squarehappy is Michael Huch is a cynical web developer and designer with more styles than content.

Why I Help People With Web Design Problems

posted by Mike on 12.01.2008 04:42 AM EST | 208 comments

I am a hero of web design. I am willing to impart my wisdoms to whosoever dares to meditate on their impotence in the fields of CSS and HTML in front of a world wide audience. I save the day, no charge. You'll forget who I am, that I even helped you, but you wouldn't have gotten where you are without me.

The above is all filthy lies. I have created my share of wreteched code. I have created an all CSS layout that only worked in IE, because I wasn't aware that other browsers existed (and who you used Netscape?) I have mixed CSS and font tags, and I was impressed with myself for even knowing what CSS was even though I didn't know what it stood for. I created a webpage in an early version of Microsoft Frontpage and threw every nonsense DHTML effect at it that I could.

The point is, we all started somewhere. We all gradually ascend the mountain, and if anyone ever reaches the top they will attain web design enlightenment with the help of some guru who's lived at the peak for over 300 years. You can make the ascent go a lot quicker if you ask the guy above you where the good footholds are, but that guy has his own priorities. Why does this guy bother to help you when he's trying to figure the next foothold for himself?

Purely selfish reasons. CSS and HTML are unpredictable beasts, and having to code for multiple browsers is the equivalent of taking the most difficult aspects of Everest, K-2, and Kilimanjaro and combining in them into an AGGRO-CRAG. So even when someone posts a question that is seemingly beneath you, if you bother to attempt to solve the problem, you might run into a host of problems you never expected. Inevitably, you bust out your ninja CSS tactics and tackle the problem, and it's even compatible in all major browsers. You feel good. You have done someone else a great favor. They have exhausted all their web fu and are great need of your services. You deliver service with a smile, pro bono. But that's not all.v

You have learned something. You have encountered an issue which might not have ever come up in your work. You may some day take this new found knowledge and create the new sliding doors. You are enlightened. Your karma has skyrocketed, and you learned something. So why do I help people with web design problems?

Purely selfish reasons. I need an excuse to practice my CSS skills so they don't oxidize, and I get a good feeling when I solve a problem that has been vexing someone for some time. I leverage the two, and I continue to not suck at web design. Everyone wins, especially me.

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Posted by Mike on 04.21.2009 09:46 AM EST

Wow I didn't know my site was even a blip on the radar anymore.

IRC sounds like a great idea for something to leave running in the background. Idle on a web dev channel, always at the ready, so you can check in periodically if you're ooking for a challenge.

And I know I'm not alone on this. Sites like StackOverflow and forums in general are built on this altruism. Everybody gains some insight and there's no need to keep your trade a secret when you're networked across the globe.

Thanks for the heads up. Anyone still listening, I'm working on something new. I'll be back to work at it as soon as I wrap up a real, paid web design gig.

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