My New Website on Cats

[Katzenfreund]

My brand new site on cats has just been published and you’re invited to visit it:

tomcat's Cat Advice & Trivia Site – paws for thought

http://tomscats.wix.com/cats

Cat quotes - one liners – pics - advice – info - trivia.

Dog lovers are also welcome – in the hope of converting them.

I’d appreciate any comments, including constructive criticism.

Note: tomcat is another nickname I use on some boards where I participate.

tomcat’s is an acronym for:
tomcat's online miscellaneous cat advice & trivia site

 

[NavyRet]

Wonderful site, Katz. I especially liked the pictures. Thanks for all your hard work making the site, your love of cats shows. I sent a link to the site to some of my cat parent friends.

 

[Katzenfreund]

Thanks a lot guys, there was a lot of work involved but worth it, and your favorable comments are appreciated.

There was a problem with (missing) margins, but it's fixed now.

 

[Katzenfreund]

Thanks for coming back with continued interest and even suggestions.

I owe an answer and for this I clarify my (present) intentions, considerations and limitations.

Firstly, I do intend to carefully add more material over time, and your suggestions will come useful here.

Now I say “carefully”, because the site is subject to limitations:
The host only allows a maximum of 500MB, but of course I have a considerable margin left.
There’s also the problem of overloading the visitor with too much material, though again, I’m a long way from reaching that point too.

But then, there is the thorny subject of intellectual rights. It’s alright posting videos, pics etc in a warez board, but on an open site you are liable to suddenly get a lawyer’s letter with threats of legal action and excessive demands for damages. So even the pics I used are either mine or free of intellectual rights, I had to search specifically for them. I even heard stories of lawyers posting attractive pics as bait, and then going after those who unwittingly borrow them.

 

[kiwi1960]

Checking it out now.... will report back shortly...

Unless I like it... then you may not see me for a few days...

 

[Katzenfreund]

No reply is not a reply kiwi, I await your comments, even if negative. After all, it's finding what's wrong that helps correct it.

 

[NavyRet]

A Guest book would be nice. Folks could leave comments right on the site.

 

[Katzenfreund]

The guest book is a good suggestion. I've found a free software for it, but it only supports 10 comments and no editing of them. They're obviously trying to sell their premium, unlimited version, as usual.

My wish is to add a page with amusing animated cat gifs. I've got several good ones in my collection. But I'm concerned about violating copyrights and getting into legal trouble.

 

[kiwi1960]

The problem with a guest book is "guest book spam".... I had one for a site which, partly, delved into the many murdered children in New Zealand... and the guest book was added so people could leave their condolences.... I had found out then that bots post to these things .... the topic was dead children.... the bots posted links to porn sites... never again.

I will offer you my advice, Katz, but give me a day to think about it. The major problem is that you went to a free host, which means a free template... which means all you could do is add what you want THEIR WAY.... you cannot add, for example, a cute kitty menu system..... for that reason... the site looks bland.... no offence.... but your creativity cannot be expressed on such a site.

I'm half way tempted to give you a site on my server and help you select a ....script... more to your needs, which would be limited only by your imagination.... I'd even help set it up and find other scripts like a spam proof guest book. That would be for FREE, of course.

I have set up hundreds of sites for others over the years and have run more than one for myself....

But.... only if you want that.... either way, let me think about it....

My comments were not made to belittle or insult you... but made as a friend wanting only the best for you... besides, cats deserve a damn fine site!

 

[Katzenfreund]

Thanks for the comments, specially appreciated as they come from an expert.

The site design is indeed limited by the templates available. The home page looks reasonable to me, the others rather plain. I tried to compensate for that by putting emphasis on useful content, but they could certainly benefit from some graphical embellishment, about which I am trying to get ideas. This is easier said than done, because graphics additional to the templates tend to shift position as compared to the previewer, rendering accurate work impossible. They also change position depending on the browser and zoom factor the site is viewed with.

Thanks also for giving consideration to hosting me on your server. Though that would offer new possibilities, it would also mean I’d have to do it all over again, which puts off a lazy cat like me. Furthermore, I’d hate to keep bothering you all the time to fix this, explain that, add the other, which is inevitable when new designs are involved.

It may not seem so, but site building took me some considerable time, mainly because the editor was not completely compatible with my browsers/XP/slow connection. It was very unresponsive and the script kept stopping and requiring refreshing the page, sometimes leading to loss of material.

Anyway, as I said somewhere, the site is still under development and all comments and suggestions are welcome.

