Newbie - FAQ

Re: good advice on the music/flash/mobile
kerri.bound See my TER Reviews 310 reads
posted

Posted By: impposter
You sure know the technology!  
I should throw it out there that I am NOT an actual web coder, just a nerd who takes an interest in techie things and has a little base knowledge to get around for my personal purposes (and I'm great with tutorials/Google).  If someone is fluent with all the web tools out there, they could add much more to the discussion.

But I do ask that you and other Providers "know" that many clients do have to be kind of safe and secretive in our surfing activities.  (We're not all GaG!)  I still think that using a Welcome or Home Page "Continue" Options gives you a chance to show off your fanciest stuff with one link, mobile with another link and the simplest, safest version with the "vanilla" link.  
 
This is a good idea if you go really "fancy." Another strategy is not to have that much going on in the first place so it doesn't have to be dumbed down too much.  I am curious now, though, about how many would click on a plain and safe vanilla link; perhaps that's an experiment for the future.

For example, Escort Design is a very popular service for provider and agency web sites but much of their code is incompatible with TOR. (Please try it. Maybe you can help to figure out what features are clogging up the works?)  
   
Those pages are loaded with javascript, especially for the ads. Depending on the security settings you use in Tor, much (or all) of that can get blocked.

 No technical arguments but some of us could have trouble explaining an extra computer or extra device on the network that no one else is allowed to use.  
 
Yeah, that's a tough one, but keeping XP seems like a bad choice. From what I've read, much of the remaining XP users are businesses that don't want to upgrade (and are paying for private support to keep things secure), and I don't think browsing escort websites on a work computer is a good idea for most.  If a home XP user hasn't upgraded because they have an old machine, a flavor of Linux would likely work, but if someone is savvy enough to use Linux on an old machine, they've probably already switched, and if they are not savvy enough to run Linux, they are also probably not savvy enough to run XP safely & securely.  

You can get an inexpensive tablet or hybrid tablet/pc now for incredibly cheap... seems like that could be justified to the SO to ditch an XP system (or get a techie friend/relative to come set up Linux on it!).

A friend of mine started in this industry just before Christmas and she was asking if I knew of any that she could create her own website.  She is very computer savvy but she also knows if the discretion that is necessary.

thanks in advance

D.

if she has the computer savvy.  My suggestion would be to look at some of the personal websites of other providers that are not made from templates.  She can also contact those ladies and get some ideas as to how to set up her own site.

LLAP,
Swim

She needs to find web hosts that allow adult content, or at least officially claim they don't operate as the morality police; a Google search will yield results, and she can choose a host with a price/package that she likes. Many web hosts will also offer to register a domain privately - this is important - so her personal info isn't out there for the world to see (or she can do that on her own).  Most hosts offer some type of EZ website builder - which gives a little less hand-holding than the template web sites - but will help if her html/css knowledge is lacking.  If she has enough background to pick it up quickly, www.w3schools.com is great for getting up to speed on current standards and covers basic html and css to php and more; it has super tutorials with lots of examples.

A lot of ladies use wix; it has features that let you make a more customized look without knowing any code (and I believe they offer domain registration/hosting, too), and of course a good web designer can make her whatever she wants (and do all the setup).

Please remind your friend: This is not Disney! This is not Yahoo! This is not "Family Vacation at the Lake"!  

Many of us need to surf as safely as possible. Many of us use hardware or software to block all sorts of stuff that could get us in trouble if someone comes into the room or office or uses he computer after us. Some of us use TOR for anonymity and TOR blocks some stuff. Some of use the old computer that no one else uses for complete isolation. (Anybody out there still using Windows 98?) She should test her website on OLD hardware, too, not just on the cutting edge, blazing speed units.

NO FLASH!  
NO SCRIPTS!  
NO auto-start AUDIO OR VIDEO!  
Keep image files relatively small so they don't take forever to load.  

If she wants to show off her programming skills, I always recommend a home page with some options:

Click here for the [plain HTML] version. Click here for the [fancy] version. Click here for the [mobile] version.

Tell her to come back to Newbie for more advice or with more Qs

A lot use mobile (about 25-30% of hits for me), so it's definitely important to design with that in mind (although there are tools to let things size appropriately without creating separate links/pages).

I disagree a little with a couple of other points.

An outright ban on ALL scripts is hard to avoid if you want even a relatively simple photo gallery or contact form. However, many scripts are innocuous and will run on mobile, Tor, and aging components.  

