If you're interested in learning some details about AbsoluteCross.com, or if you have a question, please read the Frequently Asked Questions below. Please be sure to check here for answers before contacting me.
Q: Where can I learn more about the person who created this site?
A: To get to know the creator of Absolute Cross, please visit the About Webmaster page.
Q: I emailed you, but haven't got a response... what's the deal?
A: Due to my work as a multimedia director, being an administrator at my community site Neverside, studying/writing music, and the elusive "social life" I attempt to maintain, I may not be able to respond to your emails. If you can't catch me via email, please pay a visit to my forum, where either I or another expert there should be able to answer your question.
Q: Your site doesn't work properly in my browser!
A: I've worked hard to make this site as compatible as possible with outdated browsers... though with my most recent redesign in 2006, I've decided to phase out my support for archaic browsers such as Netscape 4, IE5 win/mac, etc. Only a few percent of my visitors still use such browsers, and I felt it best to offer the best browsing experience to the majority who use more modern browsers. I've ensured that my site displays acceptably in IE6, though please, save a baby kitten and use Firefox!
Upgrading to a great browser like Firefox only takes a few minutes and is completely free. You can also get Opera now for free. If you're using a Mac, you can get the latest version of Safari which works much better (there's also a Mac version of Firefox). If you're really stuck with Internet Explorer (*sigh*) then please upgrade to version 7 - it's safer, and at least fixes some of the countless problems with IE.
My site may not work correctly on mobile devices (cell phones, PDAs, etc). I do not have access to those devices to test on, so I don't know. Also — this site's content is largely about graphics and multimedia... probably not something you do much on your cellphone haha.
If you'd like to suggest specific coding modifications that would make the site more compatible with other browsers and operating systems, I would gratefully welcome your input - just contact me with your suggestion.
Q: I found a page on your site that isn't CSS/XHTML Standards Compliant!
A: Whew I'm glad you found it... I've been looking all over for it haha. I'd love to hear about anything you find. Send me a quick note with the address of the page in question, and if possible a description of what you found, and even better, how to fix it!
Absolute Cross has gone through many a redesign, and started out based on tables before CSS was a twinkle in Zeldman's eye (exaggerating, of course)... so it's entirely possible some evil remnant of table mayhem could have slipped through. Thanks for your help.
Q: Why are there lots of links to other sites and sponsor ads in the menus?
A: Well, as was stated in the answer to the previous question, the site is very expensive to maintain, and these ads help pay for it. Some of the links are link-exchanges between this site and similar sites, which helps build the popularity of the sites. All links are carefully chosen and relevent.
Q: I'm a beginner at web/graphic design... where is the best place to start?
A: There is no single perfect answer to this question... however, I will offer my advice:
- Firstly you'll need a graphic design program such as Adobe Photoshop (for serious users) or Jasc's Paint Shop Pro (for those who are just tryin' it out).
- I suggest you learn HTML no matter what, but a program like Adobe Dreamweaver might be helpful for you. Aside from speeding up your ability to get through some of the more tedious parts of web design, it can also help teach you HTML automatically - just keep the "Design & Code" view open and watch how the code develops as you work.
- Learn to design sites with standards-compliant, semantically correct XHTML and CSS. Don't use tables for layout on your pages - only use tables for tabular data (think, Excel spreadsheets). Layout with CSS can be a bit trickier to understand at first, but the rewards are massive down the line - and only gets exponentially more important as people increasingly browse the web on mobile and non-computer devices and other ways we never imagined before. After years of table-based design, trust me I learned this the hard way ;) Don't take this site as an ideal example though - it was my first attempt with CSS and I've improved since then on other projects - this site needs a complete overhaul.
- Check my article that outlines a few ways you might be able to save a ton of money when buying your web/graphic design software.
- Books can be a good place to start. You will want to learn as much as you can about both HTML and the graphic design program you will be using. Though these may be outdated by the time you read this, a good book I read in the past to learn HTML was HTML: A Complete Reference and for Photoshop, Photoshop 7 Down & Dirty Tricks
- There's literally mountains of free helpful information available on the web... use Google to find it quick and easily. Also check my special Resources section for a list of helpful sites, or ask the helpful members at my forum, Neverside.
- Practice... I mean a lot!
- Look at other sites you admire for inspiration, and most importantly...
- Don't Give Up!
Q: I'd like to exchange links with Absolute Cross. Where should I go to do this?
A: As long as your site has appropriate content, I am usually happy to exchange links. Please see the Add Link page for more information. Note: there are tons of link submissions, so please be patient. Also, if you have a high-traffic site and would like to work out a traffic exchange, please contact me.
