The Principles behind RetroInterlace.

RetroInterlace is a simple website made with an in house static site generator called stoneground. The basic idea is that it takes a bunch of intentionally fragmented HTML files and stitches them together into complete webpages. It can organize the content in an easily accesible way and even generate and modify pages as needed to complete said goal.

This article was partially inspired by motherfuckingwebsite.com and it's sister sites, This document outlining 0x19.org's design philosophy, and the about page of unixdigest.com

These ideas are however, my own. It just so happens that I generally agree with the opinions expressed in the above links.

HTTP, or the Hypertext Transfer Protocol is a protocol for distributing information. It uses HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language to achieve this goal.

Then came CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets to make the information more readable, and the websites around it more visually appealing. Here, it's used to make text more easily readable and to spruce it up so it doesn't look like a generic black text on white background web page. These days though, it's used to make fancy transitions and other effects that don't do anything but make it harder to access the information on the website!

But then JavaScript had to come along and gum up the works. I may sound like someone who doesn't know what I'm talking about (and as someone who isn't a professional web developer, I probably don't), I don't think that most websites actually need these things. Let alone all the frameworks that have sprung up over the years to make web development "easier". What's worse is that most of it has nothing to do with the user experience, but everything to do with tracking the user across the Internet.

The simple reality is that many websites these days are horribly unoptimized, bloated beyond belief, and slow! Even the "minimalist" websites these days are nowhere near deserving of such a title!

Here's an idea, make the information as accessible as possible with no unnecessary roadblocks! No artsy crap, no trackers, no background junk that does nothing discernible to the user, and NO UNNECESSARY LOAD TIMES!

JUST INFORMATION!

You may be sitting there wondering, "Why shouldn't I make my website nice and fancy" or "Why shouldn't I use JavaScript and frameworks to make my website more functional?" The answer is simple, accessibility. Not just to those who refuse to use JavaScript out of paranoia or principle, but to people with slow internet connections, or slow computers. Not everyone can afford the latest and greatest technology. In fact, lots of people are still running Windows XP, and can't upgrade.

Truly modern technology is and has always been elitist in some shape or form, due to the fact that one must be monetarily privileged enough to be able to afford such things. Many across the world, and even many people in "wealthy" countries are priced out of modern technology. And with advancements in neural-networks (or "AI", if you prefer), the divide is only growing.

So, what's the solution? Build for the lowest common denominator. That means only doing what's necessary to make a good website. In this case, and I think this can apply to many other websites, the best thing to do is to not do much at all. Less is more, and presenting information to a reader doesn't require much computing power. So why waste it on things that aren't informative?

There's value in an aesthetically pleasing website, but there's a difference in looking nice, and being pretentious. Animations that get in the way, or cause the website to feel or behave sluggishly detracts from the overall user experience. So don't do it!

Instead, think of your website as a vector of providing information, and your visitor as a reader. Why don't many novels contain pictures? Why aren't books flashy and stylistic? Why are many books just text, or sometimes diagrams and illustrations when needed? Because being showy distracts the reader from the information! You should treat your website the same way!