Advantages:
Well - ordered categories offering access to all the news in on - line empire building, and helpful, non - patronising advice dished out by people who realise they wouldn't know the answers if they hadn't once asked the questions .
Disadvantages:
I couldn't find any . Perhaps they're down the side of the sofa with everything else .
Review rated by 31 Ciao members on average: very helpful
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It's been some time since we last saw Wilfred, who's still living with his wife and children in a pillar box just outside Scunthorpe. His entrepreneurial streak, and a need to find a use for several lorry-loads of tomatoes and twice his own weight in redundant underwear haberdashery have forced him to come up with the invention of the Elasticated Ketchup Bottle, currently taking consumers by storm. Well, his Mother and his next-door neighbour-but-one anyway. No more now the struggle to extract your ketchup from the receptacle that grips it like an extra-small prophylactic on the tackle of King Kong - Wilfred's revolutionary design ensures that as the tension in the elastic that's stretched the length of the bottle decreases, the product it contains is always pushed towards the top. With dozens of working hours claimed each decade by ketchup extraction related injuries, the impact this invention will have on the productivity and comfort of society is potentially astronomical. Probably.
Wondering just how to make the world aware, Wilfred reluctantly concludes that what he needs is a website. Those who've followed his misfortunes may remember that he's had his fingers burnt here before - there's a lot he doesn't know, he realises. Not least how to overcome the obstacles associated with gaining internet access for a pillar box, but where there's a will there's a way. Once he's up and running, his first task is to search the 'net for help. He finds it in the shape of the cre8asite forums ( http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/ ), created and developed by cre8pc.com
Browsing from from the top of the page downwards, he finds himself in the Usability forum of the Website Building division. Several of the pages appear to be sticky, but he puts this down to the appearance of the phrase 'usability v google rank' and instinctively gives his keyboard a quick swipe with a tissue. 'What to do BEFORE you code' yields navigation-building tips that are going to prove of lasting value to Wilfred once his new site takes off, and the 'What is usability?' discussion helps him to see a few things from the point of view of his intended audience.
In the next forum, 'Tutorials', Wilfred sadly demonstrates that he doesn't wear the shoes of the average user as a thread on audio files has him pondering the possibility of streaming the_ketchup_song.mp3 straight into the earholes of unsuspecting surfers. However, at least he's some idea now how to install a forum, which should provide some kind of sounding board for the aggrieved.
Fortunately, Wilfred scrolls down next to 'Website Planning
and Preparation', where a thread entitled 'Why should my business have a website?' teaches him the difference between features and their actual benefits. If we're lucky now, he'll abandon the idea of streaming sound files and hopefully stop entertaining the thoughts of tomatoes tiled across screens on paisley-patterned plates after reading 'How do you choose website colours?' Heaven help us.
Moving on to 'Website Design', Wilfred discovers where website designers get their inspiration. He can imagine how a visit to the pub can spark a few ideas, but is still working on the 'bunny' theory of creativity. It's here where he also finds out how to chastise a misbehaving navigation button and the best way to make smaller images.
Wilfred then reaches 'Website Programming', and thrills to the sight of discussion and instruction on the application of ASP, PHP and, for all he knows, TCP. It's all well over his balding head right now, but he's keen to learn and has already noticed that the forums seem full of very helpful people.
Graphic Design next, and in spite of being unable to draw much more than a bath, Wilfred feels a lot more at home. A debate on the merits of various digicams reminds him that skill with pencil and paper isn't a pre-requisite here, and he's heartened to see a lost Gothic font re-united with a concerned owner.
He's completely absorbed by the time he finds 'Writing Copy and Content for the Web', and almost doesn't hear Mrs Wilfred at his side.
'I'm leaving you.'
'Uh-huh...'
'And the children are coming too.'
'Mm-huh.'
'And I'm taking the car.'
'Probably down the side of the sofa.'
