So true - LOL

Just surf the various LL's - you'll be able to tell the the bad, good and awesome sites real quick.

So basically, when said site does get posted - everyone fuck off, I have dibs!

See, that's why I posted my question the way I did. I have been surfing various sites for ideas, and I am having a hard time telling. I see blind links all over, sites that I know are straight from the sponsors, and tons of sites that I have a hard time finding gallery links through all the text and huge banners. I know that trends change in free sites, but.. when I look at a dozen or so of the newly listed sites on almost any LL and see these kinds of things, I begin to get confused. Yes, I do realize some of these may be the LL owner's sites, but, shouldn't they also meet the "rules" of that LL?

As to templates and lack of originality? How original is it to slap up a downloaded sponsor site and pass it off as your work? Site after site built with the same forumlas... kinda boring really. Even the content on what I surfed was ho-hum. Is this really what you guys want?

Heck, even if you pm me a couple without telling me what is what, it helps retrain these old eyes. Maybe today's surfers and LL owners want those cluttery sites. When I first started building freesites 10 years ago, the style was cluttery but with sponsor banners. Now it is huge text that screams out with tiny, almost invisible links to the content.

I'm Mr. Useless now, huh? ;)

Justbondage hit the nail on the head. The chances of me posting links to what I consider to be the best free sites are pretty much the same as someone who writes really good sales text will post in this thread. Also, just because I look at them and think they're great, doesn't mean that they are producing tons of sales.

Let's face it - one of the suckier parts of this business is that your work is out there for all of your competition to see. If you come up with something that is brilliant, any fool can come along and copy it. I think one of the keys to doing well is to not share everything on boards. Whether there is a correlation or not, I do not know, but I will tell you that the people I consider to be the best submitters are all members here and they hardly ever post. So, anyway, I share their work with surfers - not webmasters. :)

All my sites are perfect |jester|

As you surf various LL's, remember that we list hosted FS's and galleries with our affiliate codes in them - this is how we justify the work of maintaining an LL - so some of the sites ma indeed be sponsor's hosted stuff.

Bottom line, if you can see these things that are wrong, you ware well on the way to becoming a better FS builder.

Hey, can't a lady show some respect around here? Or do I have to go find that discarded tennis racket?

My clean sites don't bring the kind of sales I want yet, even though I am working my fingers off to be listed. Building trust and traffic is part of it, yes, and the sales will come as I get better known. The fact that my accepts far out number my rejects is a positive sign. I also noticed my traffic for month to date is now ahead of all of July, so I am on the right track.

Obviously, you guys need sites in certain niches, and don't need sites in others. You also don't need just any sites, you want quality, as a wise man said. Just trying to help build what y'all need here.

Still... I won't tell anyone if I get a pm with a couple of URLs. You don't have to tell me what is good and what isn't.. I should know, right? RIGHT! ah.. I hear a hairy bush calling me....

Hmmm, although I get your point, I don't necessarily agree with your statement.

I'd like to think that I write great sales text, but I agree that I wouldn't spoon feed someone, rather, I'd point them in the right direction and give them the opportunity to figure it out for themselves.

If everybody were to just lurk and never share any ideas, what's the point of this community?

I think his point is that there is a difference between sharing ideas and posting a statement like "this is the best design for a free site - LINK".

It would be like, there is no sharing there, just an ask and receive system.

|smooch| I officially have no idea what you are not agreeing with.

Ah. You know what your problem is? You aren't jaded yet. ;)

Here's the thing. I used to enjoy helping newbies and I'll still occasionally pop into a newbie thread to redirect it if I see someone is getting shit advice or an important fact is being left out. Do you know why I bother to do that? Because it'll make me look smart and experienced to some poor schmuck who doesn't know the truth; the reality that I'm nothing more than an angry little man who can't make things work, will never truly succeed in this business. So I make myself feel better by unleashing criticism and a torrent of explicatives on idiots who couldn't possibly put up a good defense in a battle of words against a guy like me - a wannabe English professor who'd rather wallow in self-pity and self-hatred than build the motivation to go back to school.

Would have thought more LL owners would mention gay. I need to take the time and run a few more gay FS soon enough.

I'm agreeing with myself of course, somebody has to... or maybe I'm not agreeing with myself, or maybe... I don't know anymore, I'm so confused... |shocking|

lol


I knew it... |jester|

I agree.. I need more gay & bisexual sites.... even to my gay site... ;)

Bite me.
|jester|

Consider yourself bitten. |smooch|

oooh, can we pick where????