The Frogster here. Today I'm piecing together the reviewers' thoughts on
The Smiling Infidel. I have a soft spot in my heart for elasticwaistbandlady (the blog's author), because she recently told me that she thinks of me whenever she sees a fruitcake. To have someone think of you when they see a fruitcake, well, that's special.
| Category | Score | Points |
| Content | 5.77 | 40/70 |
| Writing | 5.77 | 3/5 |
| Web Design | 5.95 | 3/5 |
| Intangibles | 5.5 | 3/5 |
| Read Regularly | 2.73 | 3/10 |
| Frequency | 6 | 3/5 |
| Total |
| 55 |
Percentile Rank: 49Our reviewers started with the first thing that pops up when the site loads, which, for those with their speakers on, is music. This made some of the reviewers angry.
Every time you go to the archives that same bloody song keeps playing. Note to bloggers, take music off your blogs, because some of us might be sitting here reading your blogs playing our own music and will just mute you anyway.
please don't force me to listen to artists i neither know nor like. Just sayin'... it's annoying.
Automatic music when the site loads? A HUGE no-no for me.
I opened the page and music played at me. I ran away.
Maybe it was really funny, But I wasn't hanging around having my ears abused to find out.
Once they got past the music, the reviewers had some other editorial comments about the look:
The archives are not clearly marked. The blog roll is not clearly marked. All in all the layout of this blog was too irritating and I got out as fast as I could.
The font is very hard to read.
Clean layout and easy to navigate. This particular template seems a bit limiting on the actual writing side, seeming to favor the link and award side bar. Again, a matter of personal taste. But then again, that's really what these reviews are all about.
But this is the only reason I have given the site a low rating for design. The actual layout is easy enough to navigate, it's just that screaming bright yellow which annoys me.
Good blog, nice content and good writing. I found the yellow yellow yellow making my eyes bleed a little bit. The posts are a bit on the longish side and you'll have to REALLY like his style to spend the time.
ED NOTE: Um, it's not a HE. Obviously, you didn't have the time to spend.
They don't post every day. That makes me happy.
I dig this undaily posting schedule also. It's fun for me (as someone who doesn't spend 7 hours every day blogsurfing) to be able keep up on a comment thread on a particular blog post, and I just don't have the fortitude to sift through blog posts to find a response to a witty comment I left. Once the reviewers dug in, they found out why our first two comments below are true:
The Infidel seems to be very popular.
A woman with 6 kids definitely needs a good sense of humor, and the smiling infidel does a good job of keeping it light. Not exactly my demographic so I'm not inclined to stop by too often, but she does appear to have accumulated several fans.
Originally, I found some of the posts a bit long,but then, I kept going back again and again and perusing the history. She's like pringles or popcorn or chocolate in a box, you have to finish the box. Some good writing chops and a fresh take on stuff makes this smiling infidel a favorite. I'm adding her to my blog roll of worthy places to visit.
Love it!.Loved the content. Loved the design. Even loved the chotchkies on the side. :D
She is The Queen of Wordplay!
On a positive note, the actual writing is fairly amusing. It's not laugh-out-loud funny but amusing enough for it to be read regularly. Also, there are plenty of interactive polls and stuff for people to come together and have a few good laughs.
Great and funny blog.
It's just a shame about that yellow. It's like my eyes are burning. But still, it's quite a good blog as far as writing is concerned.
And finally, one scatalogical comment:
I'm one to talk but then again I don't talk about my own poop. Perhaps if I had been reading from the beginning I would have been more into it but it feels like I've walked into a long-running joke and I can't find the beginning so I just laugh along with everyone else to keep up.
I agree that EWBL's posts are easier to follow once you've read a few of them, but, to me, that's what makes it fun to stop back in. As a note to blogs yet to be reviewed, it seems as though we have unearthed a hive of Yellow Hatred with this review. Keep that in mind.
I like The Smiling Infidel. I have it on my blogroll. As our reviewers pointed out, enough people come here every day that it's obvious you are on to a good thing, EWBL. Keep on blogging! And, of course, keep on fruitcake shopping.