My online handle is Lunar Corvus, and my nickname is Mina!
I'm a little weird birdgirl who likes making stuff with my little weird characters.
I love anything purple (or violet if you're fancy).
2. How long have you been making websites?
Technically since I started college, so 2019. But those were for school assignments. This is my first fleshed-out website!
3. And what got you into the hobby?
Childhood Unrestricted Internet Access. I browsed a lot of cool sites as a kid, particularly dress-up sites and Poptropica.
Now that I'm older,
my main reasoning is that I want to have something
in this digital sea to call my own that represents the things I like.
4. What kind of website are you most interested in?
I like sites that are visually "soft".
Not specifically 'pastel' or 'cutesy', I adore balanced color palettes in general.
My eyes can't really handle bright neon colors haha.
I'm fine with any content, but I do gravitate to sites that
feature the dev's artwork, games, writing, or other creative work they made.
5. What's your workflow? Do you plan your websites out thoroughly or do you come up with the design as you go along?
I usually plan them by drawing sketches on CSP to figure out the layout and color palette.
When I get the basic structure/colors down, I just wing it unless its something particularly
in need of detail.
6. Please link to your biggest inspirations.
nolnir: I owe Nolnir my life. Both for their webdev guide and their textured brushpack.
ophanimkei: One of the first websites I browsed when I first found out about the Indie Web. Malaika is very cool and I love her art and games.
gg8473: The most nostalgic site ever for me. Becky is extremely cool and her art in general makes me think a lot of the 2000s in a genuine way.
You should play "Walk in the Sun", it's very pretty and very well-written.
petrapixel: Petra's site is very cute, and her coding guides are very helpful.
and many many others!
7. What's your favourite part about making websites?
The CSS! It's so fun messing around with it. I love doing silly stuff
like adding hover effects and animations even if it's not that big of an effect.
8. And the thing you struggle with the most?
Deciding when I'm done with something lol. I've been fiddling
with every page on my site for two months now because I keep
flipping between new ideas I have.
It's why I put a "perpetual work in progress" warning on my homepage.
9. Do you keep the same layout on all of your pages? Or do you use different ones?
Yes, pretty much. I'm entertaining the thought of having different
layouts for certain pages, such as my shrines and homepage.
I try to keep my site mobile-compatible because I'm also on my phone a lot, so
that kinda makes experimenting with layouts complicated.
10. How confident are you with CSS?
Confident enough!
I do struggle a little bit with certain things,
but that's what documentation and online friends are for.
(I'd add Google too, but. Lol.)
11. Do you know how to correctly use <dl>?
I think I used it for one of my school assignments,
but I literally hadn't remembered it existed until this questionnaire,
which I am utilizing for this blogpost.
12. What is your favourite HTML element?
I love <div> (Please don't look at my code because I love using <div> a bit too much)
13. If you're making a new web page from scratch, what is the first thing you do?
I make a blank file listing everything I want to add on the page, including text.
Then, like I said in Question 5, I usually draw the layout and color palette on Clip Studio Paint.
14. Do you know JavaScript?
Yes. I was initially trying not to use too much of it for my website,
but that ship kinda sailed already.
15. How about PHP?
I had rudimentary knowledge while in school that has now slipped away, so no.
16. Does your website have a theme that you stick to?
Everything has to be Violet & Elegant. That's my main rule.
I wanted to evoke the aesthetic of my favorite Ikuhara anime:
"Yuri Kuma Arashi" and "Revolutionary Girl Utena", among other things.
17. Are you more focused on content or design?
Hopefully, my website is balanced on both ends!
Right now though, I have been prioritizing adding all the content
that I intended to add.
18. Do you own a domain name? If not, would you ever want to?
"lunarcorvus.com" is the domain! I considered having a cuter one
like "lunarcorvus.crow", but I think Porkbun said it cost more so I decided not to.
19. What do you think of nostalgia-focused or "retro" websites?
It depends. I try not to be mean, but I always roll my eyes seeing
"nostalgic" sites for the 2000s/Y2K or Windows XP or whatever when they're made by people who weren't even
toddlers during that time.
I get that people like to act as if the internet back then was 100% perfect, but it feels disingenuous.
I just don't care for aesthetic sites that don't have any substance to them.
20. Is your HTML valid? Do you even check?
I've been too lazy to check. I hope it is, though.
