please empty your brain below
(ssssh, no clues!)

diamond geezer | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 7:00 a.m. | #

As you suspected, I use it to know when you've posted new content and then duly pop over to enjoy the whole DG Experience so I don't think I'm missing out on anything, thanks.

That said, Bloglines did use your font colour albeit on a white background.

Em³ | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 7:27 a.m. | #

Witches can read it, normally

Blue Witch | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 7:28 a.m. | #

And, anyone using Opera can at the click of a button, too, no sweat! (One of Opera's coolest features is to switch any page into "user" mode - Times New Roman black on white - in a single click. Most useful when people think that ultra small purple on black with a flashing background is really kewel.) Oh yes, and it has a great feed manager which I use as a filter/aggregator/reminder of pages I follow.
(And thanks, DG, too! )

Ham | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 7:48 a.m. | #

I've never used any of these RSS readers - I simply have a folder in Firefox on my toolbar which contains my blogroll. I middle click, and they all load up, and I get the full DG experience everytime.

Kirk | 17.01.06 - 7:50 a.m. | #

I always pick your feed up in Bloglines, but then switch to your main page so I can read the comments, as they don't show in Bloglines.

goldenlad | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 8:02 a.m. | #

*hint* Just feed the first 2 lines then they have to click through to read the rest

Blue Witch | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 8:13 a.m. | #

I'm disturbed to see that Bloglines gets the time (and often the date) of every one of my posts wrong. Because I care about that sort of thing.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 8:13 a.m. | #

I couldn't read anything and then I realised that if I wiped lemon juice on the screen and waved a candle behind my monitor words started to appear.

Matt | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 8:15 a.m. | #

Now, I'm a little later in the morning commenting here but that in itself is quite relevant so I'll come back to that in a mo.

I loaded your page on my mobile, as I normally do of late, and contrary to you statement (which I later read through Bloglines) I *didn't* see the special message at all, and I *do* see the whole page, including sidebar, in more or less the page layout as you intend it, and in all the true Diamond Geezer colours too. Not using WAP, but using bog standard web - but over the air. On a PDA phone running Windows Mobile. So, not all mobile viewing of your pages are as corrupted as you think

Bus and train time might be considered "dead" time for many. But I use this time to scan my blog for comments, write down notes/ideas for blog, take random pictures, scan BBC news and The Register and finally: read your blog. Yours is the only blog I read when I'm mobile too. Why this seemingly privileged status in my morning bus browsing ritual? Because there is gauranteed to be a fresh posting every morning at more or less the same time! I just *know* that when I click on that link and patiently wait for the page to load, that there will be something there for me to read. And moreover, something I haven't already read before. And unlike other mobile users who prob get a cut down version of your pages, I get the whole thing. Unfortunately the back of the top deck of a London bus doesn't lend itself very well to immersing oneself in the full DG experience cos you're constantly looking over your shoulder to see if anyone might be intent on mugging you for your really swish 3G mobile phone with a full web browser on it. So I only really "dip" into your page, do a quick scan, think about it a bit and then do a proper read when I get to work later. Sometimes the excitement consumes me sufficiently to post a comment there and then, right there on the bus.

Also, there is another thing that I can do now which I couldn't do before my current mobile, and that is browse the web lying down. So, on a Saturday morning if I'm having lie in (or if I'm sat at my kitchen table having my brekkie) I can very easily check your weekend updates from my phone - at my leisure - and in whatever sitting up or lying down position I happen to be in at the time.

They say that "Content is King". I do think that's the reason why people visit regularly, getting a "taster" of the full thing on mobile phone or feed reader etc.

Jag | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 8:50 a.m. | #

I feel discriminated against.

Huw | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 9:05 a.m. | #

Reading via RSS means I don't ever miss anything 'cos I've forgotten to check it recently. And, I think, if you published excerpts rather than a full feed then Thunderbird (my RSS reader of choice) would load the full web page for me, so I'd have the best of both worlds :-p

Adrian McEwen | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 9:34 a.m. | #

I use RSS so that I don't need to constantly keep checking my favourite blogs - I only need to go to one page to monitor the 109 blogs I currently subscribe to. I wouldn't have time to check all of them regularly otherwise.

