Neocities

skep emilynhoward

4 days ago

It occurs to me, I -have- seen custom HTML tags. Zendesk's knowledge base software uses them now; the WYSIWYG editor inserts them to power some of its functionality, but since they're unstyled containers they don't affect the published page.

5 likes

emilynhoward 4 days ago

I understand about 50% of what you're saying, so I'll take your word for it.

3 likes

skep 4 days ago

I could explain it in detail with images and code snippets and stuff but I'd need some sort of dedicated web space for that

2 likes

emilynhoward

4 days ago

Website redesign is now underway. Expect to see it in a few months because I'm slow. The outward result will be simpler, but the code will be more solid, modern, and responsive.

8 likes

pixelglade 4 days ago

Ooh, exciting. Any hints for how the changes will look?

1 like

skep 4 days ago

As per our prior discussions, I am eager to see your take on "frutiger gothic".

3 likes

emilynhoward 4 days ago

@pixelglade I won't talk about specifics of the layout or colors because all of that might change, but I am looking for something simpler visually than the current layout, where the content feels a little more unbounded and bubbled than the current layout.

emilynhoward 4 days ago

@skep I have already desaturated the Windows 2000 desktop and photoshopped some headstones in.

emilynhoward

6 days ago

Does anybody use custom HTML tags like in this article? https://matthewjamestaylor.com/custom-tags I am wondering about other people's experience with it.

1 like

skep 6 days ago

I don't, but it makes sense to me, I vaguely recall that HTML and XML use a similar methodology and XML is basically nothing but made-up tags.

3 likes

skep 6 days ago

Biggest caveats I can think of would be to not replace semantic tags (which the article mentioned), and your code could be less intuitive for others to interpret (likely not a huge concern)

4 likes

irony-machine 6 days ago

i don't use them, they feel wrong to me in a way i can't explain

2 likes

emilynhoward 6 days ago

@skep, Yeah the advice is not to replace the semantic tags, which I don't want to do. Problem is, even semantic tags like "section" and "article" can get really vague really fast when you're trying to figure out what is where. And since I insist on doing everything by hand I want my code to be more legible.

1 like

emilynhoward 6 days ago

@irony-machine The only thing that feel really wrong to me is that you can use emoji (!!!) in them.

2 likes

myrtletribe 4 days ago

I tried this a while ago with a friend and we were stunned that it worked! but I haven't used them so far

1 like

brachypelmide 4 days ago

really late to the party but i've used custom html tags myself and they work just fine. in fact, i've used them against the spec without any problems - before i redesigned my reviews page, each review was literally a element. no hyphen or anything, so they're not necessary, but you do run the risk of creating conflicts with existing semantic tags and potentially ones that could be added in the future.

1 like

brachypelmide 4 days ago

ok it turns out neocities doesn't like parsing element-like text. i meant that "each review was literally a [review] element"

emilynhoward updated The Bone Folder

1 week ago

collections/fieldnotes2025.html

changelog.html

4 likes

emilynhoward 1 week ago

Added 5 more Field Notes.

1 like

emilynhoward updated The Bone Folder

1 week ago

collections/nationaldishes.html

collections/lists.html

changelog.html

7 likes

emilynhoward 1 week ago

I know that everyone was waiting for me to issue a public statement, so here it is: the top 5 national dishes of the United States (and some honorable mentions.)

6 likes

pixelglade 1 week ago

Dang I had no idea nachos is american. It's one of my favorite foods (and very easy to make animal-free)

1 like

skep 1 week ago

PB&J had not occurred to me and now I have to reconsider my list.

1 like

emilynhoward 1 week ago

@pixelglade It turns out that I misremembered. Nachos were invented on the Mexican side of the border to cater to the tastes of American restaurant customers. So pretty close. But have you tried the real game-changer: nacho tots???

1 like

rusty-bytes 1 week ago

I love everything about this list- now I want Jet's pizza

1 like

altalenae 1 week ago

loved reading the list!! I had never heard of detroit style pizza (I’m italian lol), might try making it…

1 like

pixelglade 1 week ago

nacho tots - I haven't had it, but I know what tater tots are (in Australia we call them potato gems). Next time I buy some I'll give it a try

1 like

emilynhoward 1 week ago

You call them potato gems???? This is the best thing I have ever heard. This is the best day of my life.

1 like

pixelglade 1 week ago

Evidence from a grocery store: https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/96403/birds-eye-potato-gems?cvosrc=affiliate.impactradius.60181

3 likes

nohappynonsense 1 week ago

"yeah i'm a bit of a rockhound" "oh cool what have you found so far?" "potato gems, mostly"

2 likes

emilynhoward skep

3 weeks ago

Friend, last night I watched the Keira Knightley Pride and Prejudice for the first time right after having re-read the book. This movie insulted my intelligence and I took it very personally. I will not dignify it with a post on my website trying to convince everyone what a piece of crap it is, but you may be someone who understands.

