Yes, a sudden lot of posts. What can I say - I obviously have a lot to say all of a sudden!

But this post gives me an opportunity to make a few small points that I wouldn’t normally bother a whole post with…

1. Is it me or the spell check in Firefox 3 a bit dodgy? I’m often finding that it’s not checking, say, forum entries as I type them but if I turn off the spell check and turn it back on again, it starts working. Weird.
2. Because I’m often posting about customer service - good or bad - I’ve added it as a brand new category. Over time I’ll go back over my old posts and assign appropriate ones that category.
3. I’ve added a translation service to this blog (see the row of flags at the bottom of the screen?). At the moment Google translator appears to be offline, but it does work. Really.
4. I’ve added a new whizzy plugin that allows me to embed my Picasa photo albums into this blog. Rather neat and another good reason why I’m not being tempted away to the warm bosom of Flickr.

Ok, I may have said I was working on a mysterious new project but at the moment I’m tidying up a couple of sites - this one for a start.

You’ll therefore hopefully notice a few changes…

1. I’ve added topic counts and links to topic-related feeds.
2. The old social bookmarking has been replaced with ShareThis (and thanks to Tony for putting me onto that).

But - and more importantly, but probably not so noticable - I’ve finally gotten around to making my blog valid (i.e. the XHTML. Or most specifically, the sidebar, which is what had the errors in it).

Next up, I’ll be working on the Copy+ site - I’ve already had a tidy up of the forum.

It’s been a while since I blogged. You’d think I’d been on holiday or something

Well, for reasons I’m not going into (far too long and personal), my work on the BMTG website has stopped. I’m starting work on a new project - details of which will be revealed soon.

Today I’ve stumbled across the blog of a web design company, who just happened to list this website as one of a number that they berate.

Why?

Well, some time ago I put my name forward for the UK Web Design Association. My portfolio at the time was Engments, BMTG and Copy+ (which as since changed URL). They were (certainly at the time) working nicely and validated. I got approved and so list this credential at the bottom of the site.

At the time of submission I was running these via my Artiss Web Design business. I’ve since closed this up, so have diverted links to here, my personal site.

Now, MinuteDesigns, who are based in Derby, have submitted their site to UKWDA and been rejected. Why? I have no idea. Nor do they. Their site, I have to say, is pretty damn good. As are the sites they create. However, what they’ve done, obviously with a bitter taste in their mouth, is list nearby Web Design companies who have got this “award” and berated them. That includes Artiss.co.uk (well, they don’t berate it, just refer to is as “some dudes blog” with the suggestion that why should I be a member of the Association for that).

Nice.

I came off lightly actually, as many other sites had far more ferocious comments directed at them. They include pointing out those where sites no longer exist, etc, forgetting that the UKWDA is given out based on the submission at the time - it’s not reviewed regularly (remember - this is a free membership).

Anyway, I’ve left them a comment (wonder whether they’ll authorise it?) pointing out their mistake and that Artiss.co.uk is not why I’m a member. I’m sure they’ll visit the other sites now and tear those apart. Such is life.

It’s all a shame really because, as I say, MinuteDesigns seems to be a really good company, and they really didn’t have to lower themselves to half-researched bashing.

Grrr. Sometimes I worry about people.

You download some software from a website. A website dedicated to that software. A website full of forums, useful FAQ’s and an author who is only too willing, for no money, to go that extra mile to help people out with any issues that arise.

So why, when you do have a problem, ask your question elsewhere, on an unrelated forum?

That’s what I keep finding about Copy+ - I’ve come across another example of this tonight, but it’s not the first time.

I’ve also found people on download sites (where Copy+ is available) leaving bad reviews after trying it out, having an issue (or often not) and not even bothering to try and find a solution. Often they don’t even realise it’s for a specific task (backing up Sky+ hard drives) and wonder why when they run it, it doesn’t recognise any hard drives. Doh.

Look, if you’re reading this and have a problem with Copy+, use the contact form on the website, or use the forum (the author will answer to both, usually pretty quickly - when you post to the forum it even sends him an email).