 

[kiwi1960]

Well then, I have another idea. But first, let me explain a few things. My server hosts other sites, you wouldn't necessarily be annoying me as there are others at the help desk most times, in fact, given my health issues... Multiple Sclerosis (and with that, double vision and dementia), A heart condition, diabetes, sleep apnoea, insomnia, arthritis and I also need a few new artificial knees but they wont do them till its much worse as they only last 10 years so I have to live with the pain....

... the fact is, I'm semi retired these days....

But so be it... at least consider a blog... using wordpress software... you can get a free blog nearly anywhere.... look for one that allows you to preview the templates... you might find one like this...

But no matter... if you insist on staying where you are, I'm still willing to help...

 

[NavyRet]

I dunno about anybody else, but that post Kiwi automatically sends my Firefox browser to the graphic with no chance of seeing the thread and no way to go back. I had to make this post using a different browser. Totally weird.

 

[Katzenfreund]

I can't see the image at all. All I see is the word "Image".

@kiwi
I recommend imgur for hotlinking images. It's never let me down so far.

 

[kiwi1960]

Agree with Laroza. As for the image... I hotlinked it from the template site... navy, strange? Must be the FBI and NSA ya think?

Actually, just looked, I had hotlinked it from Google... who got it from..... hmmm... best to go to the source for the sauce.

 

[Katzenfreund]

@kiwi

Yes, now I see the image and it's colorful and impressive.

I do see a couple of weaknesses, e.g. that ginger cat appears 5 times, the blue one 3 times and another image twice, but of course that doesn't have to be so. It's also based on graphical images which demand much creative work and appeal to children, whereas mine is based on photos and facts, appealing to adult cat lovers and owners. But again, images can be replaced, while keeping the imaginative impact of the template.

Thanks, it's something to keep and refer to for ideas, even strive for.

My intention is to add a blog with comments from visitors that would also act as guest book, but I'm concerned about your experiences with spam. So there's no hurry.

 

[Katzenfreund]

@ laroza

Thanks again for your input. I make some comments for the sake of clarification and discussion.

My concern is not so much about youtube videos, as about images (photos) owned by others. The fact that they’re PD does not mean they can be freely used. As I said before, I’ve read in a serious German mag (PC-Welt) about documented cases with names of lawyer offices posting attractive images as bait and then demanding heavy damages from anybody using then unwittingly.

I thought of a possible partial workaround by including the images (animated gifs in this case) on a new page which will be hidden from Google etc crawlers. This way, someone specifically searching for them for legal purposes won’t find them. But they will be accessible to normal site visitors. What do you think of this idea?

As for videos, my general feeling (not firm belief) is that I’m not offering much useful content by posting them, as anybody can easily find plenty in youtube. But of course, there are always exceptions in the cases of outstanding vids that one would have to sift thru a lot of inferior stuff to find them. There’s also my fear that streaming heavy video content would put strain on the limited bandwidth of a free site.

As for big cats, I like them too of course, but their inclusion would mean expanding the site’s framework of content, when its main subject of house cats has not yet been treated fully. So it’s music of the future for the time being.

 

[kiwi1960]

two things katz....

Regarding Guest book spam, there are so called "spam proof" guest books... that either will not allow posts with links in them, or each comment needs to be OKed by a human... OR BOTH....

As for copyright on images, yes, you cannot use images if they are copyrighted FOR PROFIT.... if your website is trying to make money, then really, you need to be paying royalties or paying a lump sum to use the images.

HOWEVER.... not for profit site have the so called 'fair use' law.... you can use images provided you do not try to make money AND you credit the copyright holder with a link back to their site....

If you are still unsure.... if a site which has a photo you want to use on it, but its says COPYRIGHT.... then use the contact button (most sites have them) and ask if you could use the image on your non money making site.... most will either say YES, go for it... or tell you that its in the public domain anyhow...

Hope this helps.... and I'm kind of chuckling to myself here.... a pirate on a warez site saying he wants to follow the law.... (GUFFAW!!!!!) That made my day.

 

[Katzenfreund]

Another informative reply. This discussion has been very useful.

OK, spam proof Guest Book is certainly the (only) one to go for.

Now with images, it gets more complicated. Firstly, even if they are free with attribution, I don’t want to mention and link others on my site, nor do I always know who the legal owner is, as the image could appear in more than one places that I don’t even know of. Secondly, if I ask them first, there’s the risk they’ll say no or want attribution, and I’d then be in a worse position, because they’ll know about me.

As regards a pirate following the law, yes, I thought of the same thing myself, and it does sound (and is) contradictory. But it’s the law of necessity we’re all following. It’s one thing hiding behind a nickname in a board full of similar others, knowing there's no precedent of prosecution, and another sticking your neck out as an individual. It’s like avoiding torrents, not because we respect the copyright law, but because we know we can get in legal trouble.

