UPDATES: Regular. We won't say that you have to update daily, but the content, when updated, should be substantial, and it should be more often than two or three times per month, too. There are many free services offering notify lists, often with a ton of options.

DESIGN: We look for clean, simple, and easy. We need to be able to see your text on your backgrounds of choice; we need to be able to read past the graphics, and the layout should be pleasing to the eye. It's generic, but matters of taste usually are.

NAVIGATION: Make sure that your page is able to be navigated easily. You should be able to get from the main index to the journal entries and back relatively easy. We're no fans of frames, but if they're well-done, we won't argue. If they're gratuitous, we'll say no. CSS is fine, for example, provided that someone without high-tech browsers can still see the entries.

RING NAVIGATION: We offer one option: text links with a small standard GIF. The text links, at least, should appear on your main journal index page. If you wish to modify the logo (or colors) to suit your design, go ahead.

HOST: We hate to do this, but let's be honest. If you are on Geocities or Tripod, you're removed from the queue. Many free hosting sites exist that don't have pop-up advertisements. Pop-ups crash browsers, make it impossible for software for the blind to function correctly, and annoy the heck out of people. Unless your page is outstanding to the point of being a religious experience, don't count on it.

BLOG SCRIPTS: In order to participate in ring projects, we will need to link to specific entries. If you have set up daily entries on separate pages, please apply. If we can't link to specific entries because of your use of a blog script, then we're sorry, but this isn't the ring for you. We also like to see archives. If you don't have an archive, then perhaps you should begin reading at the beginning of the page, where it says you must have been around for at least two months.

DO NOT APPLY if your site cannot be viewed in Netscape or on a Macintosh. If you're putting it online, then it ought to be accessible.

DO NOT BOTHER to apply if you can't follow these guidelines. You may find a site or two on the ring that don't follow one or two of them; chances are they were admitted before the guidelines were established. We are flexible, but we are not inclined to admit people who read these guidelines and then blatantly chose to ignore them.