21. What are your opinion on buttons and banners?
I like buttons and banners! It's always fun seeing a "neighborhood" of websites.
Seeing all the different fanlistings is also fun.
22. What do you think of button walls in particular?
I'm ok with it? Only the really big ones mess with my laptop's bandwidth, I think.
23. If you started over again, would you make something similar or completely different?
Something similar. This is technically my second attempt, since my first (now deleted site) was on Neocities
but I had never gone back to it until recently.
24. Are you envious of other people's websites?
Sometimes, but that usually motivates me to improve my own.
I try to remind myself that some people just have more webdev experience than me and that's ok.
25. What text editor do you use?
Visual Studio Code.
26. Why do you use that one?
I've been using VS Code since college and I don't feel like using anything else.
27. Do you host your image files on your web server, or on another host?
I host them on Nekoweb. I have been advised against using Catbox and Filegarden so often that it kinda stuck in my head.
No judgement to those who still use those sites though.
28. This might not be relevant to you, but what's your opinion on the Neocities vs. Nekoweb debate?
I don't really care either way. I feel like both have their pros and cons.
I decided on Nekoweb by chance, but it's been fine for me so far!
29. How much server space would you estimate your main website takes up?
My website is currently 465 Megabytes.
30. Do you keep local backups of your files?
Yes. Please, God, have local backups of your files. Website, art, writing, whatever.
31. Do you prefer simple or highly visual websites?
It really depends, but I like both. Bright & neon colors (like Scene-core) is the only thing my eyes can't handle, sorry.
32. Do you stick to certain colours? Do you do that on purpose, or is it your subconscious?
Violet Everywhere. I just adore subdued/muted colors in general.
33. Have you ever thought about quitting? Why?
No. Especially now, with the current state of the internet.
Having a little site for myself has been really fun and rewarding.
34. Do you have many webmaster friends, or is it a solitary hobby?
Yes! They're at the top of my Links Out page.
35. Do people in your real life know about your website?
Just my sibling. I'm not particularly hiding it or anything.
36. Do you update your website very often? How often is "very often"?
I've been updating almost every day now. I've been trying to stop fiddling with it, but oh well.
37. And the overall design, do you change that much? Why or why not?
I like my design. It's just the structure/layout I'm on the fence about changing at the moment.
38. Is your website more you-focused, hobby-focused, or outside world-focused?
Everything here is for Me and my hobbies.
39. Do you do web design professionally?
Nope!
40. If not, would you like to? And if you're comfortable answering, what do you do for work?
I have a degree, but no, and I do not want to lol. I had a non-coding computer science job for my internship and I think that's what I'm more suited for.
I'm currently juggling a retail job and tech-support job because the job market is in the 7th Circle of Hell right now.
41. Do you communicate with people by email very much?
Yes. I am fine with email, it just sucks that I can't use emojis as much because of "etiquette".
42. Some people reject social media and use websites as a replacement. Do you keep social media outside of your website?
I guess? I am trying to keep this site and my social media semi-separate.
By this I mainly mean not adding features like follower or view counts.
I do have a Guestbook, though. I might add a comment section as well, but I'm still debating it.
43. How about instant messengers? Do you use a mainstream one like Discord or Telegram? Or something like Matrix? Do you avoid them?
Yes, I mainly use Discord. Honestly, I use it more than actual social media.
44. Do you listen to music while you work on websites? If so, what kinds of artists?
Yes!! I fucking love music.
I listen to a whole bunch of artists. They're listed on my music page!
Sometimes when I'm really trying to focus, I'll have to listen to slower songs
or instrumentals-only because I get distracted by singing the lyrics
or imagining elaborate AMVs in my head.
45. Do you keep everything you make on one website, or do you have more than one?
I just have this one. I might make a "portfolio" site for gamedev stuff in the future.
46. On a similar note, do you keep to one topic on your site, or many?
This site is for whatever topic is on my mind at the moment.
I mainly make art but I've also been doing gamedev and writing.
47. Do you present your real self, or at least try? Or do you construct a persona on purpose?
This is 100% me.
If someone thinks this is a persona I'm putting on that would be really funny I won't lie.
48. Have you ever made a good friend thanks to your website?
Yes and I am extremely grateful for each one of them!!
49. Are you happy with the way HTML and CSS currently work?
Yes I am. Honestly I don't really know what improvements I would even add, so.