3 likes

skep 3 weeks ago

I... actually like it, for the most part. I remember you saying you thought it was one of Austen's weaker novels for its fairy-tale-ness, so I imagine it doesn't improve things if you have to trim out all the subtleties to fit it into a 2-hour runtime.

1 like

skep 3 weeks ago

I will agree that the ending scene is really bad. It's so bad. I dread re-watching the movie because I don't want to be subjected to that scene again.

1 like

emilynhoward 3 weeks ago

It's mostly that they took out the humor that was in the book and replaced it with their own bad humor. And cut out a lot of plot points to make room for random fancy shots of landscapes and statuary. And everybody was played so flat and subdued that it didn't make sense why any of the characters cared about each other.

1 like

skep 3 weeks ago

Well if you make them hot then they don't need personality. Everyone knows this.

1 like

pixelglade 3 weeks ago

BBC Pride and Prejudice is superior. "Oh, my poor nerves!" Is what Mrs Bennett says when she sees the Kiera Knightly Pride and Prejudice.

2 likes

pixelglade 3 weeks ago

Though, some of the casting choices weren't too terrible

1 like

skep 3 weeks ago

I recognize I do actually have to watch that version at some point.

1 like

emilynhoward 3 weeks ago

I think they could have gotten away with 5 hours instead of 6, but the BBC is much truer to the spirit of the book. They actually let people be funny and ridiculous.

1 like

caydence emilynhoward

4 weeks ago

Congrats on 100 followers!! That's a cool milestone!

3 likes

emilynhoward 4 weeks ago

Thank you! ^-^

1 like

emilynhoward updated The Bone Folder

1 month ago

prose/selflabeling.html

prose/saveinternet.html

prose/beingastranger.html

poetry/whocouldbehurtatthishour.html

poetry/towardsuffering.html

poetry/selfheal.html

3 likes

emilynhoward 1 month ago

Just made a lot of small corrections and updates, including adding alt text to my current Field Notes images.

2 likes

emilynhoward skep

1 month ago

I got your letter today! Will reply as existential crises allow.

2 likes

skep 1 month ago

That's reasonable, I'll check the mailbox in a couple years

1 like

emilynhoward updated The Bone Folder

1 month ago

prose/selflabeling.html

prose.html

changelog.html

about.html

7 likes

kolala 1 month ago

Late to your original question, but how about using labels to be as a safe space? For instance, I have my pronouns in my site even though it doesn't make a difference to me. I'm a cis woman, so the default she/her works. And even if someone misgenders me, I wouldn't care because I have never suffered from it.

2 likes

kolala 1 month ago

So in that case, rather than being a defensive thing, it's just to tell others that I'll respect their pronouns if they ever interacted with me. To try to make it safer for those who might be dealing with discrimination in other places. I rarely interact with others, but if there's a chance to make things a bit less hostile then it's worth it.

2 likes

kolala 1 month ago

Bonus reason: some blinkies and stuff are just cute ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

1 like

pixelglade 1 month ago

Agreed with Koala. Before I came out as trans, I didn't self-identify very much as anything online, in fact I preferred to hide it. But even coming against prejudice about being trans from even my own family and facing random abuse in public and online, self-identifying works as both indicating to others that I'm "in the know (e.g. about pronouns, etc)"/ am safe, and also practically works as a filter.

2 likes

pixelglade 1 month ago

Also, I've poked around on the old web on archives of geocities and others, there was quite a lot of self-identification especially in the LGBTQ community, much as there still is today. I haven't looked at other communities but I suspect your observation on race, nationality, etc, are the same. When there's so much information online, choosing who to follow or spend time with is important, labels help with that

5 likes

ghostscape 1 month ago

i think my thoughts are not comment-sized but: this topic is super interesting, your thoughts reflect a lot of my own feelings, and also the current comments are spot-on too. how I've felt about online labels over the years has maaassively changed and part of that is to do with the kind of privileges I have changing

1 like

emilynhoward 1 month ago

@kolala Thanks for the perspective. Yeah, I think that different sites with different purposes use labels differently. For myself, I've had experiences where I thought I was a good ally and ended up causing harm, so I don't see myself as an expert on whether or not I'm a "safe" person. If someone is wondering if I am safe to approach, I would recommend that they read around my site a bit and decide for themselves.

