[extropy-chat] Damien ExI Website - Your Comments

[Natasha Vita-More]

At 03:35 AM 10/23/2005, Damien wrote:

>Not being one who went to past websites frequently, I think it'd be easier to
>comment well if old layouts were available for comparison.
>
>That said, it looks very... corporate.  Or think tanky.  "Professional" but
>not in a way I'd find likely to be interesting.  The fonts and logos, and map,
>probably the color scheme, and the prominent ABC logo, I think those all work
>together.  If the goal was to look more mainstream I think you succeeded quite
>well, but I think I preferred an older version with the outward spiral of
>arrows.

The Board wants to emphasize the "think-tank."  So, I'm glad that this came 
across. The color scheme was selected for viewing desirability, and I'm 
also glad that you picked up on this.  And the goal is to look more 
professional.  The outward spiral looked to cultist, and that something we 
do not want to associate with.

>I have a dim sense that I didn't like the most recent website that much,
>instead preferring something a few generations back, but it's impossible to be
>sure going only by my memory.  Something that said "wacky ideas here!" rather
>than "whitepapers here, and tax-deductible donations accepted".

I like the sense of fun with something like "Mind-Spining" ideas here.

>"Extro Extro Read All About It" works against all that though, and is a
>cheerful breath of irreverence.

Yes, this is why I put it in - to balance out the serious with the fun.

>Content-wise... it's late and I'm tired, but it seems like a 'professional'
>site in being heavy on PR stuff -- press releases, announcement of conferences
>-- and low on interesting material to browse, especially beyond the
>Proactionary Principle and the Transhumanist FAQ.  "Why am I at this website?"
>is the key question which I don't find well answered, especially quickly.

Good points. We need to add the resources section with the articles and 
essays.  I'll make sure this gets done next week. Thanks for lighting a 
fire under me.

>Sorry to be so critical, but those are my quick reactions -- probably not
>completely irrelevant, given that people will often glance at and stay with or
>leave a site quickly.

Constructive criticism is the signage on the road to success.  Without it, 
we would not be able to improve.

>More relevantly, www.singinst.org seems more both a bit catchier and much more
>direct: "What is the Singularity?" vs. "ExI is an ideas exchange." followed by
>sentences which don't obviously distinguish ExI from the Rand Institute.
>Or see the Orion's Arm page.

Yes, I think this is a smartly designed site.

Thanks,

Natasha

<http://www.natasha.cc/>Natasha <http://www.natasha.cc/>Vita-More
Cultural Strategist - Designer
Future Studies, University of Houston
President, <http://www.extropy.org/>Extropy Institute
Member, <http://www.profuturists.com/>Association of Professional Futurists
Founder, <http://www.transhumanist.biz/>Transhumanist Arts & Culture
Honorary Vice-Chair, <http://transhumanism.org/>World Transhumanist 
Association
Senior Associate, <http://foresight.org/>Foresight Institute
Advisor, <http://alcor.org/>Alcor Life Extension Foundation

If you draw a circle in the sand and study only what's inside the circle, 
then that is a closed-system perspective. If you study what is inside the 
circle and everything outside the circle, then that is an open system 
perspective.
Buckminster Fuller


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