So I went to the dark side, I signed up for a MySpace account. But before you call me a sellout, let me explain.
I F***ING HATE MYSPACE
And the worst part is that every one of my friends uses it, so I have to watch what I say. But basically the software is crap with more bugs than you can shake a stick at, inconsistencies, old features with links that go nowhere or messages saying “That feature was moved, go here”. As well, it seethes with seriously design challenged users who think blue text on a black background is cool, or text that goes overtop of a picture of you and your girlfriend making any color text impossible to read as well as covering up the picture you are so proud of.
So why did I sign up for an account? Well I started a website up, http://www.ifuckinghatemyspace.com and I wanted to at least be able to defend any claims I make by being sure I know what I’m talking about. Also, I wanted to see what is possible with the design engine of MySpace, how much of these poor design are the fault of the users and not of the website (I’m sure it’s about equal parts).
I noticed two things right off the bat when I setup my account. I’m in my own freaking “Extended Networking”. How ridiculous is this system, its not even smart enough to see who I am before displaying the message. Also, the “Home” link has taken me to at least 3 different places depending on where I was in the site. One time to an error page, once to what I would expect to see and yet another time it took me to my profile.
I don’t claim to be some expert designer, I’m still pretty new to most of it myself, but I at least know enough that a link that says “Home” should always go to the same page, no matter where you are in the site.
Bah, I digress for now or I’ll rant well above my point. I’m going to set to seeing what kind of a page I can generate.