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    I has dumbed this blog

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    banner HELP I has dumbed this blogAfficianados Aficionados (just like fans but with better teeth and gold credit cards) of this blog will be well aware of the many changes that have taken place to Domain Maximus over the last five years or so. It all began as an email newsletter which ran for a year or so before finding a very happy home at sidin.blogspot.com. The blogspot site saw the blog mature, find itself in a Zen sort of way, and settle down to the sporadic rhythm it has now.

    And then in May of last year I moved everything to this whatay dedicated domain. With rising traffic and a more vigorous freelance writing career I figured I needed a better, more personalized showcase of my writings. The wordpress platform gives it flexibility and customization that was simply unimaginable on Blogger. But apparently more than that has changed on this blog. Sob.

    Middle of last week I came across this link.

    I has dumbed this blog

    The Blog Readability Test ‘apparently’ goes through the content on your blog and determines the education level required to understand what’s going on. This is a fun thing to do for the avid blogger unless, of course, THIS is what the site had to say about the very blog you are on right now…

    I has dumbed this blog

    Hmm. Elementary school. Damn! And here I was, thinking Whatay was all about erudition and insightful humour and intellectually enriched conversation.

    Apparently we are all little kids with leaky noses and tiffin boxes.

    But the slap in the face was yet to come. (And I WILL tell teacher about it too!) Guess what happened when I typed in the trusty but forgotten blogspot url:

    I has dumbed this blog

    DAMMIT!

    What has happened to Domain Maximus? Are any of you sensing a general lowering in intelligence levels? Am I using one word where I should use a paragraph with footnotes? Shorter sentences? Perhaps time for a post on Shakespearean Insights into Metaphysical Particle Dynamics?

    I am at a loss of words here. I feel dumb. Waah! Waah!

    Can I go to the bathroom now?


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    This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 11th, 2007 at 1:04 pm and is filed under Miscellany, Rambling, Round and About. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

    • SR

      You know what. I too have a blog, very proud of it as well. So I pronto jumped on the link n keyed in my URL…n I got *drumrolls please!!* GENIUS !!!!

      P.S:- My blog doesn’t have a single post…just made it coz the name I wanted was available.

      P.P.S:- Woo hoo !! First to comment on this post… Ah! The joys of reading blogs in office at these sinister hours.. :)

    • Billy

      Looks to be some stupid marketing gimmick by blogspot.

    • http://poloolop.blogspot.com Umang Saini

      The assertion that Genius rating is better than Elementary school is wrong. It’s based on a false premise that good content should be tough to read.

      I believe the site is testing traits like – length of sentences, technical terms used, small paragraphs, brevity, structure of blog (ease of navigation) etc. Essentially the elementary principles of good writing.

      Nytimes rating is ‘Junior High’. (p.s nytimes blogs are also published using wordpress, link). Truetalk blog also posted a similar post like this, but the author seemed glad about Junior High rating (link.

      All in all Elementary schools is much better than genius :-)

    • http://unjustly.wordpress.com Just Mohit

      Apparently I has dumbed my blog too…current one is Junior High School, while blogspot blog is High School…heh!

      BTW, loved your article in the Lounge this saturday!

    • http://poomanam.blogspot.com silverine

      Mine’s is no better. It is High School Level :(

      *sigh*

    • http://jstathot.blogspot.com Gourav

      Looks like “cockles” is your new favorite word :) nice post on rediff btw…

    • kalhua

      still love you-whether you have the sniffles or sit on the fence between genius and loony!!!!

    • http://alchemistpoonam.wordpress.com Poonam

      I took this test too for my blog with this tool for fun. However, this tool is not accurate. Read the comments in this post:

      http://alchemistpoonam.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/what-is-your-blog-readability/

    • admin

      Sigh. Why why why do you stab a dying elementary school person…

    • admin

      Romba thanks Mohit. Any feedback on the newspaper columns are welcome. The good ones are most appreciated!

    • admin

      Cockles? You mean cockles is my new fave word? I use cockles too many times is it? Cockles cockles cockles. I don’t think so really.

    • http://unjustly.wordpress.com Just Mohit

      BTW Sidin, check out Amit’s post regarding the blog readability test. (http://www.labnol.org/internet/favorites/blog-readability-test-online-scam/1910/)
      Apparently, it has a nearly-hidden link to a loans website in it!

    • http://writingsincefree.blogspot.com/ Na.Su.Krishnan

      Oh my God..Blog badges are also not spared from spammers. Kastam:(

    • Girish

      When you consider only readability, isn’t it better to have a lower score? Readability must be assesed independent from the content right? A good blog on brain surgery doesn’t necessarily have a genius rating in readability.

    • Visu

      Hey Sidin, I just checked Prem’s blog on that site using two different links:

      for http://www.prempanicker.com – it was “Elementary School”
      for http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php – it was “High School”

      Looks like this website just checks the webpage for readability and not the whole website. Don’t matter what it says about your blog – it very humorous and I love it.

