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| Author: Posted: Sep. 8, 2002 | This Page Viewed: 7,124,937 |
Question of the Week: 35 - 4/2/2001 Pagan Web Surfing Likes/Dislike Please don't list actual sites you like/dislike, but rather what YOU look for, if you find it, and what you liked or disliked about the Pagan sites that you visited. What would you like to see more or less of? Do you make use of 'Book of Shadows' information, such as utilizing the spells or rituals in them? Do you want more interactive areas such as chat rooms and message boards? More scholarly pieces? Less pop-up windows or advertising? What makes you go, "Hurray! I love this site!" or grumble, "I won't be coming back to this site in any century real soon!" |
| Reponses: There are 60 responses posted to this question. | Reverse Sort |
| The Thing That Makes Me Decide Right Away Whether Or Not I... | Apr 5th. at 11:19:03 pm EDT |
| Julia Glassman (Bronxville, New York US) | Age: 20 |
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The thing that makes me decide right away whether or not I like a website is the attitude of the author -- if there's a lot of snottiness, harsh judgement, or a holier-than-thou mindset (or even worse, if the entire page is dedicated to that), I see absolutely no reason to stay there. Original information isn't a big deal to me -- most of what I look for in sites is research material, so sites that have (legal) listings of info from good sources are a plus. Original insights are always nice, too -- even if I don't agree with the author or it's not exactly the wisest stuff in the world, I don't mind as long as they're sincere. The design of the page is a big issue, too. One doesn't have to be a professional designer to make a nice looking page -- simpler pages tend to look the best if you don't have much to work with. Plain background, easy to read title, info organized into distinct and easy to read sections. Marvelous. |
| Well, A Very Good Question It Is! May I First Say That... | Apr 6th. at 1:48:10 am EDT |
| Wanda (Fort Worth, Texas US) | Age: 55 - Email |
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Well, a very good question it is! May I first say that I find the Witches Voice to be not one of the best but The Best pagan site on the internet. Okay, now that I have gotten my brownie points in *g*.. just teasing. I really do think that you are the best.. Oooppsss.. was not suppose to mention any names. Okay, to the question at hand. I am a retired woman in her senior years, so I find myself with much time on my hands and its either a good thing or at least a enjoyable thing that I spend many hours sitting in front of this square box. I have over the last few years visited hundreds possibly thousands of web sites, some I stayed for moments and some I have re-visited many times. My likes are those that are at least for the most part original, I don't like drop down windows that I have to keep hitting before they leave, I don't like sites that are mirrow images of hundreds before them. I do not also believe that "spells" should be handed out so freely or actually don't even believe they need or should be even on the internet. I do believe that the basics are a good thing but not on every site. We as human beings have an infinite amount of hidden talents and gifts. Why not share what was God/Goddess given to you. If you have a talent to write poetry then why not share it, painter? sculptor? or photographer or even perhaps a story teller, no not tell fibs. I love to read original short stories, what a wonderful avenue to share. To me this is exciting, to see one share of themselves in its truest sense. I remember one of the first sites that I visited a few years back, it was a lovely young woman that shared pictures of her home and family. She also shared some "how to" crafty ideas and exceptional links for information that I had not seen in other places. Her site has really grown over the last couple years but she had maintained her warmth in all its pages and it remains very original. I feel good every time that I visit there, like visiting a friend that I have become fond of. I realized that for the most part that sites do not or cannot be that personal but a lesson learned is the part of being yourself. I can't think of a thing that bothers me more than someone with a business card saying Jan Doe, Shaman. I think that many grab unto titles that are self given and not earned. You cannot be a Shaman in a weekend or a Medicine Woman or I saw someone say once they were a Grand High Priestess in two different traditions. ???Huh??? They must have seen the movie "witches" Or one that said these spells on her web site came over from Ireland with her great great great grandmother and she could sell you a couple of them for a few bucks... but hey, she could not be responsible if you used it in a bad way. I think this computer age can be a plus for we as non-christian peoples but it also has it draw backs.. because where there is a dollar to be made, you will always have those that will take advantage. Another biggy for me is those that put down other paths including being Christian. Everyone of us have the right to choose. Okay, I am getting off track am I not? For the most part, I think most of the sites are okay, there are some great, some very good and some well... ya have to take the good with the bad my grandmother always said, but if you want them to return, you give a reason to smile and to have felt welcome. Blessings and thank you for being here for all of us. Wanda |
