EDITORS’ NOTE: JUNE 1, 2023
We told Billy Lee to rewrite site instructions. It’s irritating to review crap that no longer makes sense. He seems to think people figured out his blog “a long time ago”. Sites change; readers evolve, he said. It’s not that difficult. Do EDITORS think his readers are total idiots? Really? Get over it, he screamed.
We caution readers: “How to Use This Site” is shit. Don’t waste your time.
Readers who arrive at Billy Lee’s website by clicking on a link provided by a search-engine site like Google Search might on rare occasions find themselves on a part of the site they didn’t expect; they might see the words “NOT FOUND”.
Not to worry; nothing is wrong that can’t be fixed by clicking on the HOME link in the ribbon that runs across the top of the page. Clicking the HOME page link sets all things right.
Over the years, attacks required re-indexing and renaming of links to clean up hacks. The debris left behind is not possible to clean over every search-engine on the web, but links labeled safe by Google and other search-engines really are safe, though some obsolete links might take readers to a part of the site that either no longer exists or in some cases might be a cached relic from the ancient past.
Click the HOME page link to set things right. You know your are safe when the URL in the search bar starts with HTTPS. The S is important. If it’s missing, back out and try another link in the search engine you are using.
Or copy and paste this link in the URL bar of your search engine: https://www.thebillyleepontificator.com/
Readers who are on the HOME PAGE may notice that comment functionality is disabled by default. To see reader comments — and to add comments of your own — click on the title of the essay. The essay will then load as a stand-alone article.
At the bottom of each essay is a COMMENT BOX where readers add their comments and view the comments of others. Newest comments display first. Unless a reader requests otherwise or is a public figure, only first names are published. Your personal information (like an email address) is never shown unless you ask us to display it.
All comments are reviewed (and edited if necessary) before being approved for publication to preserve the privacy of the commenter and to fix spelling or unintended grammar goofs. To enter a comment, readers first prove they aren’t bots by viewing a picture and checking some boxes.
Abbreviated comments can always be located and read on the right sidebar below the essay list, but are read-only excerpts. To read the unabridged comment, click on it. The comment and the essay that inspired it will open. To submit a comment, you must isolate the essay you want to comment on by clicking either its title or its picture link in the sidebar, which is the column located on the right side of the page.
Beneath every essay is a list of links to Related Reads. Click these links to bring up other essays. Below this link-list is a second array of links, which are six thumbnails with excerpts beneath each pic. These are Unrelated Reads for whoever is looking for an essay on another random subject. On iPads, simply hold a finger on a pic until it’s text lights up to become readable. Tap to open.
And below these links is a SHARE WITH FRIENDS button. Clicking the share button will open tabs to Face Book, Twitter, Pinterest and other social-sites where anyone can auto-share the essay on their favorite platform.
The Billy Lee Pontificator site is big. We smush graphics to reduce load times, we don’t cache content. Site content is always fresh. We upgrade the site to make it run fast on computers that aren’t too old. Nevertheless, some iPhones and iPads may not have enough memory to adequately handle all the images and text when viewing the HOME page.
For the best experience, the editors recommend that the site be viewed on laptops and desktops whenever convenient.
The HOME page presents in the left column several of Billy Lee’s most recent essays in their entirety, one after the other. The right sidebar contains links to interesting content like recent most-read posts and a list of all essays with picture icons and short excerpts. Click on any pic to go directly to its content. Below the list of essays in the right-side-bar is a complete list of abbreviated reader comments. Click to open unabridged comments and their associated essays.
A good way to see comments (or to post one) is to CLICK on the TITLE of the post at the top of the essay. Another way is to click on the essay pic in the right sidebar. Clicking the icon in the sidebar will bring up the essay and its COMMENTS section below it. The SHARE WITH FRIENDS button is located above the COMMENTS but below the UNRELATED READS list of links.
The Billy Lee Pontificator is divided into three sections: PAGES, ESSAYS (or posts), and TWITTER FEEDS. PAGE links lie inside the dark grey rectangular bar (or ribbon) at the top of every screen — the dark ribbon lies below the top-most photo (currently a view of a gnome standing guard in front of Bevy Mae’s prayer garden.)
Page links are administrative policy pages, mostly, but the SPEEDOS page contains short articles. Live Twitter feeds are at the very bottom of the site. Readers are advised to use the scroll controls, which appear on every page and post to navigate.