Whenever I see an update that particularly interests me, I then click through to the site so I can read the comments.

In this case of this blog, that's most of the time; many of the blogs I subscribe too have comments turned off, or often post very short posts - meaning I can happily read them within my RSS reader, which saves time - which is important as I do all this from the office when I should be working!

LitA | 17.01.06 - 9:52 a.m. | #

Oh - and bloglines doesn't completely ignore your coding: the text still showed up as light grey, which meant it was unreadable on a white backgroound without highlighting!

LitA | 17.01.06 - 9:55 a.m. | #

I do indeed read dg on the bus, but not always when bored The wonders of free WAP access...

Andrew | 17.01.06 - 9:55 a.m. | #

I have often wondered what possible use was there for the "Ignore colors specified on web pages" in the Tools|Internet Options|General|Accessability in IE.

Now I know.

Pedantic of Purley | 17.01.06 - 9:56 a.m. | #

I too use RSS (Thunderbird), mainly to alert me to new posts, as I read quite a few blogs that publish very sporadically. Also because it meshes well with my old Usenet-reading habits (check for new messages on all the "regulars", then decide which to read first). It's also very nice for filtering out horrible font/color combinations (you're not guilty of this, except today that is).

Anyway, I read your blog on the "real" page most of the time once Thunderbird tells me there's a new entry.

The Dunce | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 9:58 a.m. | #

I admit it. I use Bloglines. I blame all the other lazy bloggers out there who cannot be relied upon to post something every day at 07.00. If I were to actually visit every site I follow I would be there some time. This way I get to see who has updated and who hasn't. But I often click though to see the full content of your site, read the comments etc.

Dave | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 10:01 a.m. | #

I use Bloglines to read blogs at work, because it's much more inconspicuous than looking at the blogs themselves.

Green Fairy | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 10:48 a.m. | #

This could hurt your Google Rankings...

Sekula | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 10:50 a.m. | #

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(just kidding)

quin | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 11:33 a.m. | #

You didn't include anything for those readers, like me, who use a kettle-based interface to the interweb. Pah.

Vaughan | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 11:37 a.m. | #

I use bloglines, then click through if there are pictures/text formatting/comments, because:

1. it saves me from clicking on 40-plus blogs to check for updates
2. it is fairly inconspicuous if i'm using it at work
3. it shows a post as "new" whenever it has been updated - this is not always visible on the blog, especially on older content.

If I promise to always, always click through, will you resist the temptation to only put excerpts in the rss feed?

Luca | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 11:37 a.m. | #

I don't use bloglines and highlighting the huge empty space was pretty obvious.

Brian | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 11:53 a.m. | #

A message to my WAP-enabled readers: "Get a computer, you tight gits"

Scaryduck | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 11:54 a.m. | #

Another Bloglines user here. More often than not, I'll click through to the full post, as there's frequently visual interest that doesn't render so well in Bloglines. With some other blogs - lesser favourites for the most part - I'll usually just read the full post on Bloglines.

However, I'm one of those spoilsports who only provides a partial feed. Several reasons: I don't want other people ripping off my content; I want people to read the posts in the way they were intended to be written, as the site design adds another level of "character" to the posts; I want to encourage comments...

...and OK, I'll admit it: I'm a stats whore.

mike | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 12:31 p.m. | #

I'm just used to your hidden text trick and highlighted it straight away.

Ant | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 12:59 p.m. | #

Reading posts in a feed reader does put things into a different context, sort of bringing everyone down to a level playing field if you like.

I'm kinda torn on the whole "site design adds character" thing because I agree, but at the same time having all your blog posts in the same font size and therefore guaranteed to be readable (unless some clever clogs uses the font color= tag...) makes everything a lot easier.

At the end of the day I'm more interested in the content that the design, but then I am tracking a good 150+ blogs.

