Extra

Originally made by Mousecky from MOUSELING.net ♡

1. Please introduce yourself.

Hi, I'm Vicki, a simple girl with simple taste, and the creator of Stargze.

2. How long have you been making websites?

Since August, 2024.

3. And what got you into the hobby?

I think it all started when I saw an image of a Neocities page on Pinterest; it caught my eye, so I looked into it a bit more, and that's how it all began.

4. What kind of website are you most interested in?

I like personal blogs—people who share their passions, their opinions, or simply their daily lives.

5. What's your workflow? Do you plan your websites out thoroughly or do you come up with the design as you go along?

I don't usually plan anything; I just sit down at my laptop and go with the flow. However, for my last two layouts—this one and Magic To Go To My Star—I did a quick sketch to figure out where everything would go, but that's about it; I don't like to plan things out.

6. Please link to your biggest inspirations.

I don’t draw inspiration from any specific websites or webmasters (though I do like some of them); however, when creating my layouts, I’m mainly inspired by elements from my childhood such as clothing, magazines, late2000s-2010s pop music and pop culture, flash games, and more, as well as, of course, the night, the place where I live, and the stars. And yes, I suppose you could say it’s frutiger aero, frutiger metro, etc., etc., but personally, I’m not a big fan of all this categorization of aesthetics, since I feel those terms are either 1. incorrect or 2. limiting. Still, I don’t think they’re entirely bad, and they could be useful for creatives.

7. What's your favourite part about making websites?

Adding content—the whole process that takes place in the CSS file is fun, but for me, nothing beats the feeling of writing content for my website.

8. And the thing you struggle with the most?

Not sticking with the same layout for a long time, but I hope to break that bad habit.

9. Do you keep the same layout on all of your pages? Or do you use different ones?

The main pages use the same stylesheet, but the pages where I write more content are different, and I try not to clutter them up so much, so they’re easy to read.

10. How confident are you with CSS?

I'd say I'm confident enough to do something personal, but if it were someone else's page, I might freeze up lol

11. Do you know how to correctly use <dl>?

I know what it is, but honestly, I've never used it until now.

12. What is your favourite HTML element?

hr, h1, h2, h3...anything that makes the page look nicer. I also like ul and table, I like making lists and tables.

13. If you're making a new web page from scratch, what is the first thing you do?

First, I’ll put on some music—I need to get in the right mood for the layout’s design—and then I’ll create the HTML and CSS files in my code editor.

14. Do you know JavaScript?

Not really. I know the basics and how to customize certain things, but it doesn't really interest me that much.

15. How about PHP?

No, but this one, unlike JavaScript, does catch my interest; maybe I'll start learning it in the future—who knows.

16. Does your website have a theme that you stick to?

There should always be stars, regardless of the design, colors, or other elements.

17. Are you more focused on content or design?

Honestly, I can't write well on a layout that I don't like enough. However, I always try to focus more on the content.

18. Do you own a domain name? If not, would you ever want to?

No, and so far I haven't felt the need to get one of my own.

19. What do you think of nostalgia-focused or "retro" websites?

Let’s define “retro” first. When we say “retro,” we’re talking about that ’90s style inspired by amateur Geocities pages, right? Well, of course I don’t feel nostalgic for those—I wasn’t even born yet. I’m a Web 2.0 kid, sorry. However, I can see why a lot of people like it; it reminds them of a better time or something like that. Although, something that seems like a total party pooper is how a lot of people act like they’re the CEOs of nostalgia or something—like, “blah blah blah, you’re a Zoomer, you shouldn’t use this aesthetic, blah blah blah.” Let’s look for a real problem first. However, and even though Neocities is full of sites like this (many of them, sadly, abandoned by their webmasters), I’m sure that as long as there’s content that catches my attention, I’ll keep an eye on it ♡

20. Is your HTML valid? Do you even check?

I checked it a few weeks ago, and it seemed to be valid.

21. What are your opinion on buttons and banners?

I really like them. I think banners are underrated tho, people should use them more.

