Majin Planet

Coding Nightmare - MySpace, The anti-crist of web design

I got to thinking about something today, I spent a good part of the day redesigning the MySpace layout for Majin Planet. Now I have to tell you that I believe myself to be a damn good html coder and I have to tell you not only does coding the profiles for MySpace suck but its down right wrong. But as big as MySpace has become, as we not only now just have bands or normal people using it, but we have big timers like Movie profiles and even big bands jumping in on the action. Before you think of this as just another “Bash the hell out of MySpace” article, I want to point out something that I think for the most part no one has talk about, at least not in open forum.

Here is the big question I would like to answer, does MySpace create bad coding habit’s for young webmasters, even old timers? So whats the deal with the question. The simple answer would be yes, but I can’t back it up with real facts because I don’t have any numbers or anything like that. What I do have is a list of anime and entertainment sites, personal pages and blogs, a community of young webmasters who have done everything to break the rules and guidelines set forth by W3C. For those of you who don’t know what that is, World Wide Web Consortium or W3C for short main goal is to create guidelines and rules for HTML, CSS, XML and just about every web language we use today.

Back when HTML first started, HTML in general was a mess, each browser only supported what they wanted to and even added tags that work in their browser but not others, and in many cases the same effect in two browsers (back then Netscape and Internet Explorer) was give two different codes. It was a nightmare to say the least and if you where a webmaster or web designer from 1995 to around 2001 you know what I’m talking about, if you don’t you either jumped into making your own sites from 2000 and on up. This era is more commonly known by many as the “browser wars”. Once CSS came into the picture it became even harder to get things rolling as each browser had its own level of support or none at all. The 4.0 browser days from them have come and gone and thank god when the 5.0 era started, browser makers stop fighting and with the rules and guidelines set by the W3C it not only help the browser makers create super browsers that we have today but it took a big load of work off us web designers.

So how does this apply to MySpace. Generally, the site is a create way to connect with other people, in a way like never before. However with it comes an a bad effect to the story. The biggest hook I think MySpace has is the fact your able to totally create your own web page. Now listen, everything that MySpace has and does has been done before, years before MySpace. What made it big was when it went main stream, as it on TV, actors and movie stars and bands put up profiles and now fans have a way to connect with their favorite band or movie like never before. That part of it is new and that is what drives MySpace, those who are like MySpace are down for being clones or copy cats. However MySpace is in danger of falling off the face of Cyberspace.

Why do say? The coding side of it. I call tell you right now, if I was in charge of the MySpace design, as in the layout of the site and how it works with profiles, it would be a better site. Now I know, you may ask me why not do that here. I wont because I only be copying MySpace, I don’t have to marketing power to get out to the masses and by the time I even start to I would be taken out or bought off by some big Company, just as MySpace was in 2005 (If I’m right on that).

Now lets look at the coding side of MySpace, I would say a good 80% of those on MySpace know nothing about html or css, generally what happens is they know what they need to know to have their layouts. The design is all wrong MySpace breaks every code in the book and with it using holes in css design which basically comes down to rendering and how browsers work. First off, unless your using the style= element on a HTML tag there shouldn’t be any style sheet link tags or anything anywhere but the head of the page. Because the browsers will render css no matter where its at it works. Also because you can set a style once and then set it again, the style resets. This is how MySpace can have their default Table code blue, and you change it to say white. What MySpace should be doing is making a css file which you edit in some way, either by only allowing you to add colors and or images to some tags, while keeping control and not letting any css in that would other wise mess up the code.

That would be the right way of doing it. Now everyone I talk to who ask me why I hate MySpace so much, I always tell them that the design sucks. When MySpace first came about I didn’t like it basically for personal reasons. I’m a webmaster I have no money to put a super cool ad on TV and get 20 million visitors after, I’ve been a webmaster for well over 7 years. I’ve had to put up with a lot of crap, hackers, even my own parents, friends and family. I like many others should be driving in traffic for the hard work we do.

Generally its no wonder so many webmasters switch to media sites, they want traffic and they want hits. I guess you do what you need to do to make it. I guess I’m a dieing breed because I would rather work for it then have it harder to me. I thought after MySpace started up it would get better, and on many levels it did, but the one thing that can ultimately break it is still there. What will MySpace do if say the new wave of browsers come and they prevent css from loading the wrong way? Has MySpace even thought of the fact with in one day everything on every profile could break. Is it really fair that search engines like Google’s rank MySpace so high because it has so many links backs which are MySpace profiles. Not only that the one key thing needed for a web page is the title page and MySpace gets away with the url up there on profile pages. While if I did that with Majin Planet I would disappear off the face of the planet.

Now I’m not going to get anger and rant about how its not fair because I learn a long time ago live isn’t fair and no matter how hard you work at something, you will never be the best. Some people work their whole life and die never getting the sweet taste they should have been given. I really hope MySpace cleans up and redesigns it profile setting and not only that but have better sections on html or even link to some good sites, and for the love of god, remove the ads. Really, back in 2003, 2004 I can see the need for ads to dive in money. They don’t need the money, just watch TV any given day, and count the number of times you hear the words “MySpace”. All they need is one ad, that’s it. Not only that but MySpace is creating a age of web designers who are coding wrong, and trust me I know many, many kids these days have MySpace profiles and sooner or later they’re going to want a web site. And what we will get is what lot of sites are now, sloppy, crappy coded and lazy.

So to put in simple. If you are on MySpace understand that how MySpace works in terms of design is wrong and should not be apply or even be used a template of what you would do on something you have more control over. Maybe if MySpace wasn’t so picky on how they let us design it, there wouldn’t be all these people out there who try and hack MySpace design and/or hide it. I hope this article has help out some of you about what MySpace really is. MySpace isn’t run and own by someone who wants to better the way. Its own by a company that wants nothing by your money and they will break all the rules and walk over anyone who stops them.