emilynhoward 1 month ago

@pixelglade Several years ago, I got harrassed on the bus by someone claiming that they "couldn't tell" "what" I am. Shortly afterwards, I got some pride pins to put on my bag so nobody could claim to be confused about it and to take up space as a queer person. So I get that as a reason to self-label online. But to me there's a thin line between creating a community and creating an echo chamber in online spaces...

emilynhoward 1 month ago

...and that's the part that I'm still trying to figure out. I was not connected to the LGBTQ+ community in my early internet days, so I did not see the self-labeling happening there. My guess is that the practice started in small communities connecting around their identities and get got more mainstreamed over the years.

pixelglade emilynhoward

1 month ago

Another blog I follow also got a typewriter recently for seemingly similar reasons (as far as I can tell). They didn't use alt text unfortunately but they took a photo of the page they wrote for a blog post: https://jamesg.blog/2025/10/19/growth

3 likes

pixelglade 1 month ago

The first post with the typewriter: https://jamesg.blog/2025/10/19/beginnings-type-written

2 likes

emilynhoward 1 month ago

Ooh, thanks for this! You can kind of see the starry-eyed wonder that typewriters invoke. I have so far decided not to post images of my typewriting because it would require both high-res images and lots of alt text. But maybe I will one day with short bits of text.

1 like

pixelglade 1 month ago

It might be possible to simplify the process of converting full-length pages of typewriter text to alt text using OCR like tesseract or something else, but even in that case, smaller segments will probably be easier. Personally I'd like to see an example of the text your typewriter produces, out of curiosity for how the letterforms look

1 like

emilynhoward 1 month ago

My experiments so far with OCR have not worked out well. You'd think it would be easy for a computer to render typewriting into text, but the program I was using actually couldn't parse several of the letters. I will consider uploading some examples of text, though. Thanks for the suggesion!

1 like

emilynhoward

1 month ago

If everyone removed their social location labels from their site (nationality, race, age, gender, disability, etc.) would you browse Neocities differently? Would your own website be different? Just trying to think through the usefulness and limits of labels.

4 likes

nohappynonsense 1 month ago

i was thinking lately i should update my about section, but when i just checked it i realized it is as bare bones as i'd like it to be while still existing and providing some navigation. i think labels are good for new visitors, to sort of orient themselves in a general direction of the author, but ultimately the writing/content of the site is where we truly learn about who's behind the html

barndoors 1 month ago

I'd judge way less while browsing. age range is the only stat I look for. no one does media queries here but you can't hate on a 14 yo's first chatgpt-less build

maxcrunch 1 month ago

self categorization is really important for me and I do self labeling as a way to get to know myself. sometimes you self label and then find out you're wrong. it's a harder question to answer for other people. for websites, I'm more into the style of expression than the actual person. although there are some people I followed only because they're only

maxcrunch 1 month ago

over 40* lol

1 like

ghostscape 1 month ago

I don't usually go looking for those tbh: it's useful to know gender if I'm going to refer to someone (even if just to myself) but I don't think I know the rest about most of you unless it comes up organically

ghostscape 1 month ago

but then I am very into small-web anonymity. I've had enough of labels and minutely detailed self-branding as the cost of entry to a lot of social media and online spaces

1 like

emilynhoward 1 month ago

Thanks for your responses @nohappynonsense @barndoors @maxcrunch @ghoatscape! I started typing my reply and realized that it was going to be way longer than a Neocities comment will allow, so I will try to put up a page on my site and link it here today or tomorrow. I appreciate all your perspectives.

emilynhoward 1 month ago

I did it! https://emilynhoward.neocities.org/prose/selflabeling

emilynhoward updated The Bone Folder

1 month ago

prose/notebookextracts2324.html

prose.html

changelog.html

9 likes

emilynhoward 1 month ago

I added some extracts from my journals. I don't know how you'll feel about it, but this is my favorite page that I've uploaded in a long time.

4 likes

maxcrunch 1 month ago

I love this, thank you for sharing your thoughts!

2 likes

nohappynonsense 1 month ago

this is like a cheat code to skip out on my own notebook practice and just get all the good stuff from yours

1 like

sorbier emilynhoward

2 months ago

heya, just want you to know that canada post is on strike ): i haven't forgotten!!!

2 likes

emilynhoward 1 month ago

No worries! I hope it gets resolved soon!

emilynhoward updated The Bone Folder

2 months ago

prose/oneyeartypewriter.html

prose.html

changelog.html

12 likes

emilynhoward 2 months ago

Wrote a silly little essay about owning a typewriter.

3 likes

skep 2 months ago

You ought to have written it on a typewriter and posted pictures of the pages. And then typed it all out again on the computer for the alt text.