22. What do you think of button walls in particular?

I think button walls work well on a separate page, or if they’re on the homepage, for example, they should be a small section. But a button wall that takes up the entire homepage is really hard on the eyes for me. Another thing I wonder about button walls is whether people add buttons because they genuinely like the page—meaning they’ve read the content, interacted with it, or something along those lines—or whether they just add them because the page had a button, and that’s it.

23. If you started over again, would you make something similar or completely different?

Yes. I should have listened more to my heart (how corny of me lmaooo) and done something more personal from the start.

24. Are you envious of other people's websites?

Not at all. I love my website. La envidia no es buena.

25. What text editor do you use?

Phoenix Code

26. Why do you use that one?

Notepad++ is too complicated for me, and I don't like VSCode—not for any specific reason, I just like to be a hater from time to time.

27. Do you host your image files on your web server, or on another host?

Everything is hosted on Neocities.

28. This might not be relevant to you, but what's your opinion on the Neocities vs. Nekoweb debate?

Is the debate in the room with us right now? Is that a thing?Well, the truth is that both have a lot of issues. However, for now I’m going with Neocities. I don’t like how Nekoweb is organized (ahem, the custom thumbnails that don’t even let you click to the next page). And I like that Neocities is aesthetically neutral; Nekoweb has too many bells and whistles. It’s funny because I usually like it when there’s a lot going on, but Nekoweb just doesn’t catch my eye aesthetically speaking.

29. How much server space would you estimate your main website takes up?

Using 0.5% (5.14 MB) of your 1 GB storage. That´s what Neocities says.

30. Do you keep local backups of your files?

I do everything local.

31. Do you prefer simple or highly visual websites?

It depends. If it's for an art project or something like that, a highly visual website is never a bad choice, but if it's a blog, I think something simpler would be best. It can be decorated, sure, but not that much.

32. Do you stick to certain colours? Do you do that on purpose, or is it your subconscious?

I like bright colors, sometimes pastels, but mostly bright colors. I don’t know, I always tend to gravitate toward that color palette. I always include purple, of course—it’s my favorite color—as well as pinks, greens, blues, and yellows. Lately, I’ve also been preferring dark mode; I feel like these colors make a better contrast in dark mode.

33. Have you ever thought about quitting? Why?

Yes, but that's because I'm lazy.

34. Do you have many webmaster friends, or is it a solitary hobby?

Solitary, at least for now

35. Do people in your real life know about your website?

Yup, my close friends, my mom...

36. Do you update your website very often? How often is "very often"?

That “very often” can mean every day, every week, every month—to be honest, I only post when I feel like it.

37. And the overall design, do you change that much? Why or why not?

I've changed it several times in less than three months, but I hope to stick with the current layout for a long time.

38. Is your website more you-focused, hobby-focused, or outside world-focused?

Me, of course. But that would mean hobby-focused too, right?

39. Do you do web design professionally?

Nop lol

40. If not, would you like to? And if you're comfortable answering, what do you do for work?

I'm not sure, but if it's a very corporate design, I'm sure it wouldn't catch my eye.

41. Do you communicate with people by email very much?

If anyone wants to contact me, I'd prefer it be through my Neocities profile.

42. Some people reject social media and use websites as a replacement. Do you keep social media outside of your website?

I only use Neocities and Spacehey, which I hardly ever use anymore, to be honest.

43. How about instant messengers? Do you use a mainstream one like Discord or Telegram? Or something like Matrix? Do you avoid them?

WhatsApp—otherwise, how would I stay in touch in Venezuela? lol—and Telegram, but only for my college classes.

44. Do you listen to music while you work on websites? If so, what kinds of artists?

I listen to all kinds of music—and when I say “all kinds,” I really mean it. My Last.fm is a mess, lol. K-pop, J-pop, music in Spanish. I listen to a lot of different stuff, but if you want to know what I was listening to while working on the layout, I listened mainly to Brown Eyed Girls, Girls’ Generation, Baby V.O.X., and others.

