DOMAIN >> TIMELINE

The Plain Reality Network first began in early 2000 as a shrine to Kino Makoto/Senshi Jupiter from the hit anime, "Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon." I registered for an account with Geocities via my Yahoo! membership, using PageBuilder to "code" the shrine, and MS Paint to "design" the graphics.

I used PageBuilder for a time, though as the shrine grew, so did my dissatisfaction. PageBuilder proved VERY inflexible with image placement (i.e. the images would often save in different sections of the template), and as I browsed hand-scripted fansites, I came to understand its coding limitations (i.e. PageBuilder CANNOT do EVERYTHING a hand-scripted site is capable of). And simply put, if it's beyond my control, it doesn't fly.

I then applied myself to learning basic HTML through an informative, well-composed coding tutorial at Dencity (whom I'd considered using as a freeserver until the site shut down). They covered standard coding know-how, such as linking text, images, creating tables, simple frames, etc., etc. Combined with helpful advice/tips from fellow designers (i.e. cue to Crimson), my raw ambitions (and downright boredom) led to my eventual withdrawal from Geocities and—following a lofty decision—into the accommodating arms of Tripod.

I had several anime interests at the time, including Date Seiji from "Yoroiden Samurai Troopers" (i.e. "Ronin Warriors" for the NA fans), Urd from "Ah! Megamisama!," and Piccolo from "Dragonball Z," to name a few. These were popular series of the day, and some of the earliest (i.e. few) animes dubbed for television (excluding "Ah! Megamisama!," which I purchased on VHS from a local collectables store). I threw shrines together for each, with an emphasized focus on my Date Seiji shrine, "Evil Eyes" (i.e. now Detached Disposition). But the more shrines I created, the more I yearned for a personal, online collective. This is where The Stars of Anime began.

Originally, the concept behind TSoA was simple: gather my fansites into a localized collective, where visitors would have easy access to various branches of the shrine. I included a multimedia archive, among other things, but between school, work, and insufficient resources, TSoA (which was later changed to "Shitsukoi," for some odd reason) fell into static, and remained untouched for months.

The biggest issue—besides time constraints—was, simply put, my inexperience. My layouts were, well, the product of MS Paint, and my knowledge of HTML, though improved, did little to soothe what was otherwise a third, possibly fourth-rate Web site. The content sufficed, but the look and feel lacked style, professionalism, and more importantly, a graphics editor. And to make matters worse, bandwidth and hosting costs had forced Tripod into doubling their advertisements (mostly pop-up) on free accounts.

Needless to say, I felt slightly... perplexed by my circumstances, and in every way inferior to the more established designers of the Net. I was disgusted with my work to the point of axing the site, but reasoned against it. Running wouldn't solve the problem, and there were always alternatives to throwing in the towel. I'd entertained, albeit briefly, the idea of downloading a pre-made layout from a popular graphics site, such as Magitek Designs or Day Dream Graphics. But egotism and wounded pride prevented me from doing so, which led me to the next possible solution—purchasing a professional graphics editor.

As we all know, graphic editors are NOT CHEAP, by any means. If memory serves, Adobe Photoshop was, at the time, in the $200-300 range, which was out of the question COMPLETELY, what with being underage/too young to work. Fortunately, my older brother (who's been my savior on more than one occasion), picked up Paint Shop Pro 7.0 as an early birthday present (or perhaps not—I can't remember well). He installed the software, and I began work on "mastering" the layers, textures, brushes, etc., etc. The possibilities were endless, overwhelming even, but ANYTHING was an improvement over MS Paint.

But in truth, graphics were only half the problem. Pop-up ads were driving me INSANE, and I hated the restrictions of "free accounts." I wanted something I owned, something I controlled, something I could manipulate without limits. So, I looked into domain hosting under the supervision of Doiz.Net, who recommended CyberPixels (among others) as a hosting server, and NameCheap for the domain name registration. All I needed was a credit card.

My parents agreed to foot the bill for the new domain as a Christmas present. I still, however, was without an actual domain "name," so I brainstormed with—don't laugh—my mother, who agreed that simplicity, realism, and common sense were among my key philosophies, and my general attitude towards life. A forthright name would compliment the forthright attitude of the site, and so, we ultimately settled on The Plain Reality Network (i.e. http://www.plain-reality.net/).

Things have changed since the network's official opening in 2004. My design skills have improved (though it is by NO MEANS a natural talent), as has my knowledge of HTML, CSS, etc. Most domains have evolved into using more advanced languages like MySQL and PHP. But TPRN is what it is—plain and simple, without the fuss. My layouts are the result of extreme prodding, poking, and practice, and always my sincerest efforts. I'm often disgusted with my creations, though I've accepted this as an obsessive need for perfection that is otherwise a reflection of my graphical insecurities. And seeing as I work full-time, I now control ALL financial affairs relating to the network (to my parents' delight).

My only obstacle nowadays is laziness. My diligence comes and goes, and goes more often then it comes, and is largely dependent on my attitude towards the layout (i.e. if I hate the layout, I typically don't update). I'm also heavily involved in other online projects, such as forums, fanfiction, and blogging. But TPRN has always and forever been my lovechild, and I look forward to growing old with it in years to come.