Even the sound of the front door slamming was insufficient to shake Wilfred from his pre-occupation with the forums, where he was now learning that a landing page wasn't something to be found at the top of the staircase page, and that a decent copywriter was even more in demand than a good Cucumber Raita.
On now to the Website Hospital. Wilfred quite likes this idea, having been told more than once that his previous website was sickening. He bit his lip and suppressed a sniff at the thought that buzzingbriefs.com might still be around if he'd found somewhere like the Website Hospital to take it. A quick look at the other casualties revealed that some were positively thriving now, most of them seemed to be getting better, and none were in intensive care.
Into the Online Marketing and Promotion division, where the first forum Wilfred encounters is devoted to 'eBusiness, eCommerce, eLearning and eSociety'. Eee bah gum. The 'let's all be as helpful as we can' theme so prevalent around the site seems more in evidence than ever here, leaving him feeling deliciously warm. He also feels slightly damp, but ignores it to pursue a fascinating thread about a user's domain name dilemma and another debating internet and marketing strategy.
In 'Business and Marketing', Wilfred peruses the 'Branding and Becoming a Leader' thread. It threw up a lot of food for thought, though he knew that gift-wrapping ketchup bottles wouldn't work for him any more than emblazoning the Elasticated Ketchup Bottle's slogan across t-shirts would. Unless there really *was* a demand for 'Squeeze These With Ease' to be plastered over the chests of the nation. Wilfred wistfully reads through the thread 'Becoming an Expert in your Niche'. His involvement in ketchup manufacturing was, in truth, an unhappy accident, a freak side-effect of the crash and burn of his last venture. Dammit, he'll make pulping tomatoes pay, if only to be able to afford a return to the lingerie industry. Oh, how he longs to be back in women's underwear again...
In 'Online Law and Ethics', Wilfred remembers how the hijacking of his last website by software such as 'Top Text' forced it into oblivion and he is almost engulfed by the enormous clouds of steam coming from his ears as he reads of similar spyware in a thread entitled 'Kazaa in US court'. He's so enraged by the thought of anyone pinching his bits again that he spends considerable time engrossed in another one called 'Webpage Copyright'.
In the 'Spam and CyberProtection' forum, Wilfred learns that by using different email addresses when signing up for stuff, he can future-proof himself against being unable to detect the source of spam. Not quite as up his alley as putting sauce on Spam, but useful all the same. He also reads of a shocking credit card scam, though feels the abilities of the scammer would probably pale into insignificance at the side of Mrs Wilfred's when it came to emptying bank accounts. Where was she, anyway?
Next, Wilfred discovers more about 'Blogs'. He'd wondered about these for a while. Were they a bizarre cross between bloodhounds and frogs? Blowfish and dogs? They were, in fact, a popular form of online journal, and Wilfred no longer had any excuse for his ignorance since cre8asite had a whole forum devoted to them.
There were relatively few threads in 'Virtual Learning and Web Training', but since Wilfred went to school once (the truancy officer fainted that day), he enjoys the 'Does Learning Require A Classroom?' discussion, and ponders over what can constitute 'Virtual Learning Environments'.
The 'Search Engine and Optimization (SEO)' division comes next, the first forum being... erm, Search Engine Optimization. Here, he's pretty disappointed in the responses to 'Strange Google Query', as none of those who've replied have thought to inform the enquirer that you can get cream for That Kind of Thing, but he's delighted to discover more about the wonders of cascading style sheets. These sound great, so long as he can persuade his wife to iron them.
The next forum is devoted entirely to Google, Wilfred is shocked by the frank admission by someone in the very first thread that they've been 'watching Google rankings'. He's just wondering whether such perversion should be reported when he reads further and realises Google is actually a search engine. Pressing on to read of 'Dangling links' and a 'Nice little tool', he feels this revelation probably came just in time.
