27.03.2006 23:45 - Web Monday
Against my better judgement, I spent this evening in a cellar full of web developers. Not the best of ideas, particularly as some of them, whilst they know everything there is to know about java beans, corba and other web exotica, have yet to fully understand the benefits of regular showers and frequent laundry. Some of the more benighted creatures were recognisable by a strong smell of cheese.
Anyway, one of the presentations was on a project on how to make Ebay easier to use. I could see the faults in this straight away. You see, I, doubtless like many others, don't want Ebay any easier to use. It is already far too seductive in its present form - you can see this in a lot of auctions, where the price of something rapidly heads skyward because some idiot has got the bit between his teeth and is bidding with a vengeance, until the price of the auction is more than it would cost new. It is bad enough that I have far too many guitars. I am left-handed. It used to be that if you saw a left-hander guitar in a shop, if it was decent, you would buy it, because the chances of seeing another one would be limited indeed. Unfortunately, with Ebay, it means you can now see practically every left-hander that is being offered for sale, and so that temptation becomes extreme.
Take, for example, Her Maj. Her Maj spends her weekends on Ebay. If she's not looking at collecting Rheingauer porcelain, she's looking to buy a dresser to put the stuff on. It's costing her a fortune, and me a fortune in hiring vans and whatnot to go and pick the bloody stuff up. We would be far happier if Ebay was put out of the reach of the likes of us. Giving into temptation has become a far too frequent experience, and the last thing we want is for some idiot geek to make it even bloody easier!
Doubtless, if the Developers plans come to fruition, he will almost certainly be lynched by a raging mob of Bank Managers.
