Rakshasa Help

Welcome to the Rakshasa Question And Answer Catechism. Otherwise known as the Rakshasa FAQ. Hopefully, you find the answer you are looking for. If not, you can always send us an email.

Why do your web pages look so strange?

There are really two possible answers to this question depending upon the browser you are using. These pages may look strange because you are using an older browser that does not support the latest style sheet definitions.

These web pages follow the HTML 4.01 strict definition which means that the web pages themselves contain almost no information to describe to the browser how these pages should look. Instead, this information is contained in a separate file called a style sheet. The style sheet uses CSS Level 2 which many older browsers do not support. In this case, an older browser can render the pages in a way that looks strange to downright horrible. The only solution is to upgrade your browser to a more recent version.

As I said, there are two possible answers. You may already be using a modern browser that is rendering the pages correctly and you still think they look strange. Hey, what can I say, I'm a fairly strange person.

Many websites that are using the latest standards also provide an alternate version of their web pages for people with older browsers. Why don't you?

Most of those sites are run by companies looking to sell you something. They have the time and the resources to do that, and they have a vested interest in making sure you can view their website. If you can't see the website, they can't make money.

On the other hand, this website is simply a hobby, and I don't have the means to create multiple copies that will work with all of the browsers out there. Instead, this site conforms to the HTML standard created by the World Wide Web Consortium.

What does the name Rakshasa mean?

See the About Rakshasa section

What is all of this copywronged stuff at the bottom of your web pages?

It's a joke. Albeit, a rather sarcastic one. It seems that one of the latest fads is to slap a copyright notice on anything and everything. You can find plenty of examples on the web of pages that are absolutely horrible, where it seems that the author has put almost no time or effort into them. The pages may have broken links, images that cannot be found, god-awful color schemes, etc. But, the one thing they all have in common is a big fat copyright notice at the bottom.

Why does everything, no matter how useless it is, have to be copyrighted. It seems kind of ridiculous. In my case, these pages are a hobby. They do not exist for me to make money off of them, and if you find something here that you like, feel free to take it. Besides, since I am not a large corporation with a team of lawyers, it is not like I could stop you if I wanted to.

As you may have noticed, these pages were created using free (as in beer and speach) software such as Linux, the GIMP, Xemacs, Mason, and Perl. Although, these programs are extremely well written, the developers have decided to give them away. For this, I am eternally grateful. It is too bad that more web pages can't operate on the same principle.