Friday, August 19, 2011

The End of the World is Nigh! Peter Brimelow is Redesigning VDARE!

By Nicholas Stix

The event I have long feared is upon us. Peter Brimelow is finally following through on his longtime threat to put VDARE’s Website through a redesign.

Regarding Peter’s reference to “rude emails about VDARE.com’s antiquated design,” none of them came from me. I have always loved VDARE’s design, which reminds me of the fancy, laid letter paper I used, when I still wrote letters on paper.

As for Peter’s statement,

But mostly because I really believe in content—rather than form. I think facts and arguments work independently of presentation. I think that’s particularly true for the internet, which is an inherently high IQ medium.


But maybe I’m losing this argument.



My sentiments, exactly. I didn’t write those words, but I could have.

But I never told Peter what I thought about the design, because I’m just another ink-stained kvetch, and editors don’t care about writers’ opinions.


Why Is VDARE.COM Closed? Peter Brimelow Writes to Readers


By Peter Brimelow


In answer to readers’ questions: VDARE.com will be closed for several days to come.


There are two reasons for this.



  • First, we are finally implementing our much-requested (and very expensive) redesign.

We are told the redesign will take several days to propagate and for us to figure out the software and to iron out (squash?) bugs as we find them. VDARE.com is a huge site—over 20,000 individual items need to be migrated! But we believe it is essential that we continue to offer our unmatched collection of facts and arguments about America’s ongoing immigration disaster; and also our system of hyperlinks, which document and extend those arguments.


If you can help us with this redesign’s cost—it’s tax-deductible!—please click here.


This particularly applies if you’ve written us rude emails about VDARE.com’s antiquated design.


Come on now—you know who you are!



  • Second—partly because of the redesign’s cost—we’re out of cash.  

This happens periodically at VDARE.com.  We no longer get support from Establishment foundations and their easily-intimidated, Politically Correct program officers. (In fact, our redesign has been delayed 18 months because one such foundation reneged on its promise to fund it.) We must rely on brave individuals—like you.


Occasionally, we deal with cash crunches by making special appeals to our readers. Usually, we just make internal economies and stall expenditures until donations have built up again.  Right now, our next promised major donation is in the early fall.


But with this particular crunch, an unprecedented thing has happened: one donor, a fan of our redesign, has offered to match any donation made while we’re closed, up to $20,000.


For example, as soon as we closed the site on Friday, a kind reader sent us $25. Every little counts! And particularly now—that $25 becomes $50!


So that’s


$20,000 – ($25 x 2) = $50—only $19,950 to go!


We think he’s good for the money.


We are committed to reopen VDARE.com again when we’re sure the redesign software is working—and when we’ve finished some housekeeping. But we will be able to do that sooner if we can start commissioning articles—which we can do if you help us by giving now.


Let me say a word about our redesign.


VDARE.com was first designed in 1999—that is to say, several eons ago in internet time. The technology has been changing at warp speed, and, as always when this happens, late entrants have an advantage over old-timers.


I’ve been delaying redesigning VDARE.com, despite constant complaints—partly because of the appalling cost; partly because I don’t like to take time from editing (and I still keep hoping to write occasionally!); and partly because my mind has been boggling at the pace of the change.


But mostly because I really believe in content—rather than form. I think facts and arguments work independently of presentation. I think that’s particularly true for the internet, which is an inherently high IQ medium.


But maybe I’m losing this argument.


Anyway, VDARE.com is redesigning.


Three key features of VDARE.com’s redesign:



  • Greatly improved navigability

  • Enhanced use of social media—Face Book, Twitter etc. (Well, to be frank, this is VDARE.com’s first direct use of the social media).

  • Various ingenious bells and whistles, such as allowing active donors access to VDARE.com’s—usually blocked—new content during any fundraising appeals we might have to make in the future.(We always felt bad about that).

It also cuts our costs by allowing us to do our own webmastering. (Let me pay tribute here to our loyal webmaster/ webcouple who have been with us for the last ten years).


What would we be covering right now if we weren’t compelled to retool?



  • Administrative amnesty. We have been anticipating the Obama Administration’s recent secretive announcement since early 2009.

As CNN’s Alan Silverlieb wrote today:


“The White House seems to be betting on the former, slipping out news of a major shift in the federal government's approach to illegal immigrants at a time when most Americans traditionally hit the road for summer vacation…


"’This kind of (policy rollout) may have worked 30 years ago,’ [Northeastern University political scientist Bill] Mayer said.  "But given the way the media has developed, people on the other side will still be able to respond via talk radio and cable television and blogs.’"


(Immigration reform in August: Why now?, August 19, 2011)


“Blogs”—That’s us at VDARE.com!



  • Impeachment. (see above). At VDARE.com.com, we’ve been exploring this neglected topic for some time too.

It’s coming!


We’ll be back as soon as we can. Meanwhile, please help VDARE.com now.


I’ll be profoundly grateful.


 


/s/ pb


If you need to contact our editors - please email witan@vdare.com

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