If someone is using Win 98, they are a lost cause!  I have sadly seen a Win XP visitor hit, though; I wanted to chastise him, and not sexually!  There is a reset css snippet that's supposed to help with older XP browsers, but seriously, people need to kiss XP goodbye. It's likely not secure (and forget about privacy if your system isn't secure). It's not supported. Plus, it's not compatible with streamlined development for mobile and desktop at the same time (see link). It's time to let it go!  For what one pays for an hour of clandestine fun, one can get a modern budget system decent enough to surf the web.

You sure know the technology! But I do ask that you and other Providers "know" that many clients do have to be kind of safe and secretive in our surfing activities.  (We're not all GaG!)  I still think that using a Welcome or Home Page "Continue" Options gives you a chance to show off your fanciest stuff with one link, mobile with another link and the simplest, safest version with the "vanilla" link.  

Posted By: kerri.bound
A lot use mobile (about 25-30% of hits for me), so it's definitely important to design with that in mind (although there are tools to let things size appropriately without creating separate links/pages).
My hobby phone is dumb. My regular phone is smart. In an emergency, I run Orweb/Orbot on it. Those are the Android versions of TOR. Please keep your mobile TOR-friendly, too.
   
I disagree a little with a couple of other points.  
   
An outright ban on ALL scripts is hard to avoid if you want even a relatively simple photo gallery or contact form. However, many scripts are innocuous and will run on mobile, Tor, and aging components.
Not an outright ban, but the need to keep things to the minimum / lowest common denominator. For example, Escort Design is a very popular service for provider and agency web sites but much of their code is incompatible with TOR. (Please try it. Maybe you can help to figure out what features are clogging up the works?)
   
If someone is using Win 98, they are a lost cause!  I have sadly seen a Win XP visitor hit, though; I wanted to chastise him, and not sexually!  There is a reset css snippet that's supposed to help with older XP browsers, but seriously, people need to kiss XP goodbye. It's likely not secure (and forget about privacy if your system isn't secure). It's not supported. Plus, it's not compatible with streamlined development for mobile and desktop at the same time (see link). It's time to let it go!  For what one pays for an hour of clandestine fun, one can get a modern budget system decent enough to surf the web.
No technical arguments but some of us could have trouble explaining an extra computer or extra device on the network that no one else is allowed to use.  


-- Modified on 2/1/2016 3:20:25 AM

Posted By: impposter
You sure know the technology!  
I should throw it out there that I am NOT an actual web coder, just a nerd who takes an interest in techie things and has a little base knowledge to get around for my personal purposes (and I'm great with tutorials/Google).  If someone is fluent with all the web tools out there, they could add much more to the discussion.

But I do ask that you and other Providers "know" that many clients do have to be kind of safe and secretive in our surfing activities.  (We're not all GaG!)  I still think that using a Welcome or Home Page "Continue" Options gives you a chance to show off your fanciest stuff with one link, mobile with another link and the simplest, safest version with the "vanilla" link.  
 
This is a good idea if you go really "fancy." Another strategy is not to have that much going on in the first place so it doesn't have to be dumbed down too much.  I am curious now, though, about how many would click on a plain and safe vanilla link; perhaps that's an experiment for the future.

For example, Escort Design is a very popular service for provider and agency web sites but much of their code is incompatible with TOR. (Please try it. Maybe you can help to figure out what features are clogging up the works?)  
   
Those pages are loaded with javascript, especially for the ads. Depending on the security settings you use in Tor, much (or all) of that can get blocked.

 No technical arguments but some of us could have trouble explaining an extra computer or extra device on the network that no one else is allowed to use.  
 
Yeah, that's a tough one, but keeping XP seems like a bad choice. From what I've read, much of the remaining XP users are businesses that don't want to upgrade (and are paying for private support to keep things secure), and I don't think browsing escort websites on a work computer is a good idea for most.  If a home XP user hasn't upgraded because they have an old machine, a flavor of Linux would likely work, but if someone is savvy enough to use Linux on an old machine, they've probably already switched, and if they are not savvy enough to run Linux, they are also probably not savvy enough to run XP safely & securely.  

You can get an inexpensive tablet or hybrid tablet/pc now for incredibly cheap... seems like that could be justified to the SO to ditch an XP system (or get a techie friend/relative to come set up Linux on it!).

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