Also I really hate the default monthly archive system so many people use (y'self included) - this allows me to have everything chopped up into post-size chunks like it should be.

dg intrudes: Monthly archives may be overly cumbersome, but many of my posts only work as part of a series, not individually. So I'm staying monthly. Sorry

There's a lot more to this, but I think bloggers get a little too precious about their sites, myself included. It's more important to have people actually reading the damn things.

Pete Ashton | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 1:18 p.m. | #

Blimey. I have read 27 comments and not understood a word? Sorry- but Get a Life springs to mind- or am I of the wrong generation to be reading DG.?

peter | 17.01.06 - 1:32 p.m. | #

i've finally found a way to read it - and then you spoil it all with your last comment, DG. i thought i was being very geeky and clever.

it's obviously not the way of life for me

zed | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 2:29 p.m. | #

I used to be a bit freaked out about providing full feeds, but then I figured if people want to read it that way then who am I to force them into reading it in a way that's not convenient for them.

Of course, I didn't get all relaxed about it until I found a way of doing it that gives me stats about how many people are subscribed to the feed and how many click through to whatever posts/pics/links I publish (http://www.feedburner.com).

The only thing I don't feed is proper photoblog posts, because I still am concerned about people ripping those off.

pixeldiva | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 3:07 p.m. | #

I pick you up through my bloglines account. But I still click on to your page. Hardly ever make a comment - I'm a secret lurker, and a Londoner jus like you

Thanks for keeping me entertained!

Leigh | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 3:49 p.m. | #

I have awful eyesight and using Bloglines to give every blog entry a consistant font size and colour is a real help.

Ed | 17.01.06 - 4:55 p.m. | #

This is quite an interestingly timed post.

At the weekend, I had a bit of a think and came up with the idea that I don't have much spare time any more. So, i created a Bloglines account and added all the things I read regularly onto it, and it came to 52 different blogs all spread across many different interfaces.

The useful thing is that you're notified when it's updated, so you spend less time clicking through those 52 pages to find updates.

BUT - it's still much better to then go to the webpage of the entry itself and have a read of what's happening. That way you can see it all how it's intended.

An interesting post!

kateyay | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 5:33 p.m. | #

I'm subsribed to your blog through Bloglines, but I only get the title of each post displayed and then head over here to read it because I prefer seeing it in the original layout.

stefan | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 5:52 p.m. | #

Interestingly, stefan, you don't get the real title of each post, you just get what Bloglines decides is the title of each post - which often isn't the same thing at all.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 5:59 p.m. | #

I subscribe to it in RSS so that I know when a post has been added.

Also, if you carry on using the same colour text as the background, I beleive you'll be degoogled. If that matters to you.

Ian | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 8:27 p.m. | #

Blimey - are Google really that tough?

But if I change my text colour to #cccccd, not #cccccc, will I get away with it?

diamond geezer | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 9:17 p.m. | #

I'm a new Bloglines reader; used to read you via direct link from my blog.

I like the ease of checking your blog when I can see it has been updated, via RSS, but I also click on it directly from Bloglines to comment - and look at the whole thing.

Best of both worlds I reckon

The Girl | Homepage | 17.01.06 - 10:51 p.m. | #

Also, if you carry on using the same colour text as the background, I beleive you'll be degoogled. If that matters to you.

Yes, this may affect your Google ranking. When I relaunched under a new URL, I carried a white-on-white sidebar link to my partner's company's site for a few months, to see if it would boost the Googlejuice. Throughout that period, my Google page ranking remained at zero. As soon as I removed the link, it shot straight up to 5.

mike | Homepage | 18.01.06 - 12:11 a.m. | #

ah the old lemon juice trick!

anne

anne | 18.01.06 - 1:02 a.m. | #

I actually found your blog through bloglines... that being said I use bloglines because I read a lot of blogs, and it's easier to track the ones with updated feeds if they're all in one place. I often switch over to your site to see the pictures, read the comments et cetera.

Anna | Homepage | 18.01.06 - 2:41 a.m. | #

I often use 'magic text' and it's never affected my Google ranking. I also occsionally have 'hidden links' in my sidebar.

mike's experience may just be co-incidence (new URL - no immediate page ranking, takes a while to get established etc etc).

