I got tired of the bricks. There was way too much purple. And while this blue might be, well, really blue, I like it better.

Anyway, a few tweaks to page layouts, especially on single-post/comment pages — didn’t like having the comments fields being as wide as the window because, well, that’s crappy design for one thing. It’s going to look a bit weird especially on comic pages where the content is centered and most especially if you have a high screen res set (nighthawk) but life is all about compromise.

Meanwhile, toys: directly below the box where you type your comments, you’ll see a preview of your comment display while you type. (Note: it doesn’t automatically color your links.) Also, there’s a checkbox where you can subscribe to receive email when a thread where you posted a comment receives more comments — similar to the “notify” feature of the old forum. That’s for those of you who loved the notifications on the forum and can’t/won’t use the comments RSS to keep track of new comments.

I have a comic in the queue for Tuesday – whoo! It’s not Night Fugues, though, sorry. We’ll get there.

The site’s done.

I’ll admit – I’m nervous.

Having listened to much of the feedback from last year’s event, we decided to try something *very* different this year. In long-ago years, the main goal of having a comic hub site was simply to say, “Hey, look! People are writing comics! And they’re posting them on the internet!”

I think we all know that by now. Pure hub sites exist in a hundred places — in fact, I’d venture to say that there are more hub sites now than there were comics 10 years ago.

So how do we spread the word about online comics? There were a lot of ideas put forward — advertising, conventions, free comic books, etc. etc. All of them are good ideas and all of them are a good start. So how do we take all of this to the next level for Online Comics day?

We decided to make the site this year about more than just a hub site. That functionality’s still there, but we also created some stubs — stories that invite you, the comic reader/writer/author/artist/fan, to tell us about how you currently support online comics, and about upcoming events where you will be spreading the word to readers and non-readers alike.

Please come join us in celebrating online comics on May 5th. Registration is now open and we’re looking forward to seeing you.

I spent most of Saturday on various airplanes, then visiting with family. Sunday we went to services for my aunt, then visited with family some more. Monday we spent most of the day on various airplanes. I came home mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted.

Jessdog let me sleep until almost 9:30 this morning, which I needed. She’s now asleep on the sofa next to me. My sinuses are not my friend(s?). I didn’t get a comic up until almost noon today, and I need to get the one I started a week and a half ago up.

Plus, Online Comic Day is less than a week away, so I’ve got to get that wrapped up.

It’s good to be home, and it will be good to get back to routine tomorrow. My day job’s been great, really flexible and understanding, and I’m grateful.

More later, as the day progresses.