*Agenda:*

  • New Skins (Rainbow Pride, Boy Looking, Blue Robot 3, and Stolen Skins)
  • New Contributor
  • Notify List
  • New Site
  • New Profiles
  • Site Stats

*New Skins* I have a lot of new skin news. I reciently made up this new database powered skin engine that makes the whole skinning process a lot simpler. The actual changes on the site are basicly non-noticeable, but since I made this change I've started to add a new skin every week or so. There are currently 27 skins installed, which will probably lead to redisgn of how the Skin Page operates, but in any cases, I've added a number of different skins to TealArt that you might like to know about:

"Rainbow Pride" is a rainbow skin taken from a diary land template that I found using google. Yes, I'm shameless, but at least it looks cool. The skin uses tables and font HTML tags, so from a web-standards, HTML point of view the skin is horrid, but the surprising thing is that it renders perfectly in every situation I've tried it in, so go figure. Enjoy it, but don't expect to much.

"Boy Looking" is a new skin that's completely original. I took another Abercrombie & Fitch graphic, did some semi-creative photoshoping to it, and then put together a style sheet all by myself. There's a Mozilla Version, and an Internet Explorer Version. I might put together some more color options together (this one uses warmer colors), and the sidebar is on the right. It's a pretty cool design, so check it out.

"Blue Robot 3" Is similar in style to the "Robot Theft" Skins that have been around for almost as long as I've had skinning available on TealArt. It's a simple, text based skin for those who like it, and its about as unoriginal and stolen as they come. The only reason I'm listing it alone here is because it's the first TealArt skin to use three columns, and it paves the way for future skins to take advantage of some really pretty three column layout ideas that Chris and I have in the works.

The Stolen Skins, represent a surprisingly larger percentage of the TealArt skins. These are skins that we've taken from template repositories and turned into TealArt skins. Some have more originality infused than others, while some are downright shameful and were thrown together in mere moments. But they all present some sort of aesthetic quality that we like, and enjoy. These skins include everything that we've taken from Blue Robot, the Rainbow Pride skin, and two others that I took from random template repositories. Blue Robot skins are CSS and Text wonder pieces, the rainbow skin is fun, and the last two are both pretty good in a melodramatic boggy sort of way, so enjoy them if you want, but enjoy them for the novelty that they are.

  • The Rainbow Pride Skin
  • Blue Robot Three
  • British Museum
  • The River

*Notify List*

The version of quarto that we're using on TealArt is a bit behind the version Amy's currently working on. Rather than have to piece together the database regularly for the next couple of months (or really more than once per quarter), we're going to hold out on our dated version and wait for something monumental. I mean the truth is that it works fine now, and I'm not in the mood to go off breaking things. One thing that I could never get to work quite right, until now that is, was the notify list.

Finally, I went digging for the code in question, and found a rather unsightly bit that was all commented out, and after some toying around and the introduction of the dandy mail(); function, I was able to "encourage" email notification. When I talked to Amy to brag tell her about my conquest, she told me she'd switched over a long time ago. Go figure, and I thought I was brilliant.

Long story short I'd like to offer you the TealArt Notifty Page which will let you subscribe and alter your subscription to the TealArt notify list. There aren't and probably won't be email lists for quotes and links without popular demand, and we have separate lists for The Times of TealArt and the Paradigm Brainfeed. I hope it's useful.

*New Contributor*

While Chris and I have been really impressed with the progress the site has made in recent months, in terms of readership and in terms of the operation and content, we're not satisfied with ourselves as the sole personalities of the site. While we kind of learned our lesson about the problems of starting an independent website bassed on the contributions of a large community with CollectiveArts and don't want to have TealArt run into those problems, we would like to see a broader perspective here. So we're still looking for TealArtists/Crew folks.

To that end, we've decided to add another contributor. Ryan Davis will be joining here to give his take on the world, just like the rest of us. He's in the process of moving (to my fair city, as coincidence would have it) at the moment, but once he gets into gear, I think you'll really enjoy his offerings.

*New Profiles*

Just a blurb to tell you that I've updated my profile. When I wrote the old one I kind of anticipated having it stick around for a while, but I suppose life and the world change too much for such things to remain true even months later. No new pictures I fear, but we'll get something soonish.

Also Chris promises us that he'll get some sort of text based profile up by the end of the evening (Wednesday November 12th 2003), but we'll see, sometime in the very new feature we hope.

*New Site*

On November 5th the CollectiveArts.net domain expires. And thus ends a three and a half year endeavor to create a single website on the independent web that would provide a "home" for all the writers who wanted a professional co-operative web presence. It's a great idea, and I hope someone else can do it, but after all this time, Chris and I got to the point where all of the things we wanted to accomplish in a website were already happening on TealArt, or could happen very easily on TealArt. (After we made the decision, the traffic to TA almost doubled, surprisingly enough). So now that CollectiveArts is gone, I've registered another domain that I'm going to use as a portfolio type site. It's all forthcoming, but I just thought it'd be worth noting here.

*Site Statistics*

Nothing big here, and I'm not going to jinx myself by giving out exact numbers, but Chris and I have been really surprised by the increase in the traffic, really pleased. It's nice to know that there are people reading the site. It'd be even nicer if people emailed us from time to time, or even commented, but we'll take what we get gladly. Independent sites like TealArt rely on word of mouth to gain readership, and so we'd like to implore you all to use your mouths to spread the word. Thanks!

I think that about does it for this time. I hope this one does it for a while.