blog好き

Feb 18 2006

Categories: anime, blog, commentary

23 Comments »

After seeing such a wide array of anime blogs since I started ABT, here’s an attempt to rate anime blogs in an objective fashion much like Olympic figure skating judging. Hence the debut of Anime Blog Quality Rating.

For people who have followed my bad advice previously, some of these may seem familiar, and, as always, use this information at one’s own risk.

Blog Itself

-72 points for using MSN blogs. Big uphill battle. Better alternatives include WordPress.com and Blogger.com, both are free and are superior. I mean… MSN doesn’t even let you change the theme! My gawd… worst. Blogging service. Ever.
+1 point for WordPress. Favortism. Plain and simple.
+1 point for purchasing own domain name. They’re $8 a year, and they dramatically help visitors find your site.

Look and Feel

-10 points for popup, Flash, and banner ads.
-1 point for AdSense ads.
+1 point for viewable on small (i.e. 1024 x 768) monitors.
+1 point for viewable cross browsers, down to Netscape 4.
+1 point for kawaii banner instead of pretentious banner. Subjective.
+1 point for a site mascot.
+1 point for any Shana-tan.
+1 point for quick loading (i.e. should be zero wait when viewed through broadband).
+1 point for using good HTML techniques, i.e. specifying width and height tags for images and description tags for links. (Credit: Zyl)
+1 point for modifiying readily available theme instead of leaving it “factory stock.”
+2 points for writing own theme. I think half the anime blogging community uses k2 or Pool themes. So 2 points more for people who come up with something new and novel, even if it is ugly.

Blogger

+1 point for using real name.
+1 point for using e-mail address.
+1 point for pity for any anime blogger stuck in Canada.
+1 point for about page. Always good to learn something about the blogger, even if it is, “I own 16 cats.”
+1 point for any accurate self-photo on said about page.
+2 points if brave enough to post a photo that can be easily mocked/photoshopped on said about page.
+1 point for over one year of anime blogging.
+1 point for at least ten posts a month.
-1 point for any day with more than five posts. Post dilution theorem.
+1 point for having purchased anime goods in the past month.
+3 points if blogger has a nickname they didn’t give themselves, i.e. “King of Kawaii”.
+5 points if blogger has become a verb, i.e. “to moy”.

Community

-1 point for technorati tag whoring. People have gone tag crazy… please… settle down… you don’t need like 20 tags to describe a post.
+1 point for keeping a blogroll. Blogrolls are important for community building.
+1 point for keeping a blogroll up-to-date. I still see a lot of blogs pointing to this “toybox” thing. By keeping the blogroll up-to-date, it shows that the blogger actually visits blogs on their blogroll and not just put up links for trade. Visiting other blogs is also a big part of community building.
+1 point for referencing other blogs once in a while. Again, under this “visiting other blogs is good for community building” canopy.
-1 point for captcha comment spam protection. (Akismet 4tw.)
+1 point for lack of comment spam.
+1 point for RSS or Atom feed available.
+1 point for valid and Magpie parsable RSS or Atom feed. (Credit: James.)
+3 points for positive interaction with Japanese blogging community. Is it just me, or is there like a giant, gaping Sunrise-plothole class chasm between the English and Japanese language blogging communities? (Credit: Matt.)

Posts

+1 point if posts are categorized by series or some other system that makes some sense.
+1 point for varied post structure. Not everything needs to be six (or four) images and a paragraph.
+1 point for screenshots. I like screenshots.
+2 points for over 30 screenshots an episode. I like screenshots.
+3 points for full-sized screenshots. I’d really like to see more bloggers offering larger screens, especially with shows like Ergo Proxy popping up. Tiny 100 pixel thumbs just don’t cut it with Ril.
-1 point for any mention of Matt Hasselbeck.
+1 point for occasional fanservice.
+1 point for reviews averaging over 200 words long. I like words.
+1 point for punctuation. I like commas. Semicolons are good too. Indifferent about exclaimation marks.
+1 point for spoiler warnings. Always good idea.

(Fanservice Break)

(Back to Anime Blog Quality Rating)

Content

-3 points for emo angst. Just because the shows may have emo angst, it doesn’t mean that makes for good blogging.
+3 points for blogging about crap shows and making fun of them. I 100% understand why people only blog about shows that they like, but it’s always humorous MST3K style to blog about shows that are absolutely junk. How can anyone blog about Final Approach with a straight face?
+3 points for using memes that anime watchers would understand but no one else would. (i.e. “Omega symmetrical docking of the year!” and “Minmay Defense”)
+3 points for not being afraid to go against popular opinion. I can’t seem to find non-sarcastic/cynical/joking versions for “Top Ten Reasons Why I’m Haardo Gay for Shinn Asuka” and “Final Fantasy Unlimited Is an Action and Emotional Tour-de-Force” in the blogosphere… but if I did, I’d definitely read them.
+3 points for any blog that has reviewed at least one Ghibli movie.
+3 points for bringing something new to the table. In other words, don’t just summarize an episode or series or beat an old topic into the ground (i.e. for a good example of beating a dead horse, check out every AoMM post on GSD. Yes, I’m ashamed.). Bring something new to the table instead of milking the same Shinn/Mai joke over and over.
+3 points for blogging about shows no one else is at the moment. Nadesico in a sea of Mai Otome 4tw.
+3 points for inclusion of manga reviews. The ratio of anime blogs to manga blogs is like 25 to 1, in other words, about the same ratio of males to females in a class titled, “RF and High-Speed Analog Circuit Design.”
+3 points for highly specialized niche blogs. Always good to see blogs about shoujo-ai/shounen-ai, mecha, or perverted PVC models and nothing else.
+3 points for translation of all the jokes in Pani Poni Dash. I expect nothing less than a 50,000 word thesis on the topic of “Maho! and It’s Awesomeness.”
+3 points for editorial. An occasional post about “Why subs are better than dubs” or “Has Gainax lost their edge” shows that a blogger can wax poetic on more than just an episode. More importantly, it helps round out the thoughts of the blogger and encourage debate in the blogosphere. Opinions are good.
+3 points for non-generic tone. After reading someone’s blog, one should get a sense of, “That’s one angry person,” “That’s one cheerful person,” or “That’s one witty person.” If the blog fails to convey some sort of emotion through the tone of the writing, it’s generic.
-3 points for dumb gimmick posts like ths one.