What is this site all about?
Shepard�s Journal^TM was originally designed as a sub-site of PixiMyst that would feature profiles of all of the petz that made an appearance at that time. It was to be, in essence, a simple crew site slightly upgraded from previous attempts to do so. However, as I started looking at much of my other material, I made the decision that it had to be more universal. It had to become more, both in an effort to keep it dust-free (updated) and to accommodate for my interests outside of the petz world. Hence came the sig-tags, the collectables, and a litany of literary characters to compliment such a goal.

True, it certainly is not structured in the way that a journal or diary would tend to work, and it never was intended to be so. Besides, if it were, it might as well (and just as quickly) turn into my blog :)



Why Shepard?
Shepard is one of the few petz still around today that was associated with Rainbow Crystal Kennelz and Cattery (RCKC), the site I owned prior to PixiMyst. At the time, I had a crew of around 15 petz tops, and he was something to be admired amoung them - practically the spitting image of perfection (or at least at the time). I fell in love with him from the moment of his birth, with those markings� simply incredible� and those stunning blue eyes that popped out of nowhere! What more could I ask for? How about an astounding show pose? Yep, that happened to be another surprise. A random picture taken in the nursery confirms the streak of talent. Shepard simply was: my favorite.

As his familiarity and �popularity� grew, so too did his role. Before long, he started popping up in taggy conversations (Oh, Fluffers! How he loved to play with Fluffers! � it�s an inside joke) and as a representative of all the �pixi-pups� when I signed my letters � perhaps an honor that not even Wuvy has yet been able to accomplish.

Then, there was yet another change to the crew. By this point, I had been embarking on several breeding projects. A new wave of petz came into being � and with it petz with stories similar to Shepard�s became fruitful. (Roman Dweller and Culture are famous for this). Poor Shepard slipped into the background for a while�

Now, (part two) around June of 2006, I had been strongly working to develop the site you see before you. For quite a while I had been procrastinating with my efforts to be able to find the title that was just right. I had ended up with a multitude of different names (trust me, the list is HUGE) � none of which were satisfactory� until my ol� pal came along. The rest, well, is history!



How does the navigation work?
For the current layout, there is a menu on the left that you click on to see the appropriate page. For the non-profile links (such as the FAQ section and taggy), the page should come up in the main iframe right away. A new window will open when going to another web page ( nobody likes to be stuck in frames, right >^_~< )

For profiles, a little sub-menu will pop up just below the large blue �Shepard�s Journal� on the right. From here, just click the page you want to see and it will pop up in the main iframe. Here is a rundown of what the links in the sub-menu mean:

Who is [name]? = The most basic and rudimentary information about this character. Things like a running history and birthday are included.

The Quilt = This is an online version of a handmade �quilt� � where patches are added to mark something important about that character or about his/her accomplishments. A petz, for example, may have a square added when he/she becomes a champion (Ch.) in shows and another square when he/she reaches Supreme Grand Champion (SGCh.) or perhaps a square symbolizing his/her familial relations, etc.

Awards/Gifts = This section can hold show awards (petz) as well as general awards/gifts given by other people in relation to that specific character.



What is the difference between the �Home� and the �What�s New� page?
Well, both of these pages are designed to let my visitors know what has been going on recently at the site. The Home functions as a �Quick-Updates� type of page � where brief statements about what has been going on (things that have been added, changed, deleted, etc.) are displayed in order by date. This section is based on text.

But then, what accounts for the three image squares that hold small titles beneath them? Ah, simple. They become the visual method of presentation, indicative of more significant changes to the site, and are added at a slower rate than the text-based updates. Most of the time they are self-explanatory, but are sometimes left quite vague� which brings me to my next point.

The �What�s New� page is the slowest moving of all the updates and contains the most information. Its purpose is directed towards explanation. So, in the event that I leave one of the opening squares rather blunt, I can break it down and freely �talk� or rather, �inform� the visitor about it without worrying about cluttering up the home page.