Frequently asked questions
These are not really frequently asked questions – in fact, nobody asked me any of these yet (as of writing this), but I would expect that these are the questions people might have, so I decided to gather them here – together with the answers – under the well-understood and common title.
Some of these questions are pretty technical – I am also a computer geek, so if that’s not your thing, just skip those ones.
Why does this page look so… plain? One of the (less important, but still) goals I had when making this weblog was to show what the Internet could look like if it hadn’t gone so horribly wrong (or at least weird). Go to a random page and you’ll get a cookie consent, a newsletter pop-up, a read-this-in-a-mobile-app pop-up, several megabytes of JavaScript to download, lots of analytics/tracking stuff so that advertisers know what you’re looking at on the web and so on. Here you don’t have any cookies whatsoever, and every page is a plain HTML file with some CSS so that it looks a bit nicer, a tiny bit of custom, non-minified JavaScript you can inspect within 30 minutes to make sure nothing nefarious is going on, a few bitmaps, a couple of fonts… and that’s it. (Of course, the server still notices and logs the IP address you are connecting from, but this gives away much less information than “whatever analytics” scripts.) This is (approximately) what the Internet looked like 25 years ago, in its halcyon days. Just imagine that you stepped inside the T.A.R.D.I.S. and went to an alternative universe where the World Wide Web didn’t go crazy.
Also, I’m not a graphics designer.
- Why is this page so fast? See above.
- Why don’t I warn you about biscuits, er, cookies? Because I don’t serve them. See above.
- Why are there no comments? There is one main reason. If there were comments, I would have to moderate them. See No vehicles in the park for a fun explanation why comment moderation is a horrible time- and energy-sink. I’d really prefer to spend time writing, not fighting. And even though DW fandom is very nice, there is always that someone that really insists on trolling or making a fuss. If you want to comment or discuss something, feel free to email me. We might have a nice chat over email, and I might be tempted to incorporate (part of) our discussion in the relevant post.
- What is this font? The main font this site is using is called Concrete Roman, a font I have a very soft spot for. It evokes this warm, comfy feeling in me, most probably because some of the favorite books of my childhood were set in a very similar one. I hope you like it, too.
- “Favorite”? Not “favourite”? Seriously? Well, I am not a native English speaker, and I’ve spent many years learning American English. Switching to British English would be a difficult and time-consuming process. If it bothers you, please just forgive me and let’s move on, ok?
- “Weblog”? Not “blog”? Seriously? Yes. It is my website and I can call it whatever I want, thank you very much. And more seriously, since it has a bit of a 1990s feeling to it, why not call it appropriately?
- T.A.R.D.I.S.? Not TARDIS? Seriously? Well, it’s an abbreviation, no? I know there are arguments for and against this form, but I like it. (And no, I do not type it every time this way – my text editor handles that for me.)
- What does the title of this weblog mean? Ah, so you haven't seen Series 6 yet. You’re in for a treat!