[Sunday, Apr. 03, 2005][13:11]

review: herdarlinsin

layout: fifteen of forty-nine points

First impression: All of your links work, and the general layout is crisp and neat.

Unfortunately, Miss Dawn discovered that she cannot use her preferred browser to read this diary, as this linked image shows. Despite a note at the bottom of the page saying that it is W3C compliant, the W3C site found 61 errors in your coding. While the majority of readers use Internet Explorer to read, there are plenty of people who don't, too. Miss Dawn would recommend obtaining one of the free alternative browsers and if nothing else, using it to check the work.

Another concern: while your elimination of visual scrollbars is very pretty, it makes it impossible for one to view a full entry unless one possesses a scrolling mouse. Not all readers can be expected to use scrolling mice, so this aspect of your design is not the best choice.

If these errors are the fault of the person from whom you obtained the design, shame on them and you might simply look for a more appropriate template to use.

content: fifty-seven of eighty-seven points

Because of the time constraints and the sheer volume of your diary, Miss Dawn selected several entries at random and read them.

When you write in prose format, your entries are lucid and wrenching, sharing a look at the shadows and lights of your soul. Your reader understands that you have called an uneasy truce with your bisexuality and that you still throw darts at yourself from behind that fragile shield. Your references to cutting and your haunting poetry paint yet more layers to your unhappiness. Miss Dawn understands the heartbreak of dealing with emotional illnesses from within her own family, and realizes how devastating it can be simply to function from day to day. She hopes that you continue pursuing appropriate medical care and that you stick with it.

While this is your diary and Miss Dawn's immediate thought is that you have the right post the content of your choice, Miss Dawn is a bit flummoxed by your frequent posting of what appears to be instant-messenger conversations. Aside from questioning whether or not you have permission from all concerned to post such discussions, the non-sequitur back-and-forth and the dizzyingly chopped spellings are a diary's equivalent to pixie sticks dropped at random onto the floor. They make little sense and are annoying, effectively crunching underfoot to someone who wasn't a part of that conversation originally.

You have also posted excerpts from emails, if Miss Dawn is seeing correctly. They are not clearly identified as such, at least not in all cases. Again, there is question of propriety as to posting the content of someone else's message unless it is a short excerpt to illustrate a point. Miss Dawn will not deduct points for that, though she would recommend future notes stating if you have permission to post the information.

Frequency: seventeen of twenty-two points

Miss Dawn was very tempted to deduct no points in this category, even though the spacing of your entries vary greatly from month to month. Given all of the facets of your life, as you describe them in this diary, the skips and the deluges are more than understandable. Still, one must abide by the rules. Miss Dawn therefore split the score she would normally have given for the frequent gaps and the score she would have liked to give in this case.

judgment:

Miss Dawn sees many of your entries that are built directly on conversations with other people, and she wonders if that indicates that you feel inadequate to speak for yourself. You use eloquent form when you express yourself directly, presenting crystal-clear pictures of your world. Miss Dawn would like to see you come to value your own voice, as it is its own perfect tone.

[ninety-nine of one hundred fifty-eight points]
[sixty-three percent]
[Miss Dawn]

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