Frequently Asked Questions

Own it in Paper!

Frequently asked questions (and their answers)

Could I reprint or redistribute something from this site?
Could you tell me a bit about yourself?
Do you mind if I email you?
How can I navigate this site?
How is this site organized?
There's a lot of stuff here. Where should I start?
What is the purpose of this website?
What should I do if I find an error?
Why don't you use HTML5 Boilerplate
Why isn't my question answered here?

1. Could I reprint or redistribute something from this site?

   Please contact me and ask. In the past I've given fairly generous permission to reprint or redistribute my items, but please do ask.

   One note: For some authors, "May I quote, translate, or reprint such-and-such that you wrote?" is always answered, "Speak to my lawyer." Which, in practice, seems to always mean, "No."

   If you request permission to reproduce something you see here, I will never answer, "Speak to my lawyer." I will try to answer you myself, and I am in a position to give you permission if it seems appropriate to me.

   Special exception: If you want to use the picture from Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthane? for a church bulletin, you have my permission to do so. (If you are good at manipulating images, I suggest using a shrunken version of the high-resolution version want a slightly higher-resolution.)

   Please also note that high quality reproductions are now available, and possibly the original.

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2. Could you tell me a bit about yourself?

   I am an Eastern Orthodox Christian, have degrees in math and theology, have a lot of interests, and have had some pretty interesting experiences (including riding an elephant in Malaysia). I invite you to read the author biography, but most of all to browsewhat there is to read.

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3. Do you mind if I email you?

   I love to hear from visitors! Please contact me.

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4. How can I navigate this site?

   There are several ways you can find things in this website. You can choose whatever seems easiest.

   • Search. At the top and bottom of each left hand menu are a search box.
   • Left-hand menu. At the left of each page, between the search boxes, is a menu listing what the sections of this website and the contents of each section. (See the next question if you're curious about this site's sections.)
   • Browse descriptions. Clicking on the name of a section in the left hand menu will take you to a browseable index which describes what is in the section. Some are broken into subsections. If you find one thing you like, you might like others nearby.
   • Site map. There is a site map for the site, arranged both alphabetically and by subject.
   • "You might also like..." links. At the end of most of my creations is a set of links to other things you might like. Please explore them.

   Those aren't the only ways to navigate the site. I try to give you more than one option in finding things. Use whatever seems easiest or most interesting.

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5. How is this site organized?

   This page is broken into four major sections, not counting the sitemap. The sections are:

   • About, which has the things that would traditionally go into an "About" section: a contact page, the privacy policy, etc.
   • Et Cetera is really an "other creations" collection. It houses artwork, humor, games, open source software, and almost anything else that doesn't belong in one of the other sections. (It's by far the most diverse collection, although the writing section is itself very diverse and represents a number of genres.
   • Library, which has almost all of the literature.

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6. There's a lot of stuff here. Where should I start?

   • If you would like something dreamlike and poetic, you might like A Dream of Light.
   • If you like offbeat humor, you might read Janra ball: the Headache.
   • If you're technical, you might like the open source sofware projects section. They're a bit quirky and offbeat, much like other things on the site. (If you're not technical, several of the projects do have a demo online.)
   • If you like role playing games, you might look at The Minstrel's Song, which has some very carefully developed cultures.
   • If you'd like something religious, I would encourage you to read A Pet Owner's Rules.

   The home page might be able to help you. Each time you reload it, the "Today's starting point", section will highlight a page that changes every minute. The home page can help you find a specific page in this collection.

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7. What is the purpose of this website?

   This website was created to share the various things I've created. This includes a wide range of things I've written, art, games, and computer software. (All of these are meant to have a special sparkle.)

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8. What should I do if I find an error?

   Please tell me! I'd like to fix the error both for you and for other visitors.

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9. Why don't you use HTML5 Boilerplate here?

   I believe in using technology because it advances a human goal and not just because it's newer. Once upon a time, I knew that XHTML was the wave of the future and I converted my site to XHTML. Now HTML5 Boilerplate is the obvious wave of the future. I like using it, but I've learned a lesson: someday we may give HTML5 Boilerplate the same condescending smile by which we now patronize a webpage that validates as XHTML 1.0 Strict.

   If I see a reason to recode this site in HTML5 Boilerplate, a more substantial reason than "HTML5 Boilerplate is in fashion," I will do so. I have experience with Boilerplate and it is a remarkable achievement, just not one needed to help this site achieve its goals. Right now the website's human goals are served well by the existing markup, and things like "Make fewer HTTP requests" optimize my pages better with XHTML markup than HTML5 Boilerplate.

   I do, as with my search box, use HTML5 / HTML5 Boilerplate features as needed and as desired. (As HTML5 advocates have said, browsers care surprisingly little about DOCTYPEs.)

   This site is designed to degrade gracefully, and it doesn't look bad in Internet Explorer 6.

   I have used pure HTML5 Boilerplate for other projects.

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10. Why isn't my question answered here?

    If you have a question that isn't answered here, please contact me with your question. I'd like to answer it, and other people may have the same question—so you'd be helping me build a better FAQ.

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Contact Jonathan Hayward about Jonathan's Corner.