Recently, Dave Shea has done yet another redesign. When it launched, he seemed to take a rather defensive stance on his decision to do so, and I didn’t understand why. He should not feel he needs to defend his decisions — it’s his site, and his right to do as he pleases. I now understand from his latest post, it looks like he received a lot of criticism for his previous design, Proton.

I think everyone can agree that there’s nothing wrong with a little criticism when called for. However, there is a line that can be crossed when it comes to being unnecessarily harsh. Some of the comments were quite positive towards the new design, but I’m not concerned about those. I’m particularly concerned about the ones that insult Dave’s integrity. The three, in particular, that I found most offensive are:

“I’m glad he changed it… I was starting to visit less often because some of my confidence was shaken… but it’s been restored now :)”

“I love v5; I can now justify coming back to mezzoblue.”

And finally, the most offensive…

“The new Proton layout isn’t finished yet is it? It’s ugly as hell!”

The other’s tended to be more positive than these, though, as Dave pointed out, the trend is the same.

I’d just like to point out that content is, and always will be far more important than presentation; and Dave’s writing is certainly exceptional. Just because you dislike his site redesign, is no reason to question returning to his site. If presentation is the only reason you can think of to justify returning; then, sadly, you’re really missing out on something good.

Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, and not everyone is always going to agree. Some people hated Proton, and others (like myself) loved it. Some people will hate the new design, and others will love it also. Hopefully more of the latter than the former, but it’s really irrelevant — it’s not a beauty contest, it’s a blog! It doesn’t have to be the most attractive site. A little criticism can be expected; and, in most cases, is certainly welcome — it can provide valuable feedback that can be used to improve the next time round. However, unconstructive and offensive comments like those quoted above are certainly not welcome.

I applaud Dave for exercising his right to be an individual, to be creative; and to be daring with his designs — he certainly is a talented artist. One whom we should all look up to for inspiration, motivation, and of course thank him for his devotion to his fans (I got a reply to a comment I sent him this morning within 5 minutes! of posting — how cool is that! I certainly didn’t have time to paint a still life while waiting, as he suggested on his thank you page!).