[Allen]

interesting criticisms of myspace, particularly in terms of the affect on culture. There was an article on CNET last week reviewing a new anonymous social networking site providing an alternative to myspace and other so-called superficial social networking sites by networking people on who they are, not who they know or what they own.Review:http://reviews.cnet.com/4531-10921_7-6638009.html?tag=nl.e777Site: http://www.experienceproject.com

[CombiVerde]

Well, I agree COMPLETELY with Hotmail.com & Microsoft Update: but you forgot the SPYWARE that Microsoft is sending as VALIDATION TOOL!!! What a Scam!!! And Norton Antivirus is following fast...try to Live Update after two weeks that you got it...And what about the LIVE-SPACES & LIVE MAIL from HOTMAIL??? Nothing made my PC work SLOWER before!!! Microsoft is really APPLEs best provider of customers after that one Tipical example of GRINGO IMPERIALISM, so greedy that they pull the rope that is on their own neck. Viva Pnacho Villa & the lamo, Viva ZAPATA & Fuck you too.Sincerely, DonYan

[CombiVerde]

And Nr. One Worst Web Site, (for me) is a very recent addition actually. The name; DROPPINGKNOWLEDGE.COM. They started publicising a Round table (Remember Camelot?) of 100 scolars, rich and famous people. WE, the not so famous nor rich but very needy, would supply the questions and They would disscuss them at the Grand Oppening; at Bebelplatz and ONLINE. (Bebelpltaz is where Hitler burned the books...). So we subscribed, sending our questions (in my case about the RIGHT TO HAVE A NATIONALITY), and tried to enter the "Grand Oppening" on last Sunday. Maybe there was an answer...Not so! We where unable to enter: that code they had sended to our E-mails did not work. The Day After the Event, we got an E-mail with appologies, saying that due to "Tecnical Dificulties" we had to re-register AGAIN, and we had NO MORE access to our questins. We supplied their material, and we where excluded COMPLETELY!!! But we could send Money, Money & Money...(without re-registering). They should have also invited the Pope, so he could comment and remark on Islam...There is no legislation against all these SCAMS, actual REALITY SHOWS, where we are taken as GUINEA PIGS for polls, and are discarded afterwards like used condoms...Next day I was listening to BBC Radio 3, where they comented on the event, saying: " DROPPINGKNOWLEDGE SOUNDS LIKE ITS ABOUT GANO BISSNESS..." Thats putting it gracefully...DonYan SansPapiers

[bobbygot]

Good article, now post the world's best websites!

[jlwadsy]

I totally agree with this article. My space is such and eye sore. People tell me to go check out there space on MySpace.com. I go out there and every time, it's just a mish mash of crap cluttering the page. Most of the spaces you look at, you have to try to decipher the text from stupid background images and crap cluttered everywhere. Now if you go out to spaces.live.com you'll find clean well structured personal spaces. What places like spaces.live.com lack, is the social connection aspect; connecting the user through schools, careers, and other interests.

[rkstamm]

ditto. I was not sure how to reply to this.[quote name='chasbeard']> {quote:title=lrosen9999 wrote:}{quote}As a psychologist who studies MySpace, I think you are missing the point. The fact that the individual sites are chaotic and look like a child's bedroom is because this is one of the only places where adolescents and young adults can freely express themselves without having their parents yell at them to clean up their rooms. Teens these days have few "safe" places where they can hang out and just be teenagers. Malls are no longer safe. Street corners are out. Parents work and want their kids home after school. > > > > > > > > I also dispute your assertion that MySpace is "a one-stop shopping mall for online predators." Research shows that this is simply not true. As the 11th largest country in the world you would expect sexual solicitations but the teens are handling them with ease and research shows that it is not upsetting to them .. just to their parents. Feel free to visit my website at www.csudh.edu/psych/lrosen.htm for reports on my research.> > > > Sir, you should wake up. Only in backwater areas and some liberal enclaves in America or in Third World countries where you are likely to die by 30, does anyone think its okay to solicit children for physical favors. The fact that someone did some research that shows (some/ many/ most?) kids on MySpace don't get upset when sexually solicited hardly makes the place a safe haven for kids to be kids. I realize you limited your remarks to adolescents and young adults -- people who, by the way, are still conisdered not of majority age for a reason. Please note that when I used the term "children" it encompasses those age groups. Do you not have chlidren? If so, I hope you know that childhood is a time when children should be kept safe while being taught how to protect themselves? Some things children should experience -- riding a bike, swimming, climbing trees -- others, are sacred by nature, and are reserved each for their own time, e.g., sexual relations are for marriage, or are dangerous, like skydiving. And whether you agree or not, for the most part, people have decided that until people are of a certain age, there are certain activities from which those younger persons should be kept. The decision is not theirs to make, because by and large, they don't have control of their urges and are too easily swayed by anyone with an opinion. By the way, considering you are a professional, I would have thought you realize only idiots trust "experts" that don't cite the source. Feel free to reply, as I would like to know what research you are citing.> > My children, and those I have been blessed to teach, whether well-behaved or troubled, have neither been coddled nor sheltered while in my care, but they have been protected. The fact that some pervert wants to touch them, does not mean that we should open them up to those solicitations. When they are grown, they can make decisions based on their beliefs and protect themselves or turn to the authority figures in their lives at that time. For now, what greater purpose do we have than to guide and guard our children and make the world a better place for the next generation?> > Lastly, you should note that some children relish the attention of others, even it is from depraved individuals that guide them into making decisions that will haunt them the remainder of their lives.

