OPINION & EDITORIAL
ASM web page ‘sucks’
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by Letters to the Editor
Friday, November 16, 2007
I would like to say that I agree 110 percent with the ASM’s poor handling of instructors’ evaluations in your Editorial Board article ("Clean Up on Aisle Common Sense," Nov. 6) last week. I got a mass e-mail Wednesday from ASM, telling me to check out their site. As a webmaster and amateur web designer, I was appalled by the poor quality of evaluation web pages. In fact, I thought they were so bad, I took the liberty to share this with Vincent Flanders, author of the books "Web Pages That Suck" and "Son of Web Pages That Suck" and the founder of webpagesthatsuck.com — a compendium of examples of terrible web design practices intended to "scare" webmasters into making accessible, functional and somewhat aesthetically pleasing websites.
I am happy (or not happy, whatever) to have just heard that he will post the ASM Course Evaluations web pages as a "Daily Sucker" on webpagesthatsuck.com, with choice comments from yours truly.
If I ever teach people about proper web design, I’ll point them to the ASM Course Evaluations web pages to show them what not to do.
Mike Pruden
UW senior, mathematics
pruden@wisc.edu
Anonymous (November 16, 2007 @ 7:25am):
Wow Mike, do you realize that ASM is a part of the university you attend, and now that portion is casted publicly in a poor light. Way to take 'em down, Mike! You are one great guy.
Wait, would it have made more sense to actually share your knowledge and offer to help out with the design? Or simply going in and talking to the web master, and letting them know of their poor design and suggestions to improve it.
I mean it is definitely easier to bash ASM and write a "tattle-tale" editorial.
But stepping up and helping a group that represents the same university that you do, well that's what a man would do.
Anonymous (November 16, 2007 @ 8:37am):
Yeah, Mike, how dare you make ASM look bad! That's one of ASM's biggest campaigns: "Lose Legitimacy, NOW!"
Anonymous (November 16, 2007 @ 11:18am):
To get everything straight, here are the links:
http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/dailysucker/ - listed as Daily Sucker #1 for Thursday, November 15, 2007
"Old site" - http://www.asm.wisc.edu/cms/content/view/88/83/
"New site with hideous design" - http://apps.asm.wisc.edu/evals/index/index.htm
Anonymous (November 16, 2007 @ 11:42am):
The ASM office is in room 511 of Memorial Union, I assume you'll be stopping by on Monday to volunteer your services?
Anonymous (November 16, 2007 @ 1:03pm):
In response to Anonymous @ 8:37am:
I'm not saying ASM doesn't have its faults, but why would a UW student want to promote it?
Anonymous (November 16, 2007 @ 2:08pm):
so rather than help constructively by talking to the webmaster you bitch to Vincent Flander?
Anonymous (November 16, 2007 @ 9:27pm):
What exactly was the intent or purpose of this editorial? Other than proving to anyone who reads the BH that you're an A-hole?
Anonymous (November 17, 2007 @ 10:12am):
725,
a little defensive?
Anonymous (November 17, 2007 @ 12:13pm):
Nothing at this university needs to be improved. Everything is perfect. All criticism is misplaced and dangerous.
Anonymous (November 17, 2007 @ 3:19pm):
Way to go Mike! As another web designer on campus, right on. I wonder how many $$$ go to throwing ASM events when it could have been go to finding a quality web designer on campus that knows whats going on and do the job right!
Mike Pruden (November 17, 2007 @ 3:38pm):
So I'm being accused of "biting the hand that feed us." Do you people realize that this university is also funded in part by the city, state, and federal governments? Keep in mind that when we don't like something the city, state, or federal governments do, we do the exact same thing - usually in the form of protests or similar knee-jerk reactions. I suppose that the only difference is that the latter is accepted here, while mine is apparently not.
How about this? Instead of being constructive when the ASM online elections glitched three times a couple of years ago, many students were crying for an end of how the student government was run. Few articles were written on how the ASM were working with DoIT to make sure this didn't happen again.
My point is: What makes what I did any different than what many students at this great university do?
And I greatly appreciate the ad hominem comments, as well. Especially when I did not attack any one single person in my write-up.
And no, I will not show up Monday to volunteer my services, if everyone is now going to be mean and hostile and willing to bite my f***in head off!
P.S. If I offended any single member who has worked hard with ASM, my apologies; that was not my intent. The intent was to criticize the web site. But I suppose not many people can take criticism. xD
P.S.S. Real men also don't hide behind their computer and post anonymously.
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