Q: You know that cool floating box that appears when I put my mouse over tool-tips and some links (like this)? How does it work and can I use it on my own site?
A: The menu effect is generated by a DHTML script called overLIB, which uses Javascript and CSS. You can download the latest version here. It comes with documentation, and you may view the source of my site to figure out how it works... but please do not e-mail me questions about it - support should be sought only from Bosrup.com. Thanks!
Q: You know the little icon that's next to the AbsoluteCross.com link in my "Favorites Menu" and "Address Bar"? (like this: 
) How can I do that with my site too?
A: You're in luck! I've developed a detailed tutorial to show you how you can add a favicon.ico to your site as well. Please take a look at the tutorial here.
Q: Can you make a website, graphic, interface, banner, logo, animation, flash intro (or whatever) for me for free?
A: Life has become quite busy for me with the growth of Absolute Cross as well as my web/graphic design company, job, etc. Under most circumstances, I will no longer be able to make free stuff for people (though I'm certainly willing to give you some advice if you need it). If you have a high-traffic site and would prefer to work out an advertising deal or something along those lines in exchange for my services then please contact me. Otherwise, please visit my design services site.
Q: What kind of computer hardware do you use?
A: I use a 17" Apple MacBook Pro. I also run Windows XP and several distros of Linux using VMWare Fusion for cross-platform browser testing and tests before major server upgrades.
Computer gear:
- 17" matte finish LCD
- 2.33GHz Core2Duo processor
- 2GB RAM
- 160GB hard drive
- Secondary LCD: Samsung 19"
- PreSonus Firebox for pro audio
- 500GB WD MyBookPro external backup drive
Q: What type of server does this site run on?
A: Absolute Cross is hosted on a dedicated server leased from SoftLayer
The server also runs my community/forum, Neverside.com (aka TutorialForums), as well as a number of other (smaller) sites.
Q: What CMS (Content Management System) does this site use?
A: Believe it or not, this site is completely hand coded. The extent of its dynamic properties is in the use of a lot of PHP includes to bring in the common templates, headers, footers, etc.
In the future, I'll be migrating the site to a CMS - which I'm almost 100% sure will be Drupal. I've done a lot of client websites in the past year or so in Drupal, and if you're looking for a powerful and highly customizable CMS, Drupal is the one I recommend. My runner up recommendation is Joomla (only version 1.5 and above though).
Q: I'm interested in advertising on AbsoluteCross.com - where can I get further information?
A: Potential advertisers are welcome to inquire here to obtain information about our available ad positions, rates, and demographic data.
Q: Can I take/use the images on Absolute Cross?
A: Unless the image is located in an area which is clearly specified as having images you may download, no, you may not. All other images are copyrighted and may only be used with my direct permission. Copyright violation will be followed up with legal action - please don't do it.
Q: How do you make all of your cool textures?
A: Many of the free seamless textures located in the Texture Section were created with programs such as Teralogic TextureMaker and Sausage Software's Reptile. Others were rendered in 3D Studio MAX or created with Kai's Power Tools.
Q: What software did you use to design the site?
A: For graphics I use Adobe Photoshop predominantly. I use Adobe ImageReady for image optimization, and slicing. I code XHTML and PHP in the terrific free editor, Komodo Edit and use the amazing CSSEdit for designing my CSS (though Macromedia Homesite from back in the day still holds a special place in my heart haha). Besides making use of the helpful features of CSSEdit, I write all code from scratch and absolutely despise WYSIWYG editors such as Frontpage (Dreamweaver's ok... but once a raw coder, always a raw coder I think *grin*).
Q: What plug-ins do you have or recommend?
A: For the most part, I don't use plug-ins very often - the tools built into Photoshop are almost always more than I could ever need. Though the ones I would recommend include Eye Candy, Xenofex, and Kai's Power Tools. Also be sure to look into getting yourself some nice Layer Styles.
Q: I found an error/problem on the Absolute Cross site. How can I report it?
A: AbsoluteCross.com is a big place, and as such it can be difficult to be completely certain that it's "bug free". If you find any errors, misspellings, broken links, or problems of any kind while browsing the site, please help us out and report them using the "Report Errors" form located on the Contact Page.
Q: I submitted my site for a link exchange, but haven't got a response. Why?
A: Because of the high volume of submissions, it may take me a while to get to your submission. Another reason may be that your content may have been deemed inappropriate to be featured on the Absolute Cross site. If you submitted your link for exchange, and a few weeks go by with no reply - email me to remind me. I get awfully busy sometimes and your message might have got accidentally pushed aside.