      BTW for the rediff articles, I have to keep searching for your new articles. Life would be better if it was easier to get to.

      Keep blogging

    • anu

      It’s actually a good thing that your blog’s readability level is so low — some of the best writing requires very little education to understand since it is so clear. You should take it as a compliment!

    • admin

      Ha! I knew there was a catch somewhere! Also not how I cleverly refused to use any code badge of any kind on my blog. Some might say this is because I was lazy…

    • admin

      Somehow I have always wanted to be associated with the Genius term. Blame the competitive upbringing. Sigh. Maybe someone should come up with a “Your blog is so simple to read! Sheer Genius!” badge or something.

    • admin

      Thanks Visu! Very humorous and love it! Aha! Warmed the cockles. I normally twit out the rediff url. Alternately just keep a tab on my list of writing on the Portfolio tab on top. There is an RSS feed in there somewhere for all non-blog writing.

    • http://archanaamperayani.blogspot.com Archana

      Hark! I tried to judge mine and both the times it throws a pop up that mutters “Something went wrong?” It fails to reach elementary school level too I guess. Worse still, I guess I write for the illiterates of the world… Sniff! Sob! Can I throw a tantrum?

      BTW, Nevah mind, Sidin… We, the juveniles, like hanging around the dumbed down whatay irrespective of whatever rank the critics bestow on it :)

    • http://justkeepsakes.blogspot.com Arpz

      hehehe! I put my photo blog url into that thing and it says “genius” :P

      My photos are better than your humor :P

    • Trees

      You know, I always mis spell aficionados (I just scrolled up to check whether it corresponded with yours). So, though I don’t have a blog, I do write at the elementary school level too, I guess!

    • admin

      Yes this is quite the way to help a friend who, on call, doles out market beta estimation fundae. Sigh.

    • admin

      My spelling is terrible. I also have a problem with homophones. I write as it sounds and not as it is spelt. Weird.

    • http://meranumberkabaayega.blogspot.com/ Blueneutron

      Elementary school or high school, I think your blog is one of the most simple,humorous and lucid ones around!

      The latest one on Rediff based on hoardings and Photoshop was a good read. Agree on that.

    • http://insearchofi.blogspot.com Rahul

      May last year? I guess you shifted to whatay May 2007!

    • admin

      Blush. Awkward moment! Thanks blueneutron!

    • admin

      See that has always been my problem. Being ahead of my time. What to do…

    • pol khol

      blog readability oye hoye

    • lekshmi.m

      anyone who couldn’t make it to high school and is still stuck in junior high school may feel at home in my blog…no flowery language ,not even proper grammar..junior high school!!thas my blog’s readability..

    • http://www.thevoiceinmyhead.com/ Melody

      I think it has something to do with the fact your previous post started with the highly intelligent “Geeeaaaaaaaaaweewaaaaaaa…” :)

    • http://ychittaranjan.wordpress.com Chittaranjan

      As I always like to believe: “It is so simple to be happy but it is so difficult to be simple”.

      So you should be proud that your writings are plain-jane-type and thus, easily understandable and identifiable to the junta. ‘Reachability’ scores over ‘Readability’

      P.S: The “simple” quote is from the Rajesh Khanna Movie Bawarchi

    • http://two-thirds-water.blogspot.com Madhavan Kutty

      Relaaaaaaaaaax sid, even google got a genius and we all know even kids use it…(i guess i am saying this cos my blog got an elementary school rating too)…
      domain maximus ‘y00t’s man…(look that up now)

    • Sudip Das

      You bet I had a similar result :) Probably it is an anticipation of the master pieces waiting to be written :) …. No smoke without fire …. anyone?

    • http://kaushikram007.blogspot.com kaushik

      hi…
      anyways the link is jus an ad… it can be deleted bfore u paste the code..
      jus like mine.

    • http://kaushikram007.blogspot.com kaushik

      hi…
      anyways the link is jus an ad… it can be deleted bfore u paste the code..
      jus like what i did

    • http://kaushikram007.blogspot.com kaushik

      the badge has just an ad linked to it… so u can even remove it from the code before pasting it..
      something like what i have done….(visit link above)

    • http://www.plutonicblogs.blogspot.com jharna

      i got a junior high school ratingg….:( though i was eexpectin an elementary school one.. so thats gud in a way :)

    • Sunitha

      The site also gives an option to display that rating in your blog. What say ;)

    • Sunitha

      Hey, jus kidding!

    • Pradeep

      I don’t know much about the readability test, but I personally liked the blogspot better. Probably because of the “Single South Indian Men” post being made there. :)

    • http://bloggermacha.com/blog-readability-tested/ Blog Readability tested! | bloggermacha

      [...] test when reading the great Domain Maximus at whatay.com. Apparently it is only good for elementary school. I ran the test on this blog and lo and behold what I got. This blog is good for High [...]

    • Torelorimen

      Hi,
      My Name is, George
      Nice site, verry informative
      my site:

      http://rTCouls.spaces.live.com/