So, a few things I forgot to really fully cover during my last post came to mind, and I thought I'd go ahead and post 'em here. :)

1. A lot of people seem to still have the old .CSS file cached, which would be causing the page to look all jumbled and set against a white background. If that sounds like you, a Shift+F5 might just do the trick. Or, to be a little more browser/OS independent, find out how to clear your cached files and do so, and all should be right as rain. If that doesn't help and you're using a browser less than the current version numbers... not a lot I can do to help, I'm afraid. I can't really accurately test for IE7, 'cause I don't have a machine with it installed. That's one of the main reasons I haven't stepped up to try out IE9 yet... I'm concerned about being able to test stuff in IE8.

2. I just wanted to take a minute to ask those of you who use AdBlock to make an exception for me here at Real Life. Some of you may have blocked it to disable the 468x60 ad that was at the top of the page, because it got in the way of the menus. Well, that ad space is gone for good. Real Life is officially one ad space lighter. But for the rest of the ads, even if you don't often (or ever) click on ads, impressions are just as important. If my ad units show more pageviews, I'm more likely to attract bigger and better advertisers than I would with a lower impression count.

Now, I know some of you might be worried about obtrusive ads, or ads containing malware or other such nuisances. Believe me, I'm your biggest advocate on that point. I've actively fought against those kinds of ads, and when I noticed a while back that a particular ad network was consistently serving them, I dropped them like a bad habit. And I actively patrol the Project Wonderful ads to make sure no objectionable content shows up... and I'll pull an ad if I get complaints. The gist of it is... I want to make you guys happy. I want to make it to where, even with ads showing, the site is still a fun and friendly place to be. And even I, the jaded guy who's cynical about everything, often find myself intrigued by an ad that shows up on the site. So that's something.

3. I forgot to mention this before, but the comic is now 6% larger than it used to be. Where once the comic was 530 px wide, it is now 560 px wide. And there was much rejoicing. (Note: this doesn't affect archive comics... they still show up smaller, 'cause I don't have any plans to re-export 2500+ comics in a SLIGHTLY larger format. :P )

4. Did I mention you guys are the greatest? No? Well you are.

Now, I realize some of you may be disoriented. The nausea will pass, I promise. Welcome to the new and (hopefully) improved Real Life Comics website!

First off, it's kind of ridiculous that I'd had the same site design since July 2, 2004. Six years on one site design... FOR A WEB DESIGNER... is ridiculous. And the old site was frought with issues - the menus at the top got hidden behind the banner ad, updating certain bits and pieces of it was difficult because I wasn't the one who originally wrote the CSS, and it was kinda looking a little more jumbled than I'd originally intended. Also, average monitor sizes have been increasing over the years, and I thought it might be nice to make use of that.

So, sometime last year, I started redesigning the site. Tinkering. And somehow, I hit on the concept of a whiteboard/corkboard combo. It was perfect - it's the one place where stuff can get pasted on/tacked on/scrawled on, and it's SUPPOSED to be that way! I think I've managed to make it a little more organized than a random collection of stuff, but the idea is the same - if I need to post a note, I LITERALLY post a note. Also, I integrated a calendar onto the front page, so navigation around the month is easier for those of you who only read occasionally. I had planned on integrating an embedded Ustream window, but the goddamn thing kept autoplaying when the page was left open long enough, and I'm not happy with that. I'll keep thinking on that one. But there IS a fully-filled characters page for once!

Now, I realize a number of the links at the top don't work yet, and there's a very good reason for it... I haven't made those pages yet. See, I've been kinda dragging my heels on this change for a long time now, and it's mostly due to the fact that I've been kinda scared of pulling the trigger. I kept telling myself "well, these pages aren't done yet, so I can't go live." The truth is, I think I was just using it as an excuse for NOT going live. Well, now that excuse is gone, and I have a vested interest in getting them finished... and I will be doing so, in case there was any concern. I may prune a few things here and there, but rest assured - they will get finished.

So there you have it, Lifers! The official FOURTH web design of Real Life Comics! Now, it's possible (probable) that there are bugs here and there, so if you can, send 'em my way so I can squash 'em... remember to include the browser you're using. (And if it's an old browser... come on. Get with the times, people. :D ) Also, remember to do a shift-refresh before jumping to any conclusions.. that'll do a full reload of the page, including CSS files and everything. And since the contact page isn't up yet, send it over to gregdean@gmail.com and I'll get on it. :) Thanks again, folks!