[I drafted this a few days ago and didn't know if I'd post it, even here. Then I read Laura's recent post and thought, why not. Oops, I just broke somebody's usability rules.]
I've been catching up with some of blog reading, and have following some of the discussion of usability rules of blogs (see Angel's take on it with all the necessary links). I guess the first thing is that I don't give a shit if my personal blog(s) violate anybody's rules on usability. He's entitled to his opinions, and I'm entitled to disregard them, whether or not he's considered an expert. Is this pig-headed? Possibly.
This struck a nerve against my latent anarchist tendencies. I think the blogging world will be a better place if people just do their own thing, rather than conform to the commandments of these supposed experts. Yes, there will be a lot of chaos and mess, but the cream will rise to the top and everyone else will have fun.
What is it with people that once every few months, somebody writes up a list of commandments, and everybody else takes it seriously and asks themselves whether they measure up to it. It is the height of arrogance. When I talk about these questions, whether they're issues of ethics or design, it is always in the context of - this is what I do and why. If you want to do something similar, good for you. If you want to do something totally different, good for you too, because the most important thing is that we all do our thing. That is what blogging is about.
I deliberately break many usability rules. I deliberately hide material in an obscure blog. I put important links in little tildas. The idea of having my photo on prime real estate on my blog just seems crass. I don't hide who I am, but I don't post my CV and would prefer that my words stand or fall by what they say, not by who I am.
The more people say bloggers should stick to a regular publishing schedule, the more I'd like to be erratic. As Pharyngula mentioned, that's what RSS is for.
I would rather challenge and (at times) frustrate my readers than spoon feed them. Maybe one day I'll go too far and drive everyone away, but I'd rather make that mistake than the mistake of conforming to these illegitimate rules. Bugger that.