According to Google [dot] com, a manifesto is: “…a public written statement that clearly explains the beliefs, goals, and plans of a person or an organization.” To be frank, this personal website of mine, used almost purely for shitposting and mindless self-indulgence, probably doesn’t warrant a thorough explanation of why it exists and what it is for. However, being just self-centred enough to write about myself, my thoughts, and my positions at length, I’m going to do that regardless.
So, here’s a bit about how and why I got here, my thoughts on the current state of the indie web, and what Wriorango means to me. This may expand further in the future.
Escaping From The Matrix
I grew up in the 2010s surrounded by screens and a rapidly enshittifying internet, like most Gen Z kids. Being a lonely, queer, bullied kid who wanted to escape from a shitty real world into an online one, I was practically raised by social media. This was, quite evidently, not a great thing. If you are on Neocities [dot] com, I am assuming that I should not have to explain to you why modern social media–in all its predatory algorithms, bot-ridden comment sections, and mind-numbing discourses–sucks balls. It stresses me out. It consumes the mind with infuriating, stupid drivel. It also has yet to relent its grip on me, unfortunately.
I still use Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr regularly, with the occasional relapse on TikTok and Twitter (I am not calling it X no matter what). My usage is predominantly for the purposes of staying the loop with friends and family, fandoms I am involved in, and other matters I want to be aware of (i.e., world politics, university events). Albeit, I am retreating away from those platforms for the purposes of self-expression. I don’t post my art or writing anywhere but this website and my Instagram stories for friends. Censorship on the corporate net has made certain creative pursuits, especially my, uh, transgressive media consumption and creation–a massive liability to share openly.
I am quite exhausted by the constant, nagging pressure to “perform” for an audience on social media platforms. The internet demands that everything you create be endlessly optimized for engagement (i.e., likes, retweets, comments, “the algorithm”). I kinda don’t want my work, my passing thoughts, or my creative experiments to be scrutinized on such a massive, unforgiving, and hyper-public scale. I was already the target of harassment a few times back in the 2021-2023 Great Shipping Discourse Wars over what were, arguably, miquetoast fanworks and ships at best. I’d rather not subject myself to those toxic and reactionary echo chambers ever again. I desperately needed a space where my creativity didn't have to be sanitized, diluted, or explained away for others.
I found my escape hatch in 2024 when a friend introduced me to Neocities. I spent a few hours scrolling through dozens of different personal websites, and I was impressed by every single one I came across. By the summer of 2024, I scraped together a pretty shitty early version of Wriorango. I had no idea what I was doing, so I relied entirely on a template I borrowed from another webmaster just to get the site off the ground. The name and initial theme was inspired by Wriothesley, a character from the gacha RPG Genshin Impact. This didn’t last long, as V2, V3, V4, and so on so forth succeeded it.
Ever since then, as my coding skills have grown and my understanding of the indie web has deepened, the site has evolved right alongside me. It is now the rango’s hellhole that I am incredibly grateful you are currently laying your eyes on.
It’s Our Web, Baby
In true (Marxist, communist, insert buzzword here) fashion, I stand by the fact that gatekeeping, draconian copyright laws, and the corporate monopoly over knowledge are the poisons that killed the old web (sorry to my IP lawyer father). For this reason, I love the indie web. It is based on a philosophy of freely sharing advice, tools, resources, etc. so that everyone can learn and grow together. Pretty sweet. I am incredibly grateful to all the veteran webmasters, including Petrapixel and Teppy and many others, for generously open-sourcing their knowledge for the benefit of all of us. Without their willingness to teach and share, I wouldn’t be here.
Yet, even in this space, I still see a creeping, weird possessiveness over digital “property”. It is troubling when people in the indie community disable right-clicking to prevent others from “stealing” their code, or plaster watermarks over every pixel they produce to guard their creations. I am not interested in writing an entire dissertation on the matter, but I will say this: stealing is what makes us artists, creatives, and writers. Stealing is what makes us human. There is no such thing as pure and unadulterated “originality”. Every single one of us had to start by copying someone else, tracing over their lines and reverse-engineering their ideas, before we found our own voice.
So I say this with my whole chest: Steal assets. Steal code. Steal layouts. Steal mine. I want you to be so impressed by the work I’ve put into this site that you feel you have absolutely no choice but to take parts of it for your own. Take my code, break it apart, learn from it, and build something better. Please(!!!!).
Further, I believe that people can do whatever they want forever, and you are never beholden to arbitrary standards of what a personal site “should” look like. I have some controversial opinoins on this matter. Genuinely, I do not care if a site hosts problematic (but legal) content, nor do I care if someone uses AI-generated code or assets to build their page. My philosophy is, if I see a ship dynamic I despise, I click off. If I stumble across content that doesn't tickle my fancy—regardless of how it was made or who made it—I close the tab. Having been bullied online over meaningless bullshit like this before (cough, Genshin Impact ship fanart), I have zero tolerance for any harassment.
If you don't like what you see, do not look at it. Social media has conditioned us to demand that platforms scrub the entire world clean for our personal comfort. Out here, you are 100% responsible for curating your own internet experience. Use your back button and be an adult.