| Likes: Valuable Information, Easy Navigation, Search Tools. Dislikes: Copyright Infringement (if You... | Apr 6th. at 2:31:58 am EDT |
| Kerri-Leigh Grady (Longmont, Colorado US) | Age: 27 - Email |
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Likes: Valuable information, easy navigation, search tools. Dislikes: Copyright infringement (if you didn't write it, and you don't have permission from the author or the author's estate to publish it, it's illegal!), black background, excessive graphics, excessive animated graphics, frames, convoluted navigation, linkrot, text unreadable b/c of color in relation to background color(s). Dislikes on commercial Pagan sites: one long, ever-scrolling page of products with nothing but a graphic, a short description, and a price. |
| I Think That A Good Pagan Site Should Atleast Have A Section... | Apr 6th. at 3:12:33 am EDT |
| Ravenwind (Shakopee, Minnesota US) | Age: 20 |
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I think that a good Pagan site should atleast have a section that explains what your religion is. That way people who are searching to learn will have a good idea what they have found. I also find that sites with sketches, paintings, poetry, short stories, ect. tend to grab my attention quicker than sites containing just the meat and potatos. Paganism is a ritch culture with many talented people, and I think that you should be proud of your talents. Let other people enjoy your artistic side. Besides, dry reading and pure information can get boring. If you don't feal comfortable sharing your art, than maby you can let other people post theirs on your site. The key though is variety. What I don't like to see in a site are spells, or sites that try to get money in exchange for lessons in magick. I don't think it is wise to put a spell in a place where anyone can get there hands on it. If a spell is used in a harmfull way than not only does the person who cast it get the bad karma but I believe that the bad karma will backlash to the person who made that spell available in order to be missused. Sites that sell lessons are charging you an arm and a leg for information that you probably can get for free, or else the person is making it all up as he/she goes along, so you really don't get anything from those sites anyway. As already stated in many other responses, I don't like to see slanderous materiel in any website. Why would anyone want to go to a site if alls they are going to see are insults. It is also giving all pagans a bad name if thats what people are finding in pagan sites. Just to add something else since it relates to the topic. I have a site called The Ravens Nest. It is nowhere near finnished so it probably qualifies as a bad site rightnow, but i'll take any advice as to what you all would like to see in there. I'll put a link down in the Email part. I would like to hear any suggestions that you may have. Somehow I lost the guest book but my email address is linked on the front page. you can send your suggestions there if you have any. |
| I Really Like General Information, Rather Than Specific Spells Or Rituals. I... | Apr 6th. at 3:35:53 am EDT |
| Kyla Jones (Columbus, Ohio US) | Age: 39 - Email |
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I really like general information, rather than specific spells or rituals. I like deity information, Goddess and God, as well as beings like elementals, etc. I don't mind ads per se, as I know they pay for the sites, but I detest pop-ups! Message boards are good and links are great. |
| I Generally Dislike It When The Site Designer Has Made The Assumption... | Apr 6th. at 8:18:53 am EDT |
| Mayahuel (Saint Cloud, Florida US) | Age: 30 |
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I generally dislike it when the site designer has made the assumption that the visitor will be of a same or similar conviction. I equally dislike it when the site designer wastes half the site trying to justify the existence of both the site and the path it represents. I'm a little tired of pentagrams instead of content, and I'm a lot tired of the blatant plagarism I've seen between sites. I'd like to see more information taken from historical/anthropological texts, and more personal thought from the site owner as to why their path may do certain things a certain way. On the whole, I find that Pagan sites are very much like one another with only a few real exceptions--they all seem to be the same content obscured by the same heavy-handed graphics. How about some more sites from people blazing their own paths rather than following what has already been done? |
| I Like Sites With 'books Of Shadows' - I'm Still Very Much A... | Apr 6th. at 8:41:11 am EDT |
| Rita (Lisbon, Portugal) | Age: 21 - Email |