On now to the 'DMOZ' forum, where the Open Directory Project is under discussion. The ODP looks to Wilfred like a brilliant idea that seems to have lost the plot. He makes a mental note to look for it down the side of the sofa, which is where everything else seems to disappear, and wanders off to see what's going on in the next forum down. This proves to be devoted to Yahoo! Its relationship to other search engines is examined and Yahoo! submission procedures are under discussion.
On now to the 'Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Search Listings' forum. There seem to be many benefits to this practice and a lot of issues to talk about, but Wilfred's blood begins to boil again on reading that 'Overture, Lycos and FindWhat support Gator 'scumware'. He hurries off to 'Other Search Engine Discussion', where he finds out which search engines and directories he should submit his site to and considers the thought-provoking question 'Do We SEO for Engines or Users?'
In the 'Vitals' division, Wilfred scans 'Forum Issues' and reading 'Cre8asiteForums 1st Year - Your Favorite Thread?' makes him go 'Aww...' on seeing how people have benefited from the site and how pleased the people behind it all seem to be. The post 'These are great forums' pretty much reflects what he's thinking too.
In 'Announcements' he can't resist taking a quick peek at the 'cre8aste resource directory', and wonders how he'll ever get his site built as he anticipates days and nights spent compelled to browse such a wonderful treasure trove of information. It's also in announcements that he discovers a link to the history of the forums, and thoroughly recommends that everyone who uses the site read the fascinating story of how it found its place in the scheme of things and the motives behind it's creation.
In the 'Chat and Rave' forum, it would seem that anything goes. Everyone's talking about the way that the site logo has been modified for Hallowe'en, cre8pc asks 'Are rock concerts still fun?' and Wilfred spits his Tizer shandy when he laughs out loud at some of the entries in the '404 Haiku' thread.
He checks to make sure that it's not April the first when he reads in 'Tech News' about Microsoft's peculiar sounding, self-destructing 'leak-proof e-mail', and moves on to the slightly less bizarre report that Amazon could soon be selling domain names. jeezijustwannabuyabloominbook.com?
'Behind the Posts' profiles the creators and moderators of the site. Having already browsed the forums, Wilfred's not surprised to find that he's been mining a rich seam of talent and experience, but he's quite taken aback to realise that among those who've provided it are quite a few people he knows, or at least knows of.
He concludes that cre8asite can do a lot for him and others like him, and hopes that by spreading the reputation of this already widely respected community he can try to give something back. He's compelled to post, and finds signing up to the forums almost ridiculously easy, even for him. He is, however, aware of his limitations, the foremost of these being the fact that he's entirely fictional. Would a real user benefit from these forums? Someone for whom success doesn't hinge on the demonic plans of an Evil Creator? He decides to ask *her* what she thinks of the crea8asite forums...
"I think they're a fantastic resource for anyone trying to build a presence in the online world, whether it be for trading, communication or just for showing that tasteful snap of Mother gnawing on a chicken drumstick without her dentures in. Even the old hands can learn something from the discussions of news just in." Hearing a snigger from Wilfred's direction, she realised that he was thinking about her own neglected website. Less likely to meet W3C standards than the WC, it was heading straight down the pan.
Aiming a sideways kick at him, she continued "One thing I have noticed though, is that on threads of more than a page long, clicking on a link from the front page supposedly leading straight to page two or more takes you to the first page of the thread anyway, and being logged in or not doesn't seem to make a difference. This might be down to the forum, or it might even be down to the set-up at my end in some obscure way. Then again, it may be down to the five bottles of Budweiser I've just necked back"
Wilfred realised that he wasn't going to get any sense from her for the rest of the evening, and settled down for another look around the cre8asite forums. He very much hopes that he'll see you there sometime too...
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by (13%):
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12.01.2004 00:05
That's a pretty good primer, if I may say so. Nice to find you here, too - I've only just arrived myself (fjp).
22.10.2003 08:42
I worry about Wilfred. Somehow he's not of this world. I do hope you don't let him out on his own.
22.10.2003 03:42
I'm always suspicious of web sites that use text speak in their address bar.:P.............MOre Wilfred soon please Fruity :)