Chapter 1: i read this when u first posted it and had upvoted just as quick LOOL
cause i really do agree with most of the pts u made
i've been into applyfics since 2012 so it's been 4 years and needless to say, i can def see the huge difference
some good, some bad

i actually look back to my first applications often and compare it with my latest one
and honestly, i feel so much embarrassment for my earlier works XD
just tht i'm glad i got better (or at least i hope anyways LOL)
at one point i even thought about taking a screenshot of my first application and one of my more recent ones
to show ppl that they'll get better with time and to not feel inferior with their writing and whatnot, esp if they just started
but then i thought who was i to think that ppl would even give a if i made a blogpost like that LOOL

and i def agree that layout shouldn't be everything
i for one, mostly look at content before the layout
but if the layout features microscopic letters then that just puts me off
judging based on appearance is just the way the world is coming to tho
i mean look at the real world
guess that transcended into the applyfic community

i agree with lilico when ggomaontop was one of most popular authors on here
so it makes me sad that ggomaontop (now hanuelnara)'s story isn't getting as much attention as it did back then
there has been so many more users who can write so beautifully showing up tho
and i guess that upped the standards around here
it's not a bad thing to get better at writing but i do miss the chill vibe from then too

Chapter 1: hi! i saw this and i was actually surprised at what you had to say (i promise all that follows is just praise pls,,).

i've been here since the wake of 2012 and i remember the days when ggomaontop and xxFiction were the two "top" applyfic authors at the time. i remember the days of formassembly and having to finish the app all in one go. i remember when likes, dislikes, hobbies and habits were all kept separate from actual trivia. the community has changed, evolving from what used to be a laid-back and more informal process to one that sparks competition and unnecessary tension among users applying for the same plotline.

i remember when coding first caught on (making letter-spacing: -2px; was about as extreme as people would go at the time, maybe using the < / br > tag and pretty symbols from the internet). it was simple code that could still be copy/pasted, but it was a beginning step, nonetheless. i remember when shift+enter was the main way to go about an app. divs didn't exist back then. it was so much simpler, honestly, because layouts didn't matter. you got your idea out there and people commented, "oh, i want to apply for this!" and that was that. the simplicity is something i miss - however, i have fallen into the world of coding simply because applyfics have influenced me to do so, so who am i to really say.

an aesthetically pleasing layout is what makes or breaks a story for users nowadays, me included. i've tried to be more conscious of what i think is pretty vs what i think will *for sure* be written, and it's lead me to a lot of stories i would've otherwise never touched.