5 likes

emilynhoward 2 months ago

@Skep you act as if this idea had not crossed my mind. But I don't hate myself quiiiiite that much.

4 likes

sorbier 2 months ago

thanks for this essay, i know you said you don’t romanticise the typewriter yet it’s still so cozy to think about drafting at that pace. bouncing ball imagery makes me think of pianists, i’m sure an obvious comparison — they way they strike the keys so purposefully and precisely

2 likes

ghostscape 2 months ago

ooh I've been pondering getting a typewriter recently, a decent one has popped up for sale near me. this isn't helping dissaude me 👀

2 likes

emilynhoward 2 months ago

@sorbier I was thinking about including the piano as a comparison because I imagine the mechanics are very similar to a typewriter. But I've never played piano so I didn't know if the feel would be similar.

1 like

emilynhoward 2 months ago

@ghostscape I feel like I have been forthcoming as possible about how much of a pain in the butt typewriters are, so if this didn't dissuade you, nothing will.

2 likes

ghostscape 2 months ago

i am really curious about it as a physical experience (among other things). i used to play piano and i assume i'll be needing to rebuild those finger muscles

emilynhoward 2 months ago

You'll probably have a head start because you used to play piano, but yes, finger strength is definitely necessary!

2 likes

pixelglade 2 months ago

This was fascinating. I understand to some extent the forearm pain. Using braille input on a normal qwerty keyboard involves pushing multiple keys down at the same time in a sort of rhythm and I get pain after doing it for awhile. A Perkins brailler is much like a typewriter in design - I've never used one but it's a fascinating piece of machinery if you want to look up about it.

2 likes

hlomen 2 months ago

I really enjoyed reading this one, thanks!

2 likes

emilynhoward 1 month ago

@pixelglade Wow, that's so interesting. My workplace has a braille printer, but I had no idea that a typewriter for braille existed!

1 like

emilynhoward updated The Bone Folder

2 months ago

now.html

changelog.html

collections/suf/episodes.html

5 likes

emilynhoward 2 months ago

New /now

1 like

maxcrunch 2 months ago

I've always wanted to take a dance class! but I have such poor brain body coordination, like I know what I'm supposed to do and I know when the rhythm happens but my body just is not doing what I want it to do 🥲 I feel like dance class might help but also be very embarrassing at first! still. would be fun.

1 like

maxcrunch 2 months ago

I also recommend On Being podcast if you can find episodes. it's not running anymore but the archives are incredibly beautiful. each episode goes over a topic and the host discusses with various folks their views on life and philosophy.

1 like

emilynhoward 2 months ago

I am the same re: brain/body coordination. I don't have a strong sense of left or right. I'm not ambidextrous, but I'm neither truly left nor right-handed. I would not do well with partner or performance dance, but here I am not worried about doing steps a correct way, but exploring movement with my body as a whole. There's also a lot of value in learning things that we are not naturally talented at.

1 like

emilynhoward 2 months ago

Yes, I love On Being. I haven't listened to it recently but have enjoyed many episodes.

1 like

skep 2 months ago

I briefly mentioned last time I wrote you that I started taking a dance class. Still doing it! I still have no sense of rhythm but everybody has been very welcoming. Like it's just an excuse to get moving and laugh at ourselves.

1 like

emilynhoward 2 months ago

@Skep Ooh yeah, I forgot to ask how the dance class was going. I'm glad it's working out. Laughing at oneself is key, I think.

emilynhoward

2 months ago

Added another Steven Universe Future episode and also a short essay I started on a while ago and decided to get out of my drafts.

4 likes

emilynhoward updated The Bone Folder

2 months ago

prose/beingastranger.html

prose.html

changelog.html

collections/suf/13tf.html

collections/suf/episodes.html

collections/suf/changelog.html

7 likes

pixelglade 2 months ago

On "On being a stranger on the internet" - I learned about the study on in and out groups during my undergraduate year of psychology. It took me arguing with strangers on a forum for maybe 6 months for me to realize it though. The energy is best spent elsewhere. It's more rewarding to put energy into the IRL relationships that you can influence, even if in a small way.

2 likes

ghostscape 2 months ago

immediately adding "how minds change" to my reading list, thank you

2 likes

emilynhoward skep

3 months ago

I'm getting kinda hungry over here...

4 likes

skep 3 months ago

Hold your horses, I am literally doing the thing right now

5 likes

emilynhoward updated The Bone Folder

3 months ago

changelog.html

collections/fieldnotes2025.html

5 likes

emilynhoward 3 months ago

Just adding more notebooks. What else?

4 likes

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