[jasmine2501]

I'm confused as to why Myspace is included with these miserable failures. It doesn't belong in the same group. Most sites listed were there because they offer nothing of value to the user, or they commit some act of abuse on their users. Myspace is quite useful, and generally doesn't abuse people with spam or viruses. It's the USERS that make Myspace suck. If you look at my profile, for example, you get good information about me, can communicate with me, and don't get abused by crappy web design. Other's profiles are their own problem, and Myspace isn't responsible for it any more than my ISP is responsible for my web site. I'm not saying Myspace doesn't suck, but it doesn't suck in the same way as these other sites. I'm wondering why PCWorld.com isn't on the list, with its annoying pop-ups and excessive navigation...Jasmine - www.smoothjazzy.com

[Verge]

So why isn't PCworld in the list? This site sucks so incredibly much that it should have taken the first place in "Absolutely the worst layouts of all time". You rape the whole site with stupid commercials that have more space given than the content we are visiting the site for. The whole site just makes we wanna shout out loud: "Thank God for AdBlock!"

[rb3m]

Yay! My site didn't make the list!On the other hand that may be because no one visits it. :(

[Nekotronic]

Best. PC World article. ever.

[OldFart]

Dan, with MySpace your are really OFF THE MARK! You are an OLD FOGGY. MySpace mimics the 'young adult' .. so its messy, garbled, unusual schemas ... KEEP YOUR OLD PAWS OFF THAT. MySpace can do some basics of spyware trapping, virus trapping, age verify .. but not nearly what you'd impose on them. Young adults are supposed to trying things, get pinch and brused, try things not fitting the rules. So, Stop imposing Don's 'liittle adult' world on everyone else. THe rest of your article was good since many of those sites are just out to 'make a buck off you'. But, with MySpace you are OFF THE MARK.

[ccoc]

For a critique of myspace read - MySpace is at its core, a marketing machine developed by a team with extensive experience in direct marketing. http://www.valleywag...tion-199924.php

[jazzy1279]

I have to agree with the comments about myspace, I myself have an account with them but personally I've thought about closing my account just because its takes forever to load, the premade backgrounds aren't the best, when you do make your own background by using a background generator your site goes to crap. They don't limit the picture size which streaches the screen...I could go one but I won't. I think its a great place to catch up with old friends or classmates that you havn't seen in forever, but on the flip side there are too many preditors and it doesn't help that you have little girls (less than 18) posting nude or 1/2 nude pics (this is what feeds preditors) According to myspace stuff like that is a violation but they won't delete those accounts. Myspace need to toughen their policies and parents need to the same.

[vips]

There's another site that deserves to make this list: www.3web.net. In its inception, it promised users "free internet for life" through software that was downloaded for free or purchased on a CD ($9.95). It was banner heavy, slow, unreliable, and difficult to connect to because of limited bandwidth (but hey, what do you expect for free). The real reason it deserves to be on this list is that soon after it signed up hundreds of thousands of users, it announced that users would now have to pay a monthly fee for the slow and unwieldy service. What happened to "free internet for LIFE?" False advertising at its best.An article on the CTV website covers the details: http://www.ctv.ca/se...41209_22797241.

[SteveFalzon]

great article, very entertaining. But where is pcworld.com, you deserve a top 5 spot. Honestly, pot, kettle. you know what I mean, I'm not joking either, your registration page requires a zip code even though I'm in the uk, and it doesn't recognise uk post codes, where is 22323 anyway, very poor.

[wolfdix]

I have to agree that the Microsoft website must be one of the most frustrating places to go for downloads of upgrades, updates or any other thing. It's confusing, to say the least.Hotmail has improved quite a bit from its humble beginnings but still can't fend off junk mail too well...Thanks for an enlightening article!

[LindaMouse]

[quote name='brucerobb']The site's actually spelled "hampsterdance", though that's misspelling "hamster". . .And I always thought it was a cute page. Got a LOT of hits in it's day. And if I'm not careful, that goofy little song gets stuck in my head.................:lol:

[LindaMouse]

[quote name='rb3m']Yay! My site didn't make the list!> > > > On the other hand that may be because no one visits it. :(This is so funny! This is EXACTLY what I thought when I finished reading the list!

[spacekitty]

[quote name='brucerobb']The site's actually spelled "hampsterdance", though that's misspelling "hamster". . .That's exactly what I thought!!If the author, Dan Tynan, is going to put a website on a "25 Worst" sites list, at least he could do them the courtesy of SPELLING it correctly!!Add PC World to that list for not catching the typo!!Meow!!=^..^=

[dantynan]

www.hamsterdance.com and www.hampsterdance.com are the same site. both are equally insipid. try it -- if you dare....cheers,dt