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Firepit Update Letters
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The Rebirth of the Firepit
For the second weekend in a row, I’m sitting at my desk , staring out my window as a “Nor’easter” dumps several feet of snow in my yard. We managed to get our Yule tree in just before this latest storm hit, so at least the house looks festive and smells of fresh pine. Each ornament was placed on the tree with care, for each one carries a special family memory. The family memories were dusted off and shared as we decorated the tree. What a wonderful time of year!
As the days continue to shorten, the weather has caused me to stay closer to the hearth. It’s meant more time at the Firepit. I was recently inspired to made a few changes. In fact, I decided that the time was right to radically redesign it. I admit, there wasn’t a lot of forethought involved. I didn’t really plan on it. I just started messing around with things, trying out new ideas, and stumbled on a look that really felt right.
Of course, if I had thought about it, I’d realize how ridiculously difficult it would be to try to redesign all 350 pages, reorganize it all, relink everything, add new pages, and get it all done during the season of Yule. Because Yule also means making lists, checking them twice, shopping for gifts, wrapping, visiting, baking, decorating, and the other thousand things we do to celebrate the season. What was I thinking?
So in that holiday spirit of exuberant madness, I welcome you to the latest version of Flame’s Firepit! This update will be massive... an entire “re-do”. I’m relying desperately on the feedback of visitors to make sure that the new Firepit “works”. The first thing you’ll notice is that I’ve completely changed the color scheme. I’ve chosen light text on black, because so many people have said they find it easier on the eyes. I’ve found myself with less eye fatigue in the endless hours I’ve worked on this update, so I’ll vouch for the “easy-eye” factor.
There’s so much that’s new!
The main organization structure has been rearranged and streamlined, making it easier to move between sections of the Firepit.
There’s now a page that introduces a new visitor to the Firepit, and says a bit about what the site’s all about. I also now have a credits list there.
There’s a new and improved Table of Contents, which has now become the main directory for navigation, making it easier to locate what you’re looking for.
The “What’s New” page is now the place to come when you want to find a specific article that has been posted recently. You’ll find direct links to the new articles added at the last update. This page is also home to these update letters, and you can review previous updates to find what you’re looking for.
Awards, webrings, affiliations, and testimonials have been moved to their own page, rather than cramming up the front page.
I moved the search feature to it’s own page, to make it easier to find and use it.
Having a privacy policy is a good idea, so now there’s a page that explains my privacy promise to visitors.
Links to all of these pages are found directly on the first page. Hopefully, the layout will make navigation simple and meaningful. Please let me know of any problems or confusion with organization or navigation! I really appreciate your feedback!
To top it all off, I’ve also added seven new pages, and added a new section called “Favorite Fiction” to the Recommended Reading list. Rather than make this letter any longer, I’ll just list their sections and titles, and trust that you’ll visit if you want, without further explanation.
Fundamentals: Recommended Reading
Philosophy: Sacred Dreamer
Commentary: Christian/Pagan Conflict,
Missionaries,
FluffBunnies
Anecdotes: Lunar Eclipse Observance
Meditation & Magick: Money Spells
Humor: Heathen Humor
I’m really excited by this latest vision of the Firepit, and I hope you’ll stop by and let me know what you think. Merry Yule to you all!
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November 1, 2003 - Post-Update housekeeping
Updated Personal Interest Questions, revised Community Knowledge chapter intro, revised Fundamentals chapter intro, revised Philosophy chapter intro, added a link to a Pagan comic strip to the
links page, and updated the photo of our
Samhain altar.
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