking that’s gathering information.
In the critical notes I more or less stand alone in those ones. But that doesn’t bother me.
Constructive criticism that’s how I would like to call them. And they should be more valuable than the comments that say everything she did was great. I think its unfair towards her to say everything she did was great when in fact she didn’t. Comments like that, are not gonna help her get better at what she does.
Like you I try to read all the posts. And yes the dates next to the Recent post should change to the date of the last post. You’ll at least know where the others are.
You can nudge people in the right direction. With your question you made me continue and post comment94. You do it without even noticing it. Challenging them with a question is one, making them come up with the answer them self’s is another one.
But for it to work there has to be communication in both directions.
I don’t get the response so I can’t nudge, you are closer, so do get a response, so are able to nudge. I am counting on you.

I have been following Marina’s video lesson from the very start when she posted her first video on YouTube in March 2007 when this site did not exist. The domain name existed, but pointed to her YouTube channel page. It was later in 2007 when Marina started to develop the site. That was fascinating to watch as she started tweaking things.

It was early in 2008 that the site started taking off as more an more people subscribed. I visited the site often, but I did not become a subscriber until June 2008. Why? Two reasons.

I became a subscriber because of the community of people that were discussing various aspects of words. I am fascinated by natural languages as well as computer languages. English is my second language and had studied French and Spanish in college. I had also been investigating the history and origins of the names of European cities, specifically Northern and Eastern Europe.

The reason that I come back is because of like minded people like you. I have met many great friends on this site and that compelled me to also become a TA. The most important part of me becoming a TA is to serve Marina and to leave my ego at the front door and to serve the community of subscribers that visit here every day. It’s people like you that make it a pleasure to visit this site every day.

Hey Rijk, I have read every one of your comments and I like the way you think. I know that sometimes you might feel that you are critical, or that Marina isn’t listening. I can assure you that Marina reads every comment and she considers every comment of great importance, no matter how critical .

Marina is a very special person and I have a special place for her in my heart. She is one of the most awesome people that I have ever known and as you get to know her you will come to appreciate her as I do. One way to get to know Marina is to read and watch every interview. Click on the “ALL WORDS” link above, then click “Every Post On This Site”, and look for the interviews.

Regarding your statement;
“It sounds like you can nudge her in the right direction”
I can tell you with great certainty that I am not that powerful. There isn’t anyone that I can nudge, except myself, and even that is difficult at times. :lol:

If it seems like I can nudge, it is only because I can relate to Marina’s way of thinking and I am just acknowledging and reflecting her wisdom. Read the many articles that Marina has written on this site and you will appreciate her style of writing and thought process.

Your comments Rijk are very important to Marina and your participation on this site is very welcomed. I always enjoy talking to you.

It is interesting that you picked up on the title, as the word “design” is a key element in your profession. The word design is an interesting word and most people think of it in terms of visual designs or graphic design or referring to the visual arts. My training is in electronic engineering and I don’t call myself a designer, but I have designed many electronic circuits to solve specific problems. My type of work is very abstract and most people can’t appreciate the type of work that I do. I think you’ll find this wiki on design interesting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design

In terms of the word “design” in the title of this post. I don’t want to second guess Marina, but she may have had a broader intended meaning when she used that word. When you read her description at the top, you will notice her use of one of the Ws referring more to a structural design. Part of her statement:
“… it’s tough to figure out when I have new posts…
difficult for me to communicate with you guys.”

One of my suggestions was to add a date/time stamp next to the Recent Posts box. Someone else also mentioned it. I also suggested adding a colorful image that says “New” next to the Recent Post title, but then it starts getting cramped. Maybe using different font colors to indicate the common meet up place.

Communication is an important part of this site and Marina has mentioned many times over the last year of building a community of like minded people. I think she has done a fantastic job and you will see many many compliments from people that visit this site.

I am not a website builder or something like that. The topic is called Site Design Followup. And designing is a big part of my profession. So that’s the part I can help / reflect. ;) Thus far I haven’t noticed this way of thinking on the current overhaul.
I understand that only design is not the answer. One of the big questions that hasn’t been asked and which is of major importance: Why did you come to this site and what makes you come back.
But we’ll wait and see what happens.
It sounds like you can nudge her in the right direction.

What you have described (design) is just one element, or one dimension of the total package. There are countless of other elements to consider such as business decisions, many of which revolve around concepts such as SEO. Are you aware that Marina had to add a certain widget to the site to counteract a specific functionality? That action addresses a specific need of the site getting recognized by the search engines.

Keep in mind, at this time Marina is not depending on some prima donna who is going to hold her hostage. Marina is in control of her destiny and she is doing an awesome job and I am behind her one thousand percent. At some point in the future, things will change and Marina will make the appropriate decisions.

As you said in your last sentence, it’s not about the WHAT, but the WHY. I utilize the 6 Ws all of the time. Have you ever looked into the many web site disasters of the recent past ten years that tried to solve design issues. The K-Mart web disaster comes to mind as well as many others.

By the way, what do you think of Google and it’s simple home page. Do you know what kind of company Google is? What is their bread and butter product offering?

So the starting position is hotforwords = Philology , which means a love / passion for words.

Now we have passion and words.

Words are spoken or written. Lets use the writing bit because that’s what you do on a site. The speaking bit are the video’s.
Written words are both digital and hard-copy. Because the love for the words comes from the meaning / the history of the word hard-copy is the logical one to take.
Now which types of hard-copy are there and which one of those comes close to the type of research you do?
Or should you look at hard-copy with passion in them?

The other one is passion. What is passion (find the words), a burning desire, fieriness, etc.

Which images come to mind, which elements can you use, which colors do you associate with them ?

The words [ will be a cakewalk ] for you. If you have trouble with the images, there is always somebody here to help you.

Now you don’t need to build a new site at once, but you can use these elements in your current site.
And once you have the right concept you will just die to start the new site-design.

Your concept will lead you trough the decisions, Choices will become obvious. It will not be a struggle but a great journey. It will give more dept to the site. Deeper thoughts will have gone into the site-design, and it will show. People, who have no clue about the design, will feel that everything is all right.

You can pull this off, as long as you set your mind to it. And remember, its not what you do, but why you do it, that’s important.