writing desk

On Moving Off-Platform and Escaping the Feed

November 11, 2026

After weeks of deliberation, I've decided to migrate from Neocities to another host. My decision stems from my dissatisfaction with Neocities' restrictive file options and its activity feed.

In October, an update broke some of my Javascript files. The only way to keep my scripts working properly was to add them directly in my HTML files. Proper file organization and management is important to me so this change was rather irritating. Furthermore, I became concerned with Neocities changing allowed file types without notice. I would prefer not to disrupt my workflow to fit one platform's inconsistent standards when other hosts offer far more flexibility.

Additionally, I make a lot of updates fairly frequently. When I started this site, I had no intention of accummulating views, likes, or followers; I simply wanted a space on the Internet that's completely curated to my preferences. In fact, I was happiest when no one followed me and I updated every other day.

Though I was flattered when I gained followers, I felt pressured. The majority of my changes are small and inconsequential; it's strange to broadcast to my entire activity feed that I simply added one link to a page. My old social media-ingrained fixation on engagement and popularity resurfaced when all I should've cared about was my sense of accomplishment in building my site.

Overall, I've enjoyed my nine months (to the date!) on Neocities. It is a good platform for discovering sites and building a community. However, I wish it offered more hosting capabilities and didn't promote a system so similar to the traditional social media platforms from which I've been trying to disengage.

A post from snowvalley encouraged me to make the switch: "comfort doesn't breed development when it comes to skills. An artist isn't born with the ability to draw a human with perfect proportions and a writer isn't born with the ability to conjure up a perfect story - practice, learning, and most importantly trial and error is what gets them to where they are. I think continuing to practice and try new things in relation to my website will help me pick up more tips and tricks."

I wish to build an environment for myself where I don't even have to think about who might see my updates or which pages I modified. In moving off-platform, I hope to give myself the freedom to experiment, play around, and be creative to my heart's content.

The 5 Ws of Reading

October 30, 2026

Thanks to alexandrawolfe for creating this questionnaire, and to mixtapesanddialtones for introducing me to it.

WHO — Name an author you would love to have a 'One to One' with.

Beth Brower! I recently finished all the currently-released volumes of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion and it's now one of my favorite series. I'd love to ask her about all the wonderful characters in St. Crispian's, Shakespeare, and her writing process. A tiny hint as to whom Emma will end up with would send me over the moon.

WHAT — What genre do you most gravitate to?

Historical romance (particularly set during Regency and Victorian England), Gothic literature, Asian-inspired fantasy, epistolary fiction, and memoirs. I also gravitate toward books about surviving in the wild.

WHERE — Where do you prefer to read?

My favorite place to read is my couch, especially in winter under a heated blanket with a cup of hot chocolate nearby. I also read on the subway during my commute.

WHEN — What time of day do you prefer to read?

If I'm invested in a book I will read it every chance I get, whether it's 8:00am in the morning before work or late at night when I've lost track of time.

WHY — Why is your favourite book your favourite book?

For years, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë has been my favorite book. I admire Jane so much for her indomitable spirit, compassion, and self-respect. Despite all the suffering and heartache she endures, she holds on to the firm belief that there are better circumstances in her future.

I recently finished The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery and given time, it may surpass Jane Eyre. I find it so inspiring how Valancy Stirling is completely transformed after she decides to live for herself after almost three decades under her family's thumb. Her joyful, friendship-based romance is also second to none.

BONUS — How do you go about selecting what you will read next?

It depends on how I feel. I can go through a string of romance novels easily, but I need more time to digest in between fantasy novels. I also need a break in between classics, but I find nonfiction very refreshing to read.

Proust Questionnaire

September 27, 2026

Thanks to the Satyrs’ Forest for first sharing this questionnaire, and to slow nothings and jamesg for inspiring me with their answers.

Your favourite virtue:

Empathy.

Your favourite qualities in a person:

Curiosity, kindness, a good sense of humor, and passion.

Your favourite occupation:

Achieving a flow state while working on a creative project.

Your chief characteristic:

I would usually default to "resilient" but I am tiring of that label. I'll defer to my husband, who describes me as "a thinker" and "someone who does their best in a big scary world."