After all, the most important Commandment is the 11th, unwritten one:
Thou shalt not get caught!
Do what you like with the others, just respect this one and you’re in the clear.

In the last analysis, we are “fair weather” pirates.

 

[kiwi1960]

OK, regarding images.... do what I do... use and be dammed....

What you do is download the image to your desktop... then open Google, click on IMAGES and then drag the image to to input bar and let go...

What will happen is that any and all sites using that image will appear..... and trust me, there will be many... so use the image... if any site complains, tell them you got it from another site.... and if they persist, apologise and remove the image... no one will take you to court because you are not making money off your site so they will be happy with that outcome...

but really... the more sites using the image the better.... it means the real copyright owner has given up trying to hold onto his/her image.

In all the years I have been running sites, not ONE.... repeat... NOT ONE... person has ever asked me to remove an image because they own copyright on it...

and trust me... that includes one site where I named and shamed evil doers.... the odd time I could, I had their photo on the site....

 

[Katzenfreund]

OK, regarding images.... do what I do... use and be dammed....

Simple, sound advice and…worthy of a pirate!

I was gradually coming to that conclusion, but was waiting for confirmation from someone who tried it. (I knew about image search, that’s how copyright holders find violators, but wouldn’t know if a site using it had obtained permission, many probably didn’t. But, as you say, “be damned…”)

So, I’ll add a section with selected images/gifs on impressive cat skills. I already have the material in my personal collection.

As regards adding a blog, I think I’ll first wait for the site to appear in Google, which takes from 1 to 3 months, then see how many visits I get and judge whether it’s worth it. Even if it isn’t, my objective of creating a useful site on cats has been achieved.

 

[Katzenfreund]

Thanks, I'll bear the suggestions in mind and try to expand, Though at present I'm not aiming at high levels of achievement, nor do I have the financial motivation for them, they say appetite comes while eating. The trouble is, I'm a lone player in life and wouldn't cooperate well with owners of other cat sites. Probably one of the reasons I like cats is because I have their attitude, including tendency to individualism and laziness.

In the meantime, I haven't been totally inactive. I've done some SEO work, then verified site ownership with Google and also submitted the sitemap to it.

And now back to adding a new section on Cat Skills.

 

[kiwi1960]

The one advantage of a blog is that any story/article you add will give you the ability to add search words, or as its called in the blogosphere, meta-tags.

These meta tags are picked up by Google and other search engines and gives your Google ranking a shot in the arm, especially if you have a variety of stories and articles with many different meta tags, such as (in your case) "Cats" "Felines" "Pets" etc etc and then extra words to describe the current story... "cat killed dog" and the next story "cat killed mouse"... etc etc etc ....

and of course, there are cheating ways....

Your site is hosted where it is... your blog could be hosted by wordpress..... people travelling from the blog to the site and vice versa actually increases the Google ranking for both sites... each visitor to the site is counted as a hit...

Don't let me bully you, katz.... the main this is... go mad, have fun with your site... be unique... make some outrageous comments to ensure people come back and often.

 

[NavyRet]

I love this cat video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AVn7Tp_duw

 

[Katzenfreund]

@ kiwi
You're not bullying me, you're teaching me a lot of useful stuff.

@ NavyRet
Great minds do think likewise! I remember that video very well, I posted it both here and on another board. I also made an animated gif of its gist, which I used as signature at the other board.

By coincidence, I posted my gif in the thread about the American heros in the News section. Furthermore, I included the gif in the new section on my website.

@ Everybody
I have now added a new section to my website entitled "Cat Skills" with graphical display of cats' remarkable abilities. It includes some of the best animated gifs in my personal collection. Please take a look. It's the last link on bottom right, or directly here:

http://tomscats.wix.com/cats#!cat-skills/cwcub

 

[NavyRet]

Nice. Thanks for sharing those.

 

[kiwi1960]

Katz, you should have a HERO cat section... for HERO CAT and all the other cats out there saving lives etc....

 

[NavyRet]

Brain Freeze

 

[Katzenfreund]

That's funny!

By the way, my site has appeared on Google.Rather early, as I submitted it directly rather than wait for them to find it.

It appears high when any of the following search terms are used, otherwise it's lost in the multiplicity of cat & pet sites.

cat advice quotes photos
cat advice quotes facts
cat advice quotes trivia
cat advice quotes training
"cat advice & trivia" (this last one also shows the present thread)

 

[kiwi1960]

hmmm.....

look at this, katz...

http://mashable.com/2013/07/11/cat-websites/

 

[Katzenfreund]

That's one of the best finds I've seen for a long time and will keep me busy for some hours.

I hope one day my site makes the list. For the time being, it's just the cultural event of the year.