1 January (Part 2) - This website
I think the 2016 changes are all in place now. I’ve had to lose 2009 from the Index at
the top of each blog - day and month view. Squeezing old years in, whatever the chosen method,
would not last long. Sooner or later they would become unreadable or occupy too much space, so now you
will only see the most recent seven years. For anything earlier, use the main menu bar.
When Bonkers was launched in 2009 I had no idea where it would lead. If I had
thought about it I would probably have concluded ‘nowhere’.
It has changed quite a lot since then, for the better I hope. When I look back at old stuff
I rarely think it is any good, perhaps I rely too much on the expectation that
readers keep up with the current state of play but any more reminders and
repeats than there are already would drive people away. Twitter followers for
example have reached 568 five times in the past month but always fall back
again. I’ve no idea what pulls people in but drives others away. Perhaps I
should take my daughter’s advice. 43,300 followers.
I understand her technique is to follow everybody but install a utility that
dumps all their Tweets so you don’t have to read them.
In 2009 I sketched out a Bonkers’ Style Guide - it wasn’t the first time I had
published something and knew that some sort of rule book must be established if
a mess was not to develop.
One silly part of it was to never give Bexley council the honour of a capital C.
The convention has become a nuisance and has led to just the sort of perceived
inconsistencies that the Style Guide was intended to avoid.
So from today it is Bexley Council and Councillor Craske, or whoever manages to
get into the blog first this year. I have a feeling it will be Cheryl Bacon.
I only mention it here because one reader has always messaged me if I use the
capital C word. He's not done it for quite a while so either I am making fewer
mistakes or he has died. I suspect the latter, most active BiB readers are old.
Young people appear to be willing to put up with anything. I suppose if you grow
up under a corrupt system you might not notice when it is all around you.
A bit like how young people don’t know that recorded sound can be as good as the
real thing, but not if you only listen to low bit rate MP2 (DAB radio) or MP3 on
some matchbox hanging from your neck. But that is another subject entirely and one best left to
Arthur Pewty
when he runs short of material.