I honestly doubt whether one invisible post on a long front page, will do any damage at all to a Google 6 site.

Blue Witch | Homepage | 18.01.06 - 9:29 a.m. | #

Anyway - surely the Googlebots ignore font colors when they search?

Blue Witch | Homepage | 18.01.06 - 9:30 a.m. | #

I use bloglines for multiple reasons:
1. I can access all the blogs I read from anywhere in the world.

2. I care more about content than layout.

3. I can tag a long and/or interesting post to come back to when I have time.

4. I can set the posts to run from oldest at the top to newest at the bottom, which is a good way to read a blog if you've been unable to read it for a week or more. Otherwise you have to read backwards through time, or scroll down and then scroll slowly up...

Mags | Homepage | 18.01.06 - 4:40 p.m. | #

i just discovered this post by highlighting it, and the reason i don't use an rss feed is so as i can be surprised/excited occasionally when i look at blogs, like finding an album you've always wanted whilst browsing generically under just a letter of the alphabet in a record store. it's not so much fun if you KNOW something is going to be there.....
enjoy your blog anyhow and will continue to randomly visit.
the shark

shark | Homepage | 18.01.06 - 5:12 p.m. | #

color on the same color is regarded as being most likely to be used by the horrid spammy websites that clog up the results, and not by anyone legitimate to say. Hence it is regarded as behaviour indicative of poor quality results.

"Avoid hidden text or hidden links"
http://www.google.com/
webmasters...guidelines.html

Ian | Homepage | 18.01.06 - 7:37 p.m. | #

I've just noticed that Bloglines has many of my posts in completely the wrong order, based on the time when I started writing them rather than the time when I posted them.
Sorry, but I think that's a bit rubbish.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 18.01.06 - 8:08 p.m. | #

Apologies if I've missed something obvious and this question has already been answered, but as this is a subject which you (dg) feel quite strongly about, and if I can borrow your own words for a moment, I'd be fascinated to know why you provide an RSS feed ?

Not being arsey - just seems to me to be the most obvious solution.

SM | Homepage | 18.01.06 - 10:31 p.m. | #

I have no problem with other people wanting to view my feed - I just think they're missing out on the 'true' dg experience.

But it's been reassuring to hear that most people click through to read my page 'properly'.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 18.01.06 - 10:42 p.m. | #

dg - Bloglines only uses the information passed to it. It'll be Blogger's creation of the RSS feed that is the problem.

I visit your site. Still haven't gotten into RSS sufficiently and enjoy visiting sites for all the other possibilities... links in sidebars, and whatnot.

If I just wanted text I'd use a text-only browser.

Gordon | Homepage | 19.01.06 - 11:37 a.m. | #

I follow too many blogs to be able to go to each, every day and check for new content. Bloglines allows me to see who has updated and read it in a work safe(ish) format.

S.

Salvatori | Homepage | 19.01.06 - 2:35 p.m. | #

Hi,

I just wanted to answer the question my way. I like checking the latest in the morning. I check a lot of interesting blogs, pages, whatevers. I have my own journal with a friendlist that contains both feeds to all these blogs/pages and other people using the same journaling service. It's very VERY nice to have it all in one place. If an entry really interests me, I click on it and look at the entire entry and comments.

Once upon a time I had all the blogs/sites open in Firefox and I used to refresh to check it out. Not only did that turn out to take quite a bit of time, but it really slowed down my poor Firefox who was reaching usage of 600 megs of RAM. That's not healthy, even if you do have plenty of RAM on your computer. Everytime I'd want to check out something new... I'd click once and wait about 5 minutes for a reaction. Every two days I'd have to shutdown Firefox, open it up again and open all my bookmarks.

As you can image, this process was beyond inconvenient. Yes, I could cut down on the amount of blogs/sites I read... but why do that when I can check out what's new easily on my journal friendspage and read whatever interests me in detail without my computer going into DEATH MODE.

It was very nice of you that you cared to ask people why they read feeds. It's not always what you'd imagine...

Andreea | 24.01.06 - 5:19 a.m. | #











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