50. What are practices that you think people should avoid?
Not "avoid", per say. More like pet peeves?
Websites from template/layout generators
that are basically 1:1 to the original and the dev did not even try
to stylize it or change anything. You can experiment with CSS! That's the fun part!
I don't hate autoplaying music as much as other people, but sometimes it is annoying.
I get wanting to have fun background music, but I think just adding a visible play button is perfectly fine.
Even some 'official' sites use autoplay too, and I don't get it tbh.
Please, enough with the DNIs on personal sites.
It's so silly. You're just coming off as preemptively hostile.
Unless the person is actively advertising that they are part of whatever group
you're vaguely referring to in your page-long DNI that nobody is reading,
you have no idea who is clicking on and interacting with your site.
Stuff like 'Bigots DNI' or whatever literally doesn't mean anything.
I cannot recall a single time that a racist troll has been deterred by that.
I'm just getting really tired of seeing people carry-over 'social media' behavior into the indie web.
It's your site and you have complete control over it, including moderation.
Obviously I can't stop anyone from doing any of these, but it's still silly to me.
51. What about under-utilised practices, or things you think people should do more?
I kinda said this already, but I just want authenticity.
Seeing the same template sites over and over sucks.
It's not telling me anything about you or the things you like.
Experimenting can be fun if you give it a chance!
52. Do you use a lot of semantic HTML? Or are you guilty of generic structure?
I guess so?
53. Do you consider different browsers?
I went from Google Chrome to a bunch of other random ones, until I gave up and used Mozilla Firefox because one of my jobs required it.
54. Speaking of, what's your preferred browser? Convince your readers why they should use it.
I 'prefer' Firefox because Chrome kept eating my laptop's RAM like it had nothing else to live for.
55. And what OS are you on?
Windows 11.
56. Do you have a strong opinion on that, or do you just happen to use it?
No strong opinion, I think Microsoft sucks. I just prefer Windows and am required to use it for my work.
My parents both had Macbooks, so I used those growing up but I honestly disliked Mac OS even more.
57. Are your websites mobile-friendly?
For the most part!
I really am trying to make it 100% mobile-friendly
because like I said, I'm on my phone just as much as my computer.
58. What are your thoughts on autoplay?
Like I said already in Question 50, I don't entirely hate them like other people but I don't really see the point.
Just add a play button lol.
59. What are your thoughts on webrings? Are you in any?
I think webrings are fun! I'm in several which are displayed on my Links Page.
60. Do you have any web shrines? What do you like to see in that sort of page?
Not yet! I'm planning on making several for my favorite characters/media:
Yuri Kuma Arashi
Loona
Reze (CSM)
I am in several fanlistings though, and I think they're all super cute.
I love seeing the passion of other fans.
61. Are your websites "cliche", in your opinion?
I don't think so. I don't care either way.
62. What is your ideal website? Are you striving for that, or for something else?
A site that I feel represents myself. I am always striving to improve!
63. Are you an artist? Do you draw or design your own assets?
Yes!! I love art so much.
I have a few, but I am planning on hand-designing assets for my entire site.
The full list is on my Links page.
I don't use a lot of sozai sites, to be honest.
65. Is there a habit you just can't get away from no matter how hard you try?
I'm trying to stop fiddling with this site and the CSS every hour and do other things. But.
66. What's your biggest advice for a new webmaster?
Please, if you're going to use a template/layout generator, try to understand how the code works and at least
edit/stylize it.
67. Do you keep all your styling in CSS? Or do you hard-code some?
I always use CSS unless it's specific to one page or element.
68. What do you think of frameset layouts?
I think that was before the iframe, right? I don't know why anyone would be using it nowadays.
69. How about table-based layouts?
I don't use it.
70. Do you subscribe to the ideas of "one-column", "two-column" and "three-column" layouts? Do you use any of these?
I personally don't care about 'columns',
but I have been debating using a two-column for my homepage
because there's so much stuff.
71. Do you spend longer on the HTML or the CSS?
The CSS. I'm drowning in it.
72. Have you ever made a page with no CSS? It's useful for your thoughts.
When I'm goofing around with testing stuff.
73. Do you ever find yourself making layouts with nothing to put on them? Or do you only make layouts when the need arises?
During sketches, yes. I never build any unless the need arises.