Your idea of happiness:

Laughter-filled days with my husband, delicious food, a small circle of close friends, inner peace, and time to write.

Your idea of misery:

Being at the mercy of a malicious person with no means of escape.

Your favourite color and flower:

My favorite color is tea rose pink. As for flowers, I love tulips and hyacinths.

Your favorite bird:

A swan or mourning dove. Honorable mentions to the tufted titmouse and American woodcock.

If not yourself, who would you be?

A vampire, a viscountess, or a dressage rider. Or perhaps all three?

Where would you like to live?

I adore my apartment, but I would also love to live in a brownstone next to a park.

Your favourite prose authors:

Charlotte Brontë, Suzanne Collins, Jacqueline Harpman, Christiane Ritter, Claire Keegan, and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Your favourite poets:

I haven't read enough from individual poets, but Mary Oliver's work has always resonated with me.

Your favourite painters and composers:

My favorite painters are Claude Monet, Childe Hassam, Hilma af Klint, and Remedios Varo. My favorite composers are Joe Hisashi, Howard Shore, as well as He Zhanhao and Chen Gang—the creators of my favorite piece: the Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto.

Your favourite heroes in real life:

The codebreakers at Bletchley Park and all the incredible people referenced in Sam Bentley's Good News.

Your favourite heroes in fiction:

Jane Eyre, Samwise Gamgee, Sakura Haruka, Anne Shirley, Ted Lasso, and Emma M. Lion.

Your favourite food and drink:

My favorite food is Taiwanese red-braised beef noodle soup and my favorite drink is iced chrysanthemum tea.

Your favourite names:

Eleanor, Olivia, Daphne, Sebastian, and Anthony. I love classic and elegant names and have used most of these in various writing projects.

Your pet peeve:

People coming to a sudden stop in the middle of the sidewalk.

What characters in history do you most dislike?

The five Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, and the president who nominated three of them.

What is your present state of mind?

This questionnaire reminds me of the "fill in the blank" posts I used to do all the time on Tumblr. The last time I filled one out was probably ten years ago so I'm feeling rather nostalgic. I'm also intrigued to learn that Proust is pronounced "PROOST."

For what fault have you most toleration?

Letting my friends talk for hours about something they enjoy or have an opinion on, even if those topics doesn't necessarily appeal to me.

Your favourite motto:

Which do you want—the pain of staying where you are, or the pain of growth?

On Writing for Myself vs. an Audience

September 22, 2026

I've racked my brain for months over whether I should post more writing on my site. Initially, I didn't think it was necessary as I already have a journal and I'm wary of oversharing online. Furthermore, the last piece of writing I posted was Harry Potter fanfiction in 2013; I'm not sure I can be that shameless and self-indulgent on the web again.

However, this quote from slow nothings encouraged me to try: "journaling is for me to release the never-ending ball of yarn inside my brain, and blogging is one way to make some cardigan out of it." Surprisingly, working on this piece has helped me organize and review my thoughts more intentionally than I have in a while. I like fussing over which words to use and finding ways to simplify what I'm trying to say; I feel robbed of that in recent years.

In an era of prolific artificial writing, I want to stand behind my words. I want to hold firm opinions, but not be afraid to admit when I am wrong. I want to be brave and vulnerable and true to myself. The best way to accomplish all of that is by reading and celebrating writing penned by real people, while sharing my own.

As stated by James Baldwin: "You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was Dostoevsky and Dickens who taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who ever had been alive."

My writing won't often be eloquent, nor will it resonate with everyone. Even so, I hope it can remind someone somewhere that they're not alone. Or, perhaps it can provide a little amusement. I can't promise exhilarating twists and turns (re: my Harry Potter fanfic), but I'll try my best not to immediately take this page down if one day I wake up mortified by everything I've written.

Here's to being scared but doing it anyway. Thank you for reading.

100 Webmaster Questions

August 28, 2026

Thanks to mouseling.net for creating this questionnaire, and to layercake, korenara, and altalenae for inspiring me with their answers.

1. Please introduce yourself.

Hi! You can call me Ivy. I made a concentrated effort to quit all social media at the beginning of 2026 and found Neocities around the same time; my personal site has been instrumental in giving me a fantastic creative project to pour my time into.

