You’d think the fact that I wrote a scathing 3000+ word review of Pixelfx.org would be enough to express my general distaste for the “quality” of the tutorials featured there, but it’s just not enough. I’m going to repeat myself until I get the point across.. or at least until a few people tell me to stop beating a dead horse.
Why Is Pixelfx.org Pants?
- Because it looks pants. I’m not trying to insult the talent of the owner by suggesting she can’t design to save her life (I’ll let other people do that; and I can’t design either), I’m just saying that it looks like soiled pants, and that’s not good.
- Because for a tutorial site, there is very little focus on the tutorials. When you do finally get to the tutorials page, there is so little emphasis on the fact that there are multiple pages under each topic, that I almost missed a huge percentage of content when I did my review.
- Because the owner is redistributing outdated, insecure scripts with no thought for those poor newbies who are unaware of issues, thus putting them at potential risk from “hacking”. Not only this, but distribution of the majority of scripts is forbidden, and yet this continues with a © Emily note at the bottom.
- Because the majority of the tutorials suck. The code is either blatantly incorrect, or used in completely the wrong context. I won’t go into detail again, that is what my review of pixelfx was for.
- Because I say so.
What Can I Do To Help?
Spread the word of pants-ness! Link to my review and this post, tell people who link to the site that they’re ruining their own reputation, tell people who use the tutorials that there are much better ones available — the w3schools site, tutorialtastic (of course :p), spoono etc.
..and of course, a pants site wouldn’t be complete without a pants award:
Oh, and if anyone has any of their own photographs of pants (panties/knickers), feel free to send them my way. I am finding it incredibly difficult to find free stock images of pants! Last but not least, and non pants-related: a *LOL* at the following comment left on Pixelfx:
Life is pretty hard I know believe me, especially if you own a website
Because owning a website is so damned stressful, I don’t know if I can keep it up. *woe* Excuse me while I go cut myself..
10 Apr at 2:51 pm
I will do my best to spread the “pants-ness” (!!) … Do you really want people to send you pics of their drawers??!! ooh-eer…
10 Apr at 3:14 pm
It took me a while to see where the tutorials are! Because the owner is redistributing outdated, insecure scripts with no thought for those poor newbies who are unaware of issues I doubt she herself knows of the issues. Wow… and there’s a fanlisting dedicated to her too. :S
10 Apr at 3:35 pm
*has been waiting for they day Jem asked Carly to send her pants* Whats your address then? Oh, what? You want pictures? Dirty or clean pants? lol Soiled pants, I love it when people refer to dirty pants as ‘soiled.’ Forgive me, I am procrastinating again.
10 Apr at 3:45 pm
I’ve been spreading the word to anyone and everyone who will listen. Unfortunately no one does. If I mention it as a related subject in a convo I’m ignored. If I warn against it when it’s linked I’m ignored. If I plain flat out tell someone to not go there I’m, again, ignored. I was so pissed off that I never got a reply from her. Do you think it would be rude if I were to e-mail her?
10 Apr at 3:46 pm
I imagine your e-mail would be ignored too, unfortunately.
10 Apr at 3:57 pm
Probably she’s such an idiot. I’d love to message her, I wish I could find either her aim or messanger screen-name.
10 Apr at 4:02 pm
I don’t know if she has any messenger details published, but her e-mail address (from one of the many sites she runs) seems to be: shecriesNOSPAM@gmail.com ..minus the redundant NOSPAM bollocks that she seems to think works, obviously.
10 Apr at 4:18 pm
I looked on sxc.hu for pants etc and you’re right, there’s not much there! how odd.
10 Apr at 4:21 pm
…yet if you search for lingerie you get easter pictures!
10 Apr at 8:06 pm
My website-ownership really puts me into depression. Sometimes I cry myself to sleep at night, knowing that I have a domain and others are looking at my site. Unfortunately there are no prescription or over-the-counter drugs for my condition. I don’t know how you stay so strong, Jem :(
10 Apr at 8:40 pm
LOL!!
10 Apr at 11:56 pm
Indeed! Owning a website is very stressful, why do we do it? -sniff- My dad walked past just as I was reading the comment about the Pants Award and asked me what I was looking at. “Uh, she was making fun of something, the girl who owns this website.” I’m sure that sounded very convincing to Dad. Please Jem, write more of these reviews. There was another tutorial site like this up a while ago, I went to it a lot when I was a beginner but now I know better than to look at the tutorials there. It was called Killer Bunnies and I’m fairly sure the address was http://www.Killer-Bunnies.com, but that just gets one of those annoying featured directory pages that are really no better than a 404 error.