74. Would you consider yourself a beginner? Or advanced? Somewhere in the middle?
In the middle. I have experience from uni and stuff,
but somedays I feel like I'm brand new to this haha.
75. Do you have a habit of looking at the source code of websites you visit?
All the time, lol. I always get curious.
76. How did YOU learn how to make websites?
College courses, and also just trial and error.
77. Do you ever force elements to do things they're not supposed to?
Sometimes. But if I figure out a better/correct method I go back and adjust it.
78. Thoughts on floating elements?
I'm not using any as far as I remember.
79. When you're sizing stuff, what do you use first? Do you use px, em, %, or something else?
Honestly, I use px. I only recently started using em for some elements.
80. Do you have a favourite font?
Sans Undertale. I like pixel fonts but I know they're not always feasible.
81. Would you run a website with another person? How would that work?
If it's for a project, I guess?
I wanna start a doujin circle with my friends,
but right now I'm the only one with a site so I guess I would be managing that one as well, haha.
I guess we would share by taking turns writing page content?
82. Do you surf the Web to find new personal websites very often?
I like surfing both Nekoweb and Neocities for cool new sites to bookmark.
83. Do you bookmark other people's websites? How would you feel knowing someone else bookmarked yours?
I bookmark all the time.
I usually add a site to my Links wall if I really like their site's look, their work (art, writing, games),
or I just like their "vibe" (Idek what this means).
I'm fine with people bookmarking my site!
84. What do you want people to be most impressed with when they see your website?
The site's design and my art/games/writing/idk.
85. Are you interested in technology outside of websites? Do you collect?
Do my consoles count?
I have a Nintendo 3DS and Switch, a PS Vita, and the family Wii and PS5 that I share with my sibling.
86. How often and for how long are you online?
Way too much. I read a lot so I like to think that balances it out.
I try to go outside and do stuff with my siblings, or my irl friends
but I cut a lot of them off due to their constant drama.
87. When it comes to your website, who is your target audience?
Me. And I guess anyone else who likes similar media/aesthetics/whatever as me.
88. Have you ever been interested in XHTML?
I'm not gonna lie, I think I've already been using it subconsciously?
I don't think about it too hard, though.
89. Do you program in general? Have you ever written a program for use with or on your website, not counting simple JavaScript?
Yes, for school stuff. I "know" a few languages, but barely retained knowledge of most of them.
I do like Python a lot though, which really helped with programming with Renpy.
90. Speaking of programs that help you make websites, what do you think of static site generators (SSGs)? Have you ever used one?
I think they're neat.
I want to try using one like 11ty but I am too lazy to implement that at the moment.
91. Do you keep a hitcounter? Why or why not?
No. Honestly I am adamant about not having things like those on my site because
it starts bringing me into that 'social media mindset' of caring about follower/view counts.
92. Do you frequent forums? Which ones?
Not really.
93. Do you write your page content directly into the editor, or do you prepare it elsewhere, like a text document or a Word document?
I prepare it on either a Word Document or Text document. Sometimes I write directly into the editor.
94. Do you think you appear cool to others? A more accurate answer now: do other people ever say you're cool?
I don't wanna be cool, I wanna be cute. Jokes aside, I guess?
95. Are you embarrassed of your old work? Have you ever deleted everything out of shame?
For my art, sometimes.
I never deleted anything on social media out of shame but rather
because I couldn't stand the attention/large following any longer.
Not counting the first account, I think I remade my Twitter twice before I moved to Bluesky.
96. Would you close down your website if you couldn't update it, or would you leave an archive?
I would definitely leave an archive.
It's genuinely sad when people completely take down their sites and vanish off the internet.
97. Do you reveal a lot about yourself on your website? Or are you more secretive?
I am not secretive by any means, I just don't talk about myself a whole lot, I think.
I love sharing my opinions with open-minded people, though.
98. Are you willing to reveal who your best online friend is, and/or if they have a website?
My friends Dalys and Cen.
I've known them both for years
and I am so very grateful that I met them.
They both don't have a website at the moment, but I really want them to make one.
99. And do you optimise the images on your website?
Sort of. I try to change everything to JPG, but I really need to start compressing the images in general.
100. We're out of time! How do you feel after answering 100 questions? ....other than exhausted.
I love hearing the clacking of keys when I'm typing, so I feel alright.