2. How long have you been making websites?

I've been fiddling around with HTML and CSS since I was twelve or thirteen years old. I loved customizing my theme on Tumblr and piecing together bits and pieces to create a blog that I was really proud of. I also had a public UX portfolio for a few years while I was in grad school.

3. And what got you into the hobby?

I've always been rather picky about the aesthetic I want to curate so naturally, I began poking around at Tumblr themes to figure out how to make the changes I want.

4. What kind of website are you most interested in?

I'm quite drawn to personal websites with media logs and shrines. I like finding recommendations for what to read and watch, and I love seeing what others love so much that they dedicate an entire page of their website to it.

5. What's your workflow? Do you plan your websites out thoroughly or do you come up with the design as you go along?

If I have an idea, I look through my own pages to see which design I could use as a starting point for that new page. I've redone certain pages probably four or five different times before I figured out a good design for it.

6. Please link to your biggest inspirations.

I get super inspired by everyone linked in my address book, but I revisit altalenae, katbots, and nanacore most frequently.

7. What's your favourite part about making websites?

I love creating a digital space where all the graphics, fonts, designs, and pages are perfectly catered to my tastes.

8. And the thing you struggle with the most?

Version control used to be a big hassle for me, since I'm the type to update ten pages at a time and to have in-progress pages that I don't want published yet. PetraPixel's Git tutorial has been a lifesaver in that regard.

9. Do you keep the same layout on all of your pages? Or do you use different ones?

I use similar layouts on all my pages. This is something I'm quite particular about, especially as a UX designer who has worked on design systems. It's really satisfying to me when I see consistent design patterns and themes throughout my website.

10. How confident are you with CSS?

I'm fairly confident with CSS though I'm sure there's some way to better optimize my current code.

11. Do you know how to correctly use <dl>?

I've never used <dl>, <dt>, and <dd> until this questionnaire. I'm not sure if I'll use these tags frequently, but it's always cool to learn something new.

12. What is your favourite HTML element?

Definitely the now-deprecated <center> tag. I used that tag constantly on my Tumblr blog and now I'm figuring out new ways to center my elements (such as margin: 0 auto).

13. If you're making a new web page from scratch, what is the first thing you do?

I would probably try Eleventy or look for another template. My current website is based off of a template from Itinerae.

14. Do you know JavaScript?

Not as much as I'd like, but I'm grateful for all the answers and tutorials on Stack Overflow.

15. How about PHP?

I did, once upon a time, when I took a databases class in college. I've forgotten everything now.

16. Does your website have a theme that you stick to?

Absolutely. I'm very happy with my vintage theme and I haven't been especially interested in exploring other ones.

17. Are you more focused on content or design?

I would say both, but with more emphasis on content. I've changed the graphics on my pages a lot, but my writing mostly remains the same and that's what matters more to me.

18. Do you own a domain name? If not, would you ever want to?

I don't at the moment; I had one for my UX portfolio but I let it expire. I may consider getting a domain for this website down the line, but I vastly prefer hobbies that don't cost anything.

19. What do you think of nostalgia-focused or "retro" websites?

Retro websites are not my style as I find them a bit busy and hard to navigate, but they can be cool to browse through.

20. Is your HTML valid? Do you even check?

I'm sure there are parts of my code that are incorrect but as long as my editor doesn't surface any errors, I don't worry about it.

21. What are your opinion on buttons and banners?

It's a cool concept, but I have a tendency to save every single graphic I use in my own web server and it sounds like a nightmare to save and manage a bunch of buttons and banners.

22. What do you think of button walls in particular?

Like before, button walls are not for me but I'm glad others enjoy it. I created Tumblr gifsets back in my heyday, but I'm not very interested in adding a lot of motion and bright colors to my website.

23. If you started over again, would you make something similar or completely different?

I would definitely have a similar website with the same pages. I may try changing the theme a little, but I really do like my current setup.

24. Are you envious of other people's websites?

Totally! I'm constantly in awe at how creative everyone is and I'm glad to be surrounded by inspiration in the indie web.

25. What text editor do you use?

I was using Visual Studio Code, but I discovered Zed in the midst of answering these questions so now I'm giving that a try.

