SargothOct 5, 2023
*goes to the new patreon dot com main front page*
[it immediately makes the browser use 50% of my CPU]
this is a lot of CPU for a web page. web developers, are you all right? is this a cry for help, sent through the distributed medium of computer fans suddenly spinning up to cope with the sudden spike? should we comb through the HTML for hints as to where the hostages are?
Show threadSargothOct 5, 2023

the page design itself activated a genuine "this doesn't look like anything to me" response, so I'm not sure what's actually going on, content wise

but it sure activated my big computer fan, which is loud, and so the page generates a negative emotional reaction on that basis alone. so there is that

Show threadSargothOct 5, 2023

I am reminded of when I wrote that big academic text about patreon (back in 2017), where I included a section about how one of the rhetorical modes of the web page is that, since everyone knows what patreon is, the act of signing up does a lot of rhetorical heavy lifting in and of itself. users know that the page is for donations, and so directing followers to your page is a clear but implicit act of communication: you can donate

I'm
not sure the current web design actually acts on this premise

Show threadSargoth

patreon has a long history of doing things that are orthogonal to its core function as accidental critical internet infrastructure, so this is nothing new

what's new here is that the orthogonality is so pronounced, overdesigned and CPU hungry

there's only so far you can go off in a side direction before it becomes the main quest

Oct 5, 2023 at 4:05pmWeb
Show threadSargothOct 5, 2023

the web page for the donation service that has literally paid my internet bill for the last six years should not generate a "this doesn't look like anything to me" response

this is my patreon hot take, and I stand by it

Show threadButternuts 🦆Oct 5, 2023
@sargoth the money website probably should not give its own money to the stupidest possible design firms of all time
Show threadSargothOct 5, 2023
@batterpunts this sounds like a prudent course of action
...not doing it, that is
Show threadButternuts 🦆Oct 5, 2023
@sargoth "it's your money, but spend wisely" i say as I burn $10,000 on half of a booba/kiki