45. Do you keep everything you make on one website, or do you have more than one?

One is enough.

46. On a similar note, do you keep to one topic on your site, or many?

I talk about what I like, whether there are many or few topics.

47. Do you present your real self, or at least try? Or do you construct a persona on purpose?

It's me, the realest Vicki there is and I don't like to censor myself.

48. Have you ever made a good friend thanks to your website?

Not yet.

49. Are you happy with the way HTML and CSS currently work?

No I hate them.

50. What are practices that you think people should avoid?

Not putting a warning to let people know if the page has elements that are constantly moving/flashy.

Neon on neon (such as a neon green background with fuchsia letters, for example. )

Just my opinion tho.

Wait! I almost forgot—when people disable right-clicking, like, what's the point?

51. What about under-utilised practices, or things you think people should do more?

Make sure to use good contrast, especially for long texts, and include alt text for the images you add.

52. Do you use a lot of semantic HTML? Or are you guilty of generic structure?

I used to be a generic girl, but now I’m all about semantics. Semantic HTML is actually a lot more fun and helps you keep everything organized. I still use divs, but only for very specific purposes.

53. Do you consider different browsers?

I always check the page in Firefox, Edge, and Chrome.

54. Speaking of, what's your preferred browser? Convince your readers why they should use it.

I use Firefox, and it's actually the same corporate crap that nobody likes, but they have a really cute fox logo. Still, the old logo was way better; I don't really like the current one.

55. And what OS are you on?

Windows 11 and Ubuntu

56. Do you have a strong opinion on that, or do you just happen to use it?

I use Windows 11 because that's what came with my laptop, lol. Plus, I find it easier to use for a lot of the programs I use at college and for gaming. Still, I also use Ubuntu, which I like a little better because of the customization options.

57. Are your websites mobile-friendly?

No, I don't really know if I'll make Stargze mobile-friendly in the future, but I'd really like to learn how to do it.

58. What are your thoughts on autoplay?

It's a bit rude, especially if your visitor is listening to another song or some other audio—whatever it may be. Plus, it's really annoying when the volume is too loud. It's better to have a player that your visitor can turn on and off whenever they want.

59. What are your thoughts on webrings? Are you in any?

There are some interesting webrings, but there are so many of them, and I’ve noticed that they often include people who really have nothing in common. Personally, so far, they haven’t caught my attention.

60. Do you have any web shrines? What do you like to see in that sort of page?

Right now, there's nothing I like enough to dedicate a shrine to.

61. Are your websites "cliche", in your opinion?

A little, but it still has my own touch.

62. What is your ideal website? Are you striving for that, or for something else?

I haven't really thought about that. But I suppose it would be a place where I can document my life—a space that evolves as I evolve in my own life.

63. Are you an artist? Do you draw or design your own assets?

Yep. I design most (if not all) of the assets on my website.

64. What are your favourite resource sites?

HTML Color Codes, I'm a huge fan of hexadecimal colors.

65. Is there a habit you just can't get away from no matter how hard you try?

I'd say I change the layout a lot, but it's something I've been trying to stop doing.

66. What's your biggest advice for a new webmaster?

Be yourself, have fun lol—no, seriously, have fun, be yourself, don't be afraid to speak your mind, share your passions—authenticity above all.

67. Do you keep all your styling in CSS? Or do you hard-code some?

Hard-coded? You mean inline CSS? I use it sometimes, but I usually keep everything organized in a stylesheet.

68. What do you think of frameset layouts?

I've seen some that use iframe tags, but not frameset.

69. How about table-based layouts?

Still, I haven't seen any that use tables either.

70. Do you subscribe to the ideas of "one-column", "two-column" and "three-column" layouts? Do you use any of these?

Two columns are fine with me. Either two columns or just one—I can't be bothered to manage more than that.

71. Do you spend longer on the HTML or the CSS?

HTML these days.

72. Have you ever made a page with no CSS? It's useful for your thoughts.

No, I like CSS.

