A new look, and some structural updates

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With both spring and Easter coming I decided today that I wanted to change the look of the site. This also led to some other changes that I'd wanted to make—after all, two solid years of the same look is way too long in "Internet time," no? So in a flurry of activity I've made the following changes:

  • The main theme of the site has been changed to a more spacious look, based on some nice templates found in the Squarespace catalog of themes. Users of Microsoft Office 2007 or Windows Vista will like the use of the glorious new font, Calibri, which is wonderfully readable. I also moved away from my favorite, but overused font, Jus Lefthand, to P22's finely crafted Operina Pro (with swashes!). The banner graphic is from a picture I took of the church dedicated to Saint Thomas in Roccasecca.
  • I have removed the "Subscribe" entry on the sidebar in favor of a new way to get e-mail addresses from those who want to be contacted about important updates. In its place I've created a "Mailing List" page, from which users can subscribe to updates, or unsubscribe from the mailing list. This new page uses an important new feature that Squarespace has introduced into its many offerings.
  • I've moved around a few of the items on the sidebar, for clarity. I am planning on removing the annoying "Google ads" soon, but for the nonce the Google ads do help defray the increasing costs of the site.
  • I am—behind the scenes for now—planning a survey on how many of our visitors are using "really simple syndication" (RSS) to keep up on news of interest to them. I am fast coming to the conclusion that the days of "mailing lists" and "subscriptions" are numbered, in favor of the user-initiated selection of RSS newsreaders. Do we even need a mailing list these days?

All of these changes are a prelude to what I hope will be an interesting and packed Newsletter within the next month or so (likely in mid-May, after my academic year [and reading two doctoral dissertations!] is completed). As always, I am eager to get news about Thomistic comings-and-goings.

Finally, thank you for visiting the site. Thomistica.net averages more than 250 distinct visitors each day, and I am eager to make the site be as helpful to visitors as possible. Please don't hesitate to contact me with suggestions regarding the site.

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Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).