The navigation controls are located on the lower right-side of the screen. They can be collapsed and expanded by clicking the lowest icon. The controls give readers the ability to quickly advance to previous or next posts, go to the top of site or bottom, go to HOME page, or access a random essay.
Another page link inside the grey ribbon — ARCHIVES — will bring up links to all the content ever published on the Pontificator.
The HOME page link — located first in the dark ribbon at the top of the page — always takes readers to the most recent ESSAYS.
At the bottom far-right of every screen are the site-navigation controls (arrows) to help readers quickly navigate to the top or bottom of the site. Scrolling down to the bottom of the site takes the reader to the live TWITTER-FEED section, which is a group of eight feeds, each on a different subject that interests Billy Lee and, hopefully, a few readers.
Each Twitter feed is scroll-able in real-time. Twitter links are active; when clicked, Twitter links will open in another tab. Returning to the original tab and clicking the UP icon located at the bottom-right of the screen will take the reader back to the top of whatever ESSAY or PAGE they are on.
At the top and bottom of the right sidebar are search boxes. Enter a word or phrase in one of the search boxes to receive a list of links to content on the website that contains the search word or phrase (it doesn’t have to be a “tag”; it can be any word or phrase) — or click on the ARCHIVES link in the dark grey ribbon at the top of every screen (below the header pic).
A great feature of the essays are links to additional content to permit readers to verify controversial content and to explore more about related subjects. These links open articles and videos in separate tabs, so readers can always get back to what they were viewing by clicking on the tab in their browser where they came from, even as they keep their selected link open until they choose to close it.
Another nice feature is the way graphics and pictures work. Clicking on a picture, map, or chart almost always brings up an enlarged view in another tab, which can be magnified and explored without losing one’s place on the website. Click on the website tab in your browser to return to the essay.
Billy Lee encourages readers to click on links to explore enriched content related to his essays. He spends a lot of time picking good links so that the essays can be used as an educational resource. Wikipedia articles and YouTube videos make up a substantial portion of the links; Wikipedia articles are themselves heavily annotated with verifying links and additional content, which is one reason Billy Lee uses them.
The Pontificator does not publish advertising of any kind; we accept no fees; no one posts so much as a comment without it first being read and approved by Billy Lee himself. No reader is ever annoyed or interrupted by pop-up ads or scrolling banners.
Google rates our site as one of the safest on the web. No reader ever encounters malware, spyware, or viruses. We use the best firewalls and virus protection software provided by Site Lock, Wordfence, and Webroot. Every link is reviewed, used, scanned, and approved by Billy Lee.
Twitter feeds, located at the bottom of the website, can be scrolled and read safely as well, but links in the Twitter feeds are only as safe as Twitter itself.
The Editors recommend that readers go to their personal Twitter accounts to access the links inside these Twitter feeds if they are fearful of viruses. Our website operates with an SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt and is https compliant. It means that all communications from our website to or from a reader are always encrypted. Encryption means that hackers cannot view the private communications of readers unless the information is published on our website, which we do only when we have the reader’s permission.
It is safest to never click links inside the Twitter feeds while using the Pontificator website. Billy Lee clicks on the Twitter links all the time with no problems. A quick shut-down by pressing your computer’s off-button and holding it down is all it takes to prevent a hacker from getting time enough to complete a download of malware through a link inTwitter. All good virus protection software today is capable of alerting users to malicious downloads in real time, whether from Twitter or anywhere else.
Our website is designed to be a safe zone with a PG content-rating that all readers can visit with confidence. Once in a while we flirt with PG-13, but we make an effort to avoid traumatizing young readers. Content with adult-only content is clearly labeled.
The content is controversial and sometimes idiosyncratic. It infuriates conservative readers and rigid thinkers. Readers who drool while chanting lock her up! are advised to visit other websites. Parents who supervise what their kids read should know that Billy Lee believes his site is a safe read for anyone 15 years of age or older. Some parents may disagree. We get that.
If you get lost, click on the HOME page in the dark rectangular bar at the top of the site or click the HOME navigation button located in the lower right-side of every screen.
All original content on theBillyLeePontificator.com website is protected under the copyright protections of the United States. Content is intended to be viewed and enjoyed on the web-site, and no where else. It is forbidden to copy, download, hard-copy, print, or distribute content displayed on theBillyLeePontificator.com by anyone for any reason. Links that take readers to the website and its articles can be shared. Shared article-links must direct readers to the web-site. Using ”share buttons” on the web-site is a legal way to share. Violators of copyright policies will be sued.
The Billy Lee Pontificator Editorial Board