Hey everyone,
There's been some concern about posting long listings of site problems/errors in public, and whether they should send that "Big List of Things Aranel Got Wrong" in a private email.
While I appreciate the concern, that's not necessary at all. We really do need all the bug reports to be public, so that everyone can see what has been reported already, and also to discuss any problems or changes.
I'd like to reiterate that I'm not emotionally attached to this site. Yes, I've put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into it, and I've also had a lot of fun writing it, too, but it's not the same as writing fiction. I know what it feels like to have your Beta Reader pick apart a chapter you've been working on and it can sting to hear about the weak spots and mistakes, but getting bug reports or critiques for the site isn't like that for me. Reporting problems with the site is more like telling me my shoe is untied. Unlike fiction, there's nothing of "me" in the site — other than my penchant for slipping DC Comics characters in here and there ;-) — so I don't take criticism of it personally. My job is to make the site work for YOU. And that includes the design. My university graphic design instructor and I will both tell you that my design sense is *ahem* "lacking", so even though the artistic aspects of site design can be very personal for some, for me it's a known weakness and any advice is very much welcome!
I won't feel bad if I get a ginormous list of bugs and typos in the public forum. I don't see them as a "failure", anymore than I see an untied shoe as a failure. My reaction is usually along the lines of "Crap! How did I miss that?!" Heck, the server spits error reports at me constantly for the "behind the scenes" bugs, and it's not at all polite about it when it tells me I forgot to initialize a variable! :-D Bugs and typos are a normal part of writing computer code: there's a reason professional software development applications come with error tracking features. I've written over 16,000 lines of code for this site across 70+ pages, plus a 40 table database. If there's anyone who can write 16,000 lines of code and not have any errors, then I am in awe of you because you are a God Among Code Monkeys!
So please don't feel uncomfortable about airing my bugs/typos/boneheaded mistakes in public. For a programmer/developer, it's all part of the job! :-)
Thanks!
Aranel