FLAVORS

The premise behind Tira's original clique was synesthetic: it allowed members to claim a flavor or scent that matches the color scheme of their current layout. From minty fresh (light green) to cotton candy (pastel blue and/or pink) to rainbow sprinkles (various colors), it was a dynamic place for site owners to return to everytime they decide they need a new look for their sites, which are basically their online homes. I loved the idea and thought it was supremely clever.

The clique was limited to claiming flavors and scents, from food or perfume, or from other natural sources, and for good (logical) reason. However, it became so popular that parody/imitation cliques (according to the owner) popped up to make fun of it; for instance, rather than go with a scents that actually made sense, people would invent flavors completely disconnected from the proper sense—e.g., "glitter" [sight] or "cold" [temperature], or the name of a cartoon character [absolutely not a flavor].

To make sure members actually follow the main rule, Tira offered a delightful list of suggested flavors. Aside from ensuring resonability in claims, it was also useful for site owners who had no idea what scents could go with the colors they used. Here are a few of my favorite ones:

Members are however not limited to the ones on the list. The beauty of the clique was that it provided each member complete control over how to designate the scent of his/her site. Since there was no members' list maintained, part of its appeal aside from how cool the text code looked on the splash page was the ease and flexibility it afforded members to change their taste claims as often as they want. Because it encouraged creativity by stimulating the imagination, it was quite a lovely way to connect webdesigners.