On Accessibility
I know I just defended the “do whatever you want” nature of the indie web, though I ought to also address the elephant in the room. We have to strike a delicate balance between the ethos of “it’s your site, do whatever you want” and the reality that accessibility is important for an open internet. I personally believe that in our pursuit of building highly individualized and expressive online spaces, we have completely forgotten that there are many people who cannot navigate them due to disabilities. Things like flashing GIFs, intensely bright neon colours, and cluttered layouts can be really unpleasant for many users at best, or dangerous/deadly for those with epilepsy at worse.
I don’t think anyone should be obligated to tailor their website to every single possible accessibility need of anyone who comes across it. Simultaneously, I don’t think it’s fair to inadvertently exclude many different people from the indie web experience because of their needs/condition(s). It’s not an “open web” if it’s only open to some people.
There are several, mostly straightforward ways to approach accessibility, including using high-contrast colors, readable fonts, responsive layouts, and proper alt text. On Wriorango, my core philosophy for accessibility is to make the visual experience as smooth and pleasant as possible. That means no flashing GIFs, no erratic moving parts, readable typography, high contrast, and absolutely no auto-playing music or videos. I’ve also made the move to make my site responsive for different screen sizes. Still, I am certainly far from perfect at accessible web design. I know I can always do better—for instance, I still need to go back and ensure all my photos have proper alt text, as only a handful currently do.
We have to give each other some grace. Accessibility is a learned skill, and I don’t think we should expect web dev beginners to master screen-reader compatibility on day one. I’m not going to go after someone in their comments/guestbook because they have a marquee or whatever, and neither should you. It’s always going to be a work-in-progress, though the end goal is always worth striving for. I want Wriorango to be a pleasant, welcoming experience for everyone. Ultimately, the more tolerable and accessible a site is, the more people will actually be able to engage with the stuff hosted there.
"Politics" and Stuff
In an ideal world, I wouldn’t need to explain and lay out out my political values line by line. But, unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world. Discrimination, oppression, bigotry, and reactionarism permeate every corner of society, and the indie web is no exception. I will also occasionally discuss political matters or share external resources and bookmarks on this site. Because of this, I think some clarity matters.
Ideologically, I would be considered a progressive, democratic socialist, feminist, pro-LGBTQ+, pro-choice, pro-science, etcetera, etcetera. My beliefs are grounded broadly in anti-authoritarian, anti-racist, anti-fascist, and anti-reactionary principles across the political spectrum. However, actions speak louder than words and I am a human being who doesn’t possess absolutes. There will be times where I may unintentionally fail to uphold my stated beliefs. I welcome polite and reasonable criticism when I have messed up. Please don't sue me, I'm a broke college student.
This being all said, I want to make my values very clear regarding community safety. The indie web has unfortunately seen an influx of TERFs (trans-exclusionary radical feminists), likely migrating after being removed or socially excluded from mainstream social platforms. While, anecdotally, I’ve found they mostly keep to themselves, we ought to create and maintain an environment where hate (yeah, even the “just-asking-questions” bullshit) isn’t tolerated. To be unambiguous: this site will always remain a safe space for trans people, and TERFs are not welcome here.
Additionally, being an engineer, my perspective on technology is based in how society adapts to it. Technological change is not inherently progressive on its own, but attempting to resist it is fundamentally conservative. A truly progressive objective is to structure society so that it effectively metabolizes technological advances to benefit everyone equally.
Finally, I am always open to good-faith discussion. Otherwise, argue with a wall or something.
Wrio-What-Go?
Wriorango was never built out of some misplaced sense of old-web nostalgia. Those days have long since passed, and I have little interest in trying to resurrect it. Instead, this space is about crafting something entirely new. I built this site mostly for myself, but it also serves as a dedicated platform to just shout into the void. It is a place to unapologetically share the things I love with the world: my writing, my hyper-specific niche fixations, my art, my characters, and whatever passing thoughts happen to cross my mind.
For a lifetime, and much too long, I existed almost entirely inside my own head. I was absolutely terrified of what people would see/find out if I let them in. I’d rather not live that way anymore. I refuse to censor myself here or sand down my edges just to make myself more palatable for a general audience. I want to live honestly. Because of that, I am going to talk about topics like suicide, depression, and gender dysphoria on a regular basis. This site is one of the very few places left where I feel completely safe and comfortable doing so. And I hope if someone else is struggling with similar challenges, they’ll see from my site that they aren’t alone in it either. Hashtag mental health matters or something.
That same lack of censorship will apply to my fiction. I love some "Dead Dove: Do Not Eat" content. I am going to write, recommend, and host stories with noncon, dubcon, age gaps, toxic and abusive relationships, blood, guts, and glory. Above all, I am, and always will be, a deranged internet pervert.
Completely unrelated, but I also have a special interest in AI. I know it is a deeply controversial topic—especially within the indie web space—but I am going to talk about it as much as I want, in the way that I want. You’ll probably find that I’m not terribly opposed to this technology overall, which seems to be akin to blasphemy for some people. I believe healthy, thriving communities need diverse and dissenting opinions anyway. Just don’t send me death threats, I already say them to myself everyday.
What’s Next?
So, what comes next for Wriorango? Mostly just doing what I always do. I might finally get around to finishing those shrine pages I abandoned a while back, and I plan to start creating layouts and templates for other people to use. It seems only fair to pass on the favor just like the webmasters who helped me get my start. I want to keep building community with other indie netizens, sharing my knowledge, and helping out wherever I can.
Whatever happens, I will probably never take this site offline. Even if life gets in the way and I one day have to step away from updating it, I will leave it standing. This place will always be a part of me, for better or for worse.