26. Why do you use that one?

Visual Studio Code is the same editor I used in college and at work so I'm fairly familiar with it. Zed is a recent discovery and so far, I like the minimalist look and feel.

27. Do you host your image files on your web server, or on another host?

I always host my image files on my own web server. Hosting images on another website feels temporary and I prefer to have the peace-of-mind that my images won't suddenly stop working one day.

28. This might not be relevant to you, but what's your opinion on the Neocities vs. Nekoweb debate?

I have no opinion and I didn't know there was a debate. Neocities was simply the first platform I found and I think I could have just as easily signed up on Nekoweb.

29. How much server space would you estimate your main website takes up?

I keep a close eye on how much of my 1 GB storage on Neocities I've used and I'm pleased to be hovering around 8%.

30. Do you keep local backups of your files?

Definitely. I keep local files and I use GitHub.

31. Do you prefer simple or highly visual websites?

I generally prefer simpler sites but I can appreciate a highly visual site as long as it's relatively easy to navigate.

32. Do you stick to certain colours? Do you do that on purpose, or is it your subconscious?

I do stick to certain colors, as having a consistent color scheme is important to me. I like neutrals, so you will see lots of creams and browns across my site.

33. Have you ever thought about quitting? Why?

I haven't. I'm really happy to be coding again after over a decade. I'm surprised by how much I still remember and how satisfying it feels when I fix something that's been bothering me for hours. My hobbies tend to ebb and flow, but I can see myself sticking with coding for a long time.

34. Do you have many webmaster friends, or is it a solitary hobby?

It's definitely a solitary hobby. I don't know anyone else in real life who codes for fun, but it would be nice to connect with others who do.

35. Do people in your real life know about your website?

Yes. My husband knows the URL and my best friends know of my website's existence, but that's about it.

36. Do you update your website very often? How often is "very often?"

I think I update pretty often. I probably update about once a week on average but if I get in a groove, I'll update more frequently.

37. And the overall design, do you change that much? Why or why not?

I've made a few changes over time as I discover new graphics I like more but my postcard layout has generally stayed the same since I started this website in February 2026.

38. Is your website more you-focused, hobby-focused, or outside world-focused?

Definitely more me- and hobby-focused.

39. Do you do web design professionally?

In a manner, yes.

40. If not, would you like to? And if you're comfortable answering, what do you do for work?

I'm a UX designer.

41. Do you communicate with people by email very much?

I don't communciate with others by email unless I'm submitting a request to join a webring or scheduling a health appointment.

42. Some people reject social media and use websites as a replacement. Do you keep social media outside of your website?

I have social media accounts but I only keep them so that I can see the posts that my friends send me. I don't post on social media, and I am avoid scrolling through feeds.

43. How about instant messengers? Do you use a mainstream one like Discord or Telegram? Or something like Matrix? Do you avoid them?

I use Discord to call my friends, but I don't use instant messengers otherwise. I'm a text-only kind of person.

44. Do you listen to music while you work on websites? If so, what kinds of artists?

Sometimes. I gravitate towards any artists that I can mindlessly listen to on shuffle, so Taylor Swift, Griff, and Niall Horan come to mind.

45. Do you keep everything you make on one website, or do you have more than one?

I only have one website. I think it would be quite difficult to keep track of multiple, but props to anyone who does.

46. On a similar note, do you keep to one topic on your site, or many?

Many, for sure. You can find everything from flower language to an art gallery dedicated to cats on my website.

47. Do you present your real self, or at least try? Or do you construct a persona on purpose?

I generally stay true to myself, but privacy is very important to me. I try not to share anything too revealing about who I am offline.

48. Have you ever made a good friend thanks to your website?

I haven't yet, but I'd like to one day.

49. Are you happy with the way HTML and CSS currently work?

I don't think I'm well-versed enough in either to really have an opinion. I'm still learning, so I'm mostly just focused on following HTML and CSS rules.

50. What are practices that you think people should avoid?

Any media that autoplays upon page load is quite jarring to me.