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I like sites with 'Books of shadows' - I'm still very much a beginner and all information is more than welcome. I like seeing how others do their rituals/spells and see if I can put them to use or perhaps change them to fit my needs. Also I like to see pieces about what other pagans around the globe are doing - celebrations, rituals, pictures ... |
| I Am Getting Rather Tired Of The Same Old "basics Of Witchcraft... | Apr 6th. at 12:32:04 pm EDT |
| Newt (Rome, Georgia US) | Age: 20 |
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I am getting rather tired of the same old "basics of witchcraft" found on most websites. I am a witch, wiccan, and a pagan, so I already know what Witchcraft is....I love it when the webmaster posts personal information, their own perspective on things. These could be things like what mythology happens to speak to them, how they came to paganism, or anything that promotes a sense of community and intimacy. There are enough black background sites (do we not like other colors?) that simply state "wicca is a religion of the earth that sees divinity in polarity" etc. If I leave a site and know more info leaving, or consider the way I have been looking at a particular aspect of my religion and the world, if I feel like I know more about my fellow pagans, then I'll come back. |
| The Only Thing I Really Dislike About The Pagan Web Is Lack... | Apr 6th. at 4:28:29 pm EDT |
| Carrie Ellis (Memphis, Tennessee US) | Age: 23 - Email |
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The only thing I really DISLIKE about the Pagan web is lack of original content... there are two types. 1. The 'copied out of the same ole book' type. The same passages from the same authors repeated over and over on page after page without any original thoughts about them. 2. The 'fifteen copies of the same essay on fifteen different sites without any copyright information' type. If youre going to copy someone's work to your page, give them credit! I despised doing a search for a subject, finding a great web site and then finding fifteen more that say the same thing word for word - with no copyright credits. |
| I Think It Is Very Difficult To Find Serious Information On This... | Apr 6th. at 5:50:29 pm EDT |
| Aranka de Cock Buning (Zwolle) | Age: 32 - Email |
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I think it is very difficult to find serious information on this subject. When I'm browsing I hat finding 100 sites with things I should buy. I don't want to buy much, I want more info. I want info on how to learn more. I am not a coven-witch. I am a beginner although I've been at it for some years now. I want to learn from witches from families of witches. My mum was always into herbs, and as a joke always called herself a witch, but she never had the desire to take it further. I have, I've read many books and studied many sites, but I don't seem to get anywhwere. People seem to want to share history and facts, but they don't seem to want to share knowledge unless you pay. Well, I'm sorry, I want to learn, badly even, but I need the money I earn to pay my bills. So what reeally irritates me is that te people I encounter on the internet who do what I do either want to make a profit or don't want to share at all. I'm very sorry to say so witches out there, I understand ou don't want to share with just anyone, but why not just give us a quiz to see if we're really into the treefold-law or just trying to gain for ourselfes. Not everyone has the resourses to pay for your courses. Blessed be, Aranka |
| The First Impression Will Of Course Be Visual. Is The Site Attractive... | Apr 6th. at 8:42:32 pm EDT |
| StormDancer (Madison, Wisconsin US) | Age: 28 |
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The first impression will of course be visual. Is the site attractive, well put together? Can I navigate easily, or are those hideously annoying pop-up advertisements all over? If I don't like the music, can I turn it off? I then go to content. If it's a beginner site, I generally don't spend much time there...I'm past much of that and don't need to be told what a penticle means. If it's really well done, I will stay to look around and sometimes leave a happy note in their message book. I look for content on herbs, folk remedies, old folk spells, quarter and cross-quarter rituals, goddess lore, history, and thought-provoking content. I find more and more I'm identifying with "hedgewitches" or "kitchenwitches", and those sites are few and far between. I think it tends to be less exciting than love spells and such *lol*. And of course, you can't resist a WICKED sense of humor :). |
| I Find Most Sites Have Too Many Graphics. They Seem To Be... | Apr 6th. at 9:36:07 pm EDT |
| Robyn (Halifax, Nova Scotia CA) | Age: 27 |
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I find most sites have too many graphics. They seem to be trying too hard to make their site fantasy like. It takes too long on dial up connections and it makes it more difficult to find things. They don't need to have a page out of a fantasy novel. Robyn |
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