73. Do you ever find yourself making layouts with nothing to put on them? Or do you only make layouts when the need arises?

I only do layouts when I have to; otherwise, I'd rather do something else.

74. Would you consider yourself a beginner? Or advanced? Somewhere in the middle?

Late beginner, somewhere in the middle.

75. Do you have a habit of looking at the source code of websites you visit?

No, unless something catches my eye—I used to do it a lot more, though.

76. How did YOU learn how to make websites?

YouTube

77. Do you ever force elements to do things they're not supposed to?

Sometimes

78. Thoughts on floating elements?

Floating as in the property “float”? I use it mainly for images. Now “floating”, refering to elements that float on a page? Well, I guess they’re there, floating.

79. When you're sizing stuff, what do you use first? Do you use px, em, %, or something else?

Px, I guess because I design my pages with computers in mind first.

80. Do you have a favourite font?

Anything sans serif—serif fonts are nice, but they don't fit my style. Personally, I like Verdana.

81. Would you run a website with another person? How would that work?

No way—I'm way too complicated

82. Do you surf the Web to find new personal websites very often?

Almost every day, in my free time.

83. Do you bookmark other people's websites? How would you feel knowing someone else bookmarked yours?

In my Proton Docs, I have a document with several websites, but there are so many that I’m too lazy to add them all at once to the directory, so I’m doing it little by little. Now, if someone bookmarks my website, I’d wonder why they did it. I’d prefer it if it’s because they honestly like my content. I like my design, but that would feel empty if you only liked the design—though I’d appreciate it anyway.

84. What do you want people to be most impressed with when they see your website?

Nothing, really. I don't know. I guess just how cultured, beautiful and smart I am or something like that. I don't know. Lmaoooo

85. Are you interested in technology outside of websites? Do you collect?

My collection of Apple devices—not really a collection, I just have them, that's all.

86. How often and for how long are you online?

Well, well, well...

87. When it comes to your website, who is your target audience?

I suppose young adults like me

88. Have you ever been interested in XHTML?

Is that HTML evil twin or something?

89. Do you program in general? Have you ever written a program for use with or on your website, not counting simple JavaScript?

Nope. I'd like to learn some programming languages btw

90. Speaking of programs that help you make websites, what do you think of static site generators (SSGs)? Have you ever used one?

I hear they're useful, but there's too much JavaScript for my HTML mind.

91. Do you keep a hitcounter? Why or why not?

No, to be honest, I'm not really interested.

92. Do you frequent forums? Which ones?

I'm not really into forums. Taringa! is the closest thing to a forum I've ever been on, but that was back in 2014.

93. Do you write your page content directly into the editor, or do you prepare it elsewhere, like a text document or a Word document?

I usually write it in a document, then run it through an HTML converter and post it.

94. Do you think you appear cool to others? A more accurate answer now: do other people ever say you're cool?

People have called me crazy, weird—and honestly, never cool. I don't really care much about it, though. To be honest, I don't know what this question has to do with being a webmaster lol.

95. Are you embarrassed of your old work? Have you ever deleted everything out of shame?

Yeah, but I don't delete them, because when I did them, I was happy—cringe, but happy.

96. Would you close down your website if you couldn't update it, or would you leave an archive?

An archive, of course. I’ve seen people archive websites that their webmasters abandoned, so if I were to abandon Stargze, I wouldn’t mind if someone else archived it.

97. Do you reveal a lot about yourself on your website? Or are you more secretive?

I share what I want to; maybe it's a lot, maybe it's not much—I don't really care.

98. Are you willing to reveal who your best online friend is, and/or if they have a website?

My besties don't have websites :((

99. And do you optimise the images on your website?

I always try to compress them; sometimes I use the dither effect that’s popular on many Neocities pages.

100. We're out of time! How do you feel after answering 100 questions? ....other than exhausted.

No kidding, it took me about two hours to answer everything, but I really enjoyed it!! I love these kinds of questionnaires.