51. What about under-utilised practices, or things you think people should do more?

Accessibility. I'm still working on this myself, but images should have alt text, proper heading tags should be used, and color shouldn't be the only thing you rely on for conveying key information. I'd recommend reading up on some accessibility principles and slowly incorporating them into your website.

52. Do you use a lot of semantic HTML? Or are you guilty of generic structure?

I'm trying to use more semantic HTML but I grew up using <div> tags exclusively so it's a bit of a difficult habit to break.

53. Do you consider different browsers?

I don't, but I don't think there should be much of a difference.

54. Speaking of, what's your preferred browser? Convince your readers why they should use it.

I use Safari, but it's only because Google Chrome stopped working properly for me a few years back and I felt so frustrated that I switched.

55. And what OS are you on?

macOS.

56. Do you have a strong opinion on that, or do you just happen to use it?

I'm familiar with Apple's ecosystem so that's what I gravitate toward. I think it looks nicer than Windows so I enjoy using it.

57. Are your websites mobile-friendly?

My website is mobile-friendly, but some features don't work so I've hidden them. I like making sure that my site is mobile-friendly so that I can access it on my phone if I'm away from my computer.

58. What are your thoughts on autoplay?

It's not for me. I'd appreciate a warning beforehand if I'm about to enter a site with autoplay.

59. What are your thoughts on webrings? Are you in any?

I think webrings are a really cool way to build community on the indie web and I like finding new sites through them. All my webrings are listed in my address book.

60. Do you have any web shrines? What do you like to see in that sort of page?

I did, but my interests change fairly often so I decided to remove it. I enjoy reading in-depth tidbits and how the enshrined topic impacted the creator's life.

61. Are your websites "cliche," in your opinion?

I'm not sure. I have similar pages to many personal websites I've seen but I like how everyone adds their own flair. I don't think it's a good or bad thing to have a "cliche" website.

62. What is your ideal website? Are you striving for that, or for something else?

My website is currently my ideal website. I really like having a space on the web that I get to tinker with and capture little pieces of who I am and what I love.

63. Are you an artist? Do you draw or design your own assets?

I'm not an artist. I haven't drawn or designed any of my assets, but I've edited resources made by others.

64. What are your favourite resource sites?

Whenever I have an idea for a new page, the first place I go is either Heritage Library or The Graphics Fairy basically all the decorative elements I use are from these two sites. You can find all my credits and resources in my address book.

65. Is there a habit you just can't get away from no matter how hard you try?

I keep forgetting to check that any new pages and elements are mobile-friendly until after I've already published them.

66. What's your biggest advice for a new webmaster?

Don't be afraid to try something new. Push through the frustration. Go poke around at other people's code (or templates) and see how they use certain properties or structure their pages.

67. Do you keep all your styling in CSS? Or do you hard-code some?

I inevitably always end up hard-coding some of my styling but I try to reuse classes as much as I can.

68. What do you think of frameset layouts?

I haven't heard of frameset layouts before, but they seem to be a precursor to CSS Grid and Flexbox. I don't have an opinion as I'm not planning on using them.

69. How about table-based layouts?

They're quite handy! I'm using one in my media log.

70. Do you subscribe to the ideas of "one-column," "two-column," and "three-column" layouts? Do you use any of these?

I love columns. Most of my pages feature one or two columns though I use a grid for anything with three columns.

71. Do you spend longer on the HTML or the CSS?

I spend way more time on the CSS in general but when I'm positioning decorative elements, I can spend a fair amount of time working on the HTML too.

72. Have you ever made a page with no CSS? It's useful for your thoughts.

I like customization way too much to have a page with no CSS. If I wanted to just put words down on a blank page, I would pull up a Word document or write in my journal.

73. Do you ever find yourself making layouts with nothing to put on them? Or do you only make layouts when the need arises?

I only think of new layouts or reuse existing ones when I want to make a new page. A pretty design is fine, but at the end of the day, it's the content that provides the most value.

74. Would you consider yourself a beginner? Or advanced? Somewhere in the middle?

I'm somewhere in the middle, especially since a lot of my knowledge is ten years behind.

75. Do you have a habit of looking at the source code of websites you visit?

Definitely. If I find an interesting element on someone's page, I like to take a look at the source code and see how the creator built it.

