You know it’s an update when you update pages no one reads. Through the years, one thing I’ve always wondered is how many people actually read pages like this one, the credits page, and the disclaimer; it’s probably more than I think, but still…it seems its not worth the work. But I’m updating this page not for it’s use, but because I have fun writing it. Writing this page helps me reflect on how far the award-winning Fat Rat Central has come since its debut nearly nine years ago. I mean, I remember back in ‘97, when FRC’s biggest competition was Rat City, a page made completely of links, and Pet Rats 3.0, which contained (and still does–although it’s falling apart) a lot of fun information and good design.
It’s strange that FRC has been around all these years, while Rat City shut down about three years ago and Pet Rats 3.0 hasn’t been updated in at least a two and a half. FRC was hosted at NS.net, which is now Verio.net, in Sacramento, California. When I found out my family was moving to Oregon in late 1998, the site moved to Tripod, a site that hosts webpages for free. That site is the ultimate vintage FRC, and is still on Tripod, due to a bug in the system they refuse to fix. It used to be that I had plenty of time to update the site every month. Not only would certain sections (Rizzo’s Corner, Lukass’ Comedy Hour) be updated, but the site would get a whole new look, satisfying my insatiable hunger to learn more about web design.
Soon, however, I began to aquire more activities, and I would put off the updates until the promised monthly updates turned into every-three-month updates. After I realized the site was causing me more stress than enjoyment, I made a change that drew the line between the FRC of the past and the FRC of the present. I set my limits, invested in a domain name, and gave FRC an update whenever I felt like it. So the site moved to Mutantspud.com and expanded a lot. I ditched the monthy sections (which I couldn’t find any material for anyway), added some remotely hosted CGI scripts, and completely updated all the information. Recently, the site moved to fatratcentral.com, because it didn’t make sense that FRC didn’t have it’s own domain name. I’ve learned a lot through all these damn updates. I’ve found ways to make websites more aesthetically pleasing, figured out how to organize a site so it operates to its full potential, learned javascript, and more. But the one thing that has irked me since I discovered CGI for Me in 1998 is CGI programming. Dealing with remotely hosted anything is a pain in the ass, but it seems CGI scripts are especially problematic. I started with a guestbook. It didn’t really bother me when that crashed. Not too much work lost there. But after I spent hours inserting links into a Free For All Links Page only to have it crash, I’d had enough. So I attempted to write my own script. It’s more difficult than one might think, so for two years, I struggled with it.
But this time I finally found the answer. Through my personal site, stinkerpants.com, I learned about WordPress (which has changed my world forever) and GeekLog, which is responsible for the club. The gallery is also new and improved. Another thing that I’m really excited about is, due to viewers like you (ah, fond memories of PBS), the site contains personal photographs instead of random photos I found on the internet or took myself. So anyway, that’s it about FRC. I’ve become pretty fond of my creation (”it’s alive! it’s alive!”), and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy updating it–unread pages and all.
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