This site debuted on this day in 1997. There aren’t many movie sites older than this one, and there aren’t many sites that existed back then that are still around today.
I’d like to be able to make it to the big 2-0.
The redesign I mentioned last week has been partly implemented. Mostly it’s about cleaning up all the junk around the periphery: the sidebar has been streamlined, for one. (Google Analytics tells me links there are hardly ever clicked on.) I’d probably get rid of the sidebar permanently if there were an easy way to rebalance the main content.
That is something I’ve achieved with a new layout for some reviews (only those than warrant it, such as long ones). I won’t be rejiggering existing reviews, but you can see what this new layout looks like on the review pages for Star Trek Beyond and Robinson Crusoe (aka The Wild Life). I’d really like to have a sidebar on review pages that contains all the meta stuff (links to the IMDb, DVD shopping links, etc.), but for various technical reasons that I cannot solve (and which might not be solvable at all in WordPress), it’s not possible. The comments sections on those pages is a little wider now, too, which will hopefully make deep threads a little easier to read.
I’m still trying to figure out what to do with the homepage…
I hope you like the slightly new look. Feedback welcome.
Just dropping by to wish you and the website a happy birthday! I’ve been reading your views and reviews for some ten years now and it’s been an education as well as fun. Keep up the good work and please do bear in mind your hard work is appreciated by many.
Hooray! I think I started reading in 2001 or 2002, and have been a regular reader since.
Happy FF birthday!
I like the wider layout for reviews and comments. I was one of those few who used the sidebar to click on other posts, but I have no problem just going to the “recent posts” page and clicking around there. I also like the “what I’m reading” links. (Currently it’s Jo Walton’s “Necessity”; I stopped after “The Just City,” and was wondering if the follow-ups were any good. Maybe I’ll check them out!)
What Bluejay said: I loved the sidebar, but I also love the What I’m Reading feature that’s taking its place.
The followups are even better!
Happy anniversary! I really like the new look on the computer, as well as the “What I’m Reading” sidebar. I’m a recent reader (I found your site in early 2015), but I hope you make it far beyond 20 years.
Happy Anniversary! Always glad to help support the site.
The redesign looks good to me, clean informative and dosen’t kill my web browser.
(Seriously, how is it that web pages are making greater demands on my computer than 3d games or HD video compositing?)
I suspect it’s ads making a lot of the demand on your browser…
Yeah. Too many scripts competing for attention.
Happy birthday to one of my favorite sites! I can’t believe how long I’ve been coming here. I still remember the first review I read. I was linked here from Penny Arcade to the review for A.I. in 2001, and I was immediately hooked. I’ve been an avid reader ever since. Can’t believe it’s been 15 years! Thanks for all you do, MaryAnn, I would enjoy my trips to the movies a lot less without you around. I’ve tried to do my part to show my gratitude over the years (bought your book, was a micropatron way back when, am a monthly subscriber now), but rest assured that if I ever strike it rich, I’ll be happy to support this whole damn site by myself patron-of-the-arts style if it means I get to keep you on as a movie reviewer forever.
Ha! I’ll hold you to that! :-)
I did use the sidebar links, but without is fine too. I’m easy to satisfy: if I can read the reviews and post comments without jumping through too many hoops, I’m happy.
Happy (belated, I’ve been too busy to read for a few days) site-birthday!
I have absolutely no desire to make people jump through hoops. I hate the thought of annoying readers, and since there are no ads here, forcing a bump in pageviews serves no purpose. I *do* want the cleanest, easiest to read site possible.
The only hoops are caused by Tinypass and Disqus, and I respect your decision to use them.
I do like the wide format.
Another belated happy birthday post here. So glad you are writing and this site is here!
Many happy returns.
Happy belated birthday, MaryAnn.
Sorry for the long delay in delivering this message, but accessing the Internet has not exactly been all that easy for me as of late. But it’s getting better.
Anyway, I wish you the best. I hope to see you still here next September.