76. How did YOU learn how to make websites?

A lot of experimentation. I would add new blocks of code to my website and see what changed, and then I would slowly make tweaks and iterate from there.

77. Do you ever force elements to do things they're not supposed to?

I probably do, but I generally try not to think about it unless I get an error in my editor.

78. Thoughts on floating elements?

I'm a big fan; I have floating elements on basically every page of my website. I'm proud that I was able to set up some type of grid structure such that the elements scale up and down with the browser size.

79. When you're sizing stuff, what do you use first? Do you use px, em, %, or something else?

I use rem for basically everything. I'm not sure if that's recommended, but it's worked for me so far.

80. Do you have a favourite font?

No, but I prefer serif fonts over sans-serif fonts.

81. Would you run a website with another person? How would that work?

Probably not. It would be difficult to manage, especially if we had different design preferences. If we did work together, we would have to be using Git.

82. Do you surf the Web to find new personal websites very often?

Sometimes. I don't look for new websites very often, but it's always fun to stumble on a cool new site from someone's links page, webring, or guestbook.

83. Do you bookmark other people's websites? How would you feel knowing someone else bookmarked yours?

I do; all of my inspirations can be found in my address book. I would be incredibly flattered and happy if I saw that someone bookmarked my website.

84. What do you want people to be most impressed with when they see your website?

My website serves as a reminder to myself to focus on the things I love instead of the things I hate, so I hope my passion for my favorite hobbies, pieces of media, and other interests comes through.

85. Are you interested in technology outside of websites? Do you collect?

With AI creeping into every single "smart" product nowadays, I avoid new tech like the plague. I like the media of how technology can enrich our lives, but the current landscape is something I'd prefer to not participate in.

86. How often and for how long are you online?

I'm online quite often. My screentime is way higher on my computer than my phone and I like to keep it that way so that I'm actively engaging with the world when I'm out and about.

87. When it comes to your website, who is your target audience?

My target audience is always myself, but I hope others who share my interests can enjoy my site too.

88. Have you ever been interested in XHTML?

It seems like XHTML is a stricter way of writing HTML, which could be helpful for writing code "properly" but I could go either way.

89. Do you program in general? Have you ever written a program for use with or on your website, not counting simple JavaScript?

I vibe code at work but I doubt that counts. I haven't written anything myself outside of JavaScript.

90. Speaking of programs that help you make websites, what do you think of static site generators (SSGs)? Have you ever used one?

They sound really cool and I'd like to use one in the future. If I ever get tired of my site's design or layout, I might give Eleventy a try.

91. Do you keep a hitcounter? Why or why not?

I check my Neocities views counter but that's about it. I don't want to judge my site by however many hits or views I get; my focus is on making sure I'm having fun working on it.

92. Do you frequent forums? Which ones?

I don't frequent forums.

93. Do you write your page content directly into the editor, or do you prepare it elsewhere, like a text document or a Word document?

I write all my content directly into the editor but for some book reviews or tarot readings, I might jot down my thoughts in a note first.

94. Do you think you appear cool to others? A more accurate answer now: do other people ever say you're cool?

I think I'm cool so that's good enough for me. What other people think of me is none of my business.

95. Are you embarrassed of your old work? Have you ever deleted everything out of shame?

Not really. I recently deleted a Haikyu!! shrine because it felt redundant given Haikyu!!'s inclusion in my library already, but I wasn't ashamed of it.

96. Would you close down your website if you couldn't update it, or would you leave an archive?

I would probably leave it up so that I could revisit it and treat it as a time capsule of who I was. I go through the archives of my old Tumblr blogs sometimes and it's fascinating.

97. Do you reveal a lot about yourself on your website? Or are you more secretive?

I am more on the secretive side, but I want to be my authentic self as well.

98. Are you willing to reveal who your best online friend is, and/or if they have a website?

I don't have an online best friend.

99. And do you optimise the images on your website?

I crop images to keep the file sizes small and I dither the images in my diary. However, I am also forever adding new images to my website so that can be a bit difficult to keep track of.

100. We're out of time! How do you feel after answering 100 questions? ...Other than exhausted.

Pretty good since I answered everything over the course of a few days. Thanks to you for reading through all of it if you made it this far down.