MSEnet :: Frequently Asked Questions
- What the heck is MSEnet anyway?
- MSEnet is an archive of the personal websites I created while a student at the University of Southern California, dating between 1995 and 2000.
- And you are?
- My name is Michael Ellars. You can read more about me on my “official” website: michael.ellars.com.
- So are you like a web designer or something?
- No, websites are more like an involved hobby for me. I went to architecture school and I am now a licensed architect (among other things).
- Why did you call your websites “MSEnet”?
- “MSE” are my initials, and MSEnet seemed to roll off my tongue easier than MSEweb.
- Why don't you fix/update these pages?
- This site is intended as an archive site, so the sub-sites are presented with as little changes as possible. All new content is displayed either at ellars.com, michael.ellars.com, michaelellars.com, or one of my other websites.
- Did you really work on ARPAnet?
- No, that part of the timeline is intended as a joke (like Al Gore claiming to invent the Internet). ARPAnet came into being before I was even born!
- How did you learn to make websites?
- After a brief (30 minute!) introduction on the basics of making a web page — things like
<HEAD> and <BODY> tags — I started copying what other websites were doing. Then I would try to figure out what snippets of code caused different things to happen in the browser.
- So you're cool with people copying your websites?
- Not for anything you intend to profit from, including both financial and scholastic profit. There is a difference between copying for learning purposes — to figure out how something works — and trying to pass off other people's work as your own.
- What program(s) did you use to create these sites?
- Every web site presented here was authored using a plain, old-fashioned text-editor. Most were created with pico, the pine composer. Most of the images were either created or edited in Adobe Photoshop.
- Any advice to someone just starting out?
- View source! Seriously, it's the best way to learn.
Last updated 2010-0612-1040.