11 Apr at 12:43 am
Owning a site is so stressful!1!1onetwothreefour. I think im gunna close mine down!!!!!! i only gets lyke 24042402 hitz a day!!!! then im gunna beg ppl to send me moneyz 4 a new monitah b4 i put it back!11!1!1 *Ahem* >:)
11 Apr at 1:10 am
Yes… owning and mainting a website is ever so stressful, I don’t know why I bother. Oh! Wait. May-be it’s because it’s something that I enjoy doing. Really, she needs to get a life. She’s probually trying to do the site just to get “famous” on the ‘net.
11 Apr at 1:44 am
The “Ability to learn” requirement gives me a chuckle. I wonder if she can stop her shoe from hitting her own bum.
11 Apr at 2:21 am
Holy pickles, because adding horrible scripts that are going to stop working tomorrow is so stressful.
11 Apr at 2:43 am
I have nothing witty to say, but I really do love your sense of humour. And I didn’t realize that underwear could be called pants! Learned something new.
11 Apr at 3:27 am
Ha. I kept getting lost, over there, seriously. And I also missed a bunch of content. She says there in her last update that she’s looking for volunteers so she could have help “revamping” that site. I have to seriously stop myself from not “volunteering.” xD.
11 Apr at 4:46 am
Some boxers alright with ya? ;) Someone please tell me what a cam portal has to do with site tutorials? Is it a ‘How to make an emo site’ tute or what? *is totally confused* Ah well, can’t wait for her to start flooding your inbox with whiney emails about how horrible we are so you can post them here with scathing replies for our amusement. ;P
11 Apr at 4:55 am
Speaking of “blatently incorrect”, you’ve misspelled ‘blatant’. You might want to keep explaining “pants” to your non-UK visitors with each Pants Award entry – I only know about it from effingpot.com.
11 Apr at 6:36 am
That review was a long read but well worth it! Now I know where NOT to go for tutorials if I need one.. I’m not from the UK but learned a long time ago what pants means overthere since it rhyms so ‘nicely’ with Chans :S
11 Apr at 8:40 am
I’ll admit I used to love that site. I don’t know why since I didn’t even use their tutorials. I guess I was influenced. Check this out: Too much for a tutorial site, huh? Owning a website isn’t really work. If it was it’d be stressful. I also find it ridiculous that she has the archives page on her index…
11 Apr at 8:44 am
I forgot to put a link to the page. Oops. http://www.pixelfx.org/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=18 I commented on her blog.
11 Apr at 9:36 am
I actually know the girl/woman that owns the site. I was going to be working for her review site but then decided against it for my own reasons. You had to basically say why you should be chosen in one point and I said “my site is valid xhtml 1.0 strict”. She replies with “I don’t have the time to validate my coding, if it looks good, I’m fine with it” I had to bite my tongue at that part. It obviously wasn’t the right time to say “HEY! IT LOOKS AWFUL TOO”. lmao :). Nice pants award. You should search for Bridget Jones’ huge ones ;)
11 Apr at 10:11 am
Wow, Jem, going emo? *laughs*
11 Apr at 11:34 am
Hah, wow. I’m going to have to try to stop myself from volunteering now. ;)
11 Apr at 2:20 pm
I couldn’t even get past the second page of that website before leaving…I’m impressed that you actually went further in (you are much more determined than I am). This is my favorite though: 5. Because I say so. :P
11 Apr at 7:21 pm
… not to mention being a reviewer. I have now achieve the height of being told “GO DIE” *hunts around for a rope* Regarding the pants site. I have made a resolution that if I’m going to ‘advertise’ other sites I’ll only do it to point their exceptionally good points. Don’t really why, but I find it extremely rude to tell people “go visit this site to see how bad it is”. That is not to say of course that I don’t agree with you and comment meanly… I just won’t do such things myself (unless it’s a WPR).
12 Apr at 4:33 am
So, I’m not going to lie. That site sucked.
12 Apr at 1:05 pm
I feel very left out of this “pants” trend. Is the term a creation of your own or just something I’ve not yet encountered?
12 Apr at 1:06 pm
It’s slang for “crap” in the UK.
26 Nov at 2:55 am
I just went there and I arrived at a white page with ‘BRB’ on it. I hope to god she doesn’t mean ‘Be Right Back’! Or am I just being a newbie? Whichever, I have my tutorial sites (*tutorialtastic being one of them*) to go to, and I’m content. =D