last year i invented suck at something september. well it’s september again, so let’s go!!
people are always trying to be good at things. the desire to do a good job often becomes a fear of doing a bad job, which then turns into a fear of doing anything at all. i hate practicing things because i hate being bad at stuff, which means i rarely get any better at anything! sometimes you must simply be bad at things.
suck at something september
GOOD IDEAS DONE BAD
it is very easy to participate in this event.
STEP ONE: Decide to do something. Come up with a good idea.
STEP TWO: Post what you have decided to do here. Or on your blog or something? I don’t care. As long as you announce it publicly before you start.
STEP THREE: Do it, poorly.
STEP FOUR: Post what you did.
STEP FIVE: Give yourself one (1) sincere & specific compliment and one(1) sincere & specific critique.
as i said last year
the general idea is to allow yourself to make the bad version of something you may think “i would, but i can’t make that because i don’t know how to do [xyz]” or “i wish i could do that, but it just isn’t practical” or something similar about. you can make it, it’ll just be bad - so do it bad. if you don’t know how to make a div do something, brute force an approximation with what you do know, or attempt to learn and give up halfway, or implement a broken version that doesn’t work at all.
try to resist the urge to edit mistakes, polish things, or keep bashing your head against something you can’t figure out. just let it suck, give up and move on to the next thing; if the next thing is “declaring it finished because it’s making you mad,” then so be it!if you fail at something, do a bad job, disappoint and frustrate yourself, make a bad web page, break your whole code, make a mess, or otherwise Suck At Something, then you have succeeded at Suck At Something September. great job!
the thing you make would ideally be a web page, but if you would really really really prefer to suck at making a sculpture or a painting or something else that is not a web page that’s acceptable.
you do have to put it ON a web page though.
if you would prefer to make something that’s not a web page because you are too good at making web pages, then you ought to try being bad at making web pages instead. it’s good for you!
your suck at something september project is finished when you give up and declare it done enough or at the end of september, whichever comes first.
as with last year, there are …
PRIZES !!
every participant who completes suck at something september will receive from me:
- an award certificate celebrating their participation in Suck At Something September
- the right to claim a 32x32 trophy (see below)
- one (1) sincere compliment and one (1) sincere critique on their submission (if they want)
this year i’ve made a shiny wooden plaque so you can have a new prize if you got one already last year. which i dont think anyone in the cafe did, but regardless.
here is last year’s certificate - this year’s will be slightly different of course.
as you can see, i’m starting off sucking this month by posting this late! 
at the moment i am on a sewing kick and not much in the mood for web art, so i don’t have any ideas at all yet. fortunately “running” this “event” is still something i can do a bad job at even if i don’t come up with anything else!
ps. i deleted my melonland account, but if someone who is over there wants to proxy run this there (or give ppl with melonland accounts the plaque/trophy as forum gifts) you have my blessing! 
it’s really a shame discourse doesn’t have forum gifts.
the idea is more to encourage acceptance and de-dramatization of doing a bad job at something than active intentional sucking. (hence mandatory 1 compliment + 1 critique; curbs excessive self-deprecation, gives u an outlet for analyzing ur own work).
