It's been a while, DrunkDuck. Some people may still remember me... it doesn't seem like that long ago that Nancy was featured, although I guess it was a little over two years ago, now.

I am pretty much gone from the Duck these days, even though new pages of Nancy are in the works, I most likely won't post them here, and I felt like saying a little something about why a user like me, who was fairly active on the boards and had a relatively popular strip, would leave the Duck.

It's the layout.

Hyperbole? Not at all. The front page layout is confusing, a hodgepodge of images with little context, relevant content and advertisements in tiles and blocks without symmetry or a natural path for the eye to follow. I'm not complaining that there are advertisements, because I understand that DD is a business, like any other, and needs the revenue that ads provide. But there are so many other websites that use numerous ads without sacrificing clarity of layout or ease of use. http://www.craftster.org, http://www.burdastyle.com, and http://www.ravelry.com are some prime examples of websites that rely heavily on user content and networking, have multiple format advertisments, and still retain the clarity and browseability that keep users coming back.

I don't know how this site is run, and I understand that for all intents and purposes I'm just spitting in the wind. But I felt the need to explain why I'm not a DD site user anymore, and I suspect I'm not the only member to leave as a result of the layout. I also suspect that there are many people who aren't joining in the first place because of the byzantine front page. Cramming the amount of content that DD contains into a single page is certainly a challenge... but it's one the site designers failed to meet.

Thanks for reading. Just needed to get that off my chest.

Oh I never visit the front page if I can help it. Haven't really in a couple of years. Whenever I get there by mistake, I quickly navigate well away.

Most of us regulars only use the site through the forums and our faved comics, never going near the front page. It's dead space.

I for one hope that you do continue to post pages on DD, even if it's just to tell us where your new comic can be found. But even if you do have another site as your primary site, perhaps you could also post them here as well. Don't give up on us!

Well what with the buyout a few years back, DD has never really been the same. The influx of ads, template changes, and rotations in management. From whats been put out there time and time again, it's like the site is still not 100% finished. Among other things, I have no idea why we have a mod class anymore, considering the only ones who really do any moderation here are the admins.

But it's all about the cash. If not for the ads and the layout, and current business stance, this site would probably sink under it's own weight. There's nothing wrong with capitalism, there's nothing wrong with free enterprise. Don't try to make me feel guilty, I'm so tired of hearing you cry.

There's nothing wrong with making some profit. If you ask me I'll say it's just fine. There's nothing wrong with wanting to live nice. I'm so tired of hearing you whine about the revolution, bringin' down the rich.

When was the last time you dug a ditch, baby!

If it ain't one thing then it's the other, any cause that crosses your path. Your heart bleeds for anyone's brother, I've got to tell you you're a pain in the ass. You criticize with plenty of vigor, you rationalize everything that you do with catchy phrases and heavy quotations, and everybody is crazy but you.

You're just a middle class, socialist brat from a suburban family and you never really had to work. And you tell me that we've got to get back to the struggling masses (whoever they are). You talk, talk, talk about suffering and pain, your mouth is bigger than your entire brain! What the hell do you know about suffering and pain . . .

There's nothing wrong with Capitalism
There's nothing wrong with Capitalism
There's nothing wrong with Capitalism
There's nothing wrong with Capitalism