My Newbie
Two Cents Worth

By

Bailey

The Christmas exchange was so much fun.

All of the gifts were awesome and there were smiles all around. The excitement was felt, not only by those that participated, but everyone that came by. Like many others, I popped in several times that day, and each time I did I felt like I was walking into the VNWR Holiday Party. The atmosphere was festive and I could almost hear the laughter and chatter, as I scrolled through the posts. It was as if I were walking thru a room, and different groups of people were sharing a joke or two over here, others talking a little business over there, while still others were talking about the kids or grandkids. There were lots of lol’s and :) on the board that day. It was really a nice “party” and a very upbeat day! Is there a New Year Eve Party? :))

Speaking of “talking a little business”, Friday’s bingo game had lots of little tidbits that were quite helpful. There were several topics going on, and in and of themselves they were important, but what we choose to DO with the information is as important.

A few days prior to the bingo game, I had done some submits to 30 or so link lists. On one of the sites about 8-9 link lists declined it. Of those that declined it, only 4 had the done so for the same reason. The others were a combination of my error, no reason or a category of reasons. The 4 declined the site for “blind and misleading links.” I was entering the “Newbie Confusion Zone” now, I really wasn’t sure what they were referring to.

My first thought was to just let it go, not change anything or resubmit, after all it was accepted to substaintionally more places than it was declined. But then I started to think about it. I didn’t want to get into any bad habits, and if even ONE place declined for blind links I thought I’d better have another look. Let’s assume for the sake of this discussion the link is a “borderline” blind link. I have to wonder how many may have accepted the site feeling they would let it go THIS TIME. In that case, as a newbie, I would have no idea it was borderline, and because the site was accepted, I would believe that all the rules had been followed including “no blind links”. I was really confused!! I don’t put blind links on any of my sites. At least I didn’t think I did. A problem could arise when I use that text or some form of it again down the line. At this point, as far as I know it’s ok to use. Now I don’t think a reviewer remembers every site that comes across his/her computer but I’m sure they eventually recognize either a style, domain, or nick. It wouldn’t be too long before they’d realize [“I gave this webmaster a pass one time too many”] and start rejecting my sites and or blacklisting me. I was thinking of all the work a little blind link could cause. Editing link tables, finding replacements, breaking a bad habit and the time it would take to rebuild and get off a blacklist.

As I was processing all the above information, it was just about time for bingo. I felt as if my mind had been read, when the topic about blind links came up shortly after the game started. There was plenty of discussion and interesting points made. With that, I went back to the rejected site and looked at it again.

I found I could make a change, as simple as changing or adding a word, that was acceptable to me and would make the owner happy too. I think link list owners that take the time to explain exactly why they declined a site (rather than give a category of reasons or no reason) are smart. While I realize some may feel it is not their responsibility to “teach” and certainly time can become a factor, not to mention, dealing with those who know better but constantly challenge the rules; much in this business is based on opinion - what IS to one IS NOT to another.

If an owner takes the time to give me specific information about my site, within reason, I’m going to pay attention to it. Sure, in most cases this info is more helpful to me, but the owner benefits also. It gives me a better idea of what is acceptable to them and I can submit sites that better suites them, and conversely, if I feel it‘s not fair or I don’t agree with it I can move on and not waste their time or mine. And while I think its great to be made aware of reasons for decline, I like that some places have reviewers comments about the site on the acceptance email. I’ve received a few short sentences in an email commenting on certain aspects of a site, from why they liked it to “did you realize that...” It’s nice to know what someone thinks, and it also gives me an idea of what the reviewers are looking for and at, or if anything in particular caught their eye. And, I do appreciate having a typo that I may have missed pointed out to me or a suggestion on a color combination that is a little hard to read.

I’m the writer, editor and producer of my work, and there are times I proof read, but my mind “reads” what I wanted to say - not what I wrote, and after looking at it over and over, sometimes, little things get by me. I don’t take rejections personally anymore, but I am taking the time read a rejection letter that contains a detailed reason. I’m not going to just let it go anymore. My feeling now is, as long as their request is fair, and they took the time to write to me about it, this is a “company” I would like to do business with and I would hope they to feel equally as comfortable with me. On my end, I can achieve this by submitting sites that are not only complying with the rules but are tweaked to the owners personal “opinion“. And certainly, when I get reviewers comments about what they liked, I’m going to be sure to make a note and apply it when building new sites. I see a little communication going a very long way to benefit both parties.

Just my newbie two cents worth.

Bailey