FeedCity

Working on some ActivityPub tweaks today, finally added some code to handle Question objects / polls. It was confusing to not have the context for these posts from Mastodon before. They look like this in the Micro.blog timeline now:

Personally I don’t use polls. I’ll revisit doing more later.

For all kinds of marketing materials..

This is what the page looks like when published.

Scott Lynch in his newsletter:

I have decided to post every short story I’ve ever written (once rights exclusivity periods or other arrangements for them expire, for those that haven’t already) on my website, for free, in perpetuity, at the same time I make them available as e-books. Many of them are available elsewhere for free already. I just want to centralize the archive.

Feels like a very IndieWeb-y statement. And more authors when self-publishing are fine with DRM-free, which is also great.

HTTP content negotiation was a mistake. The perceived wins are always overshadowed by all the new problems. I’ve long thought a slimmed down ActivityPub without content negotiation and without JSON-LD would be so much nicer. Sorry folks! Controversial hot take but it’s true. 🤪

Rich suggests another reason why the UX of websites on mobile is so shit these days:

The path to installing a native app is well trodden. We search the App Store (or ironically follow a link from a website), hit ‘Get’ and the app is downloaded to our phone’s home screen, ready to use any time with a simple tap.

A PWA can also live on your home screen, nicely indistinguishable from a native app. But the journey to getting a PWA – or indeed any web app – onto your home screen remains convoluted to say the least. This is the lack of equivalence I’m driving at. I wonder if the mobile web experience would suck as badly if web apps could be installed just as easily as native apps?

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I’m improving something I started last year, to automatically save thumbnail versions of web pages that could be used in various places. As an example, starting this week Micro.blog now makes banners suitable for Open Graph meta tags, combining the profile photo and a render...

If you like the prospect of an old man ranting at clouds, this is for you.

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Congrats to John Siracusa on the release of his newest Mac app, Hyperspace:

There are plenty of Mac apps that will save disk space by finding duplicate files and then deleting the duplicates. Using APFS clones, my app could reclaim disk space without removing any files! As a digital pack rat, this appealed to me immensely.

It is a dangerously clever way to save disk space. I probably wouldn’t trust this app from anyone else, but I know John has tested the heck out of it. Your files are in good hands.

I posted something sad on Bluesky last night. It was short, but the thinking behind it wasn't. Here's the quote: It might be the last minute but we can still legally remove Trump, and objectively it’s the only thing that makes any sense. I got two responses from Karoli Kun...

When I was interested in getting my first standard typewriter last year, Ruben Flores immediately recommended I get a Remington 17. While I’ve picked up a handful of other standards in the meanwhile, I’ve kept my eyes peeled. I just couldn’t let this $21 beauty slip by. If my 1956 Remington Standard is any indication, … Continue reading

I wanted to see a transcript before blogging about it but this AP story probably has enough of Phil Schiller’s testimony on the App Store: “What happens if a developer doesn’t pay and what is the process for that?” Schiller recalled about his initial reservations about requ...

Last week I published my first Cybersecurity Friday post with three key steps for indieweb cybersecurity. In summary:1. Email MFA/2FA. Add multi-factor authentication (sometimes called two-factor authentication) to everywhere you store or check email. Do not use phone/cell nu...

WordLand user: "Does it make a difference if I can just dash off a short note without all the other bullshit that goes with publishing online." Yes, it should be as easy to take a note in WordPress as it is in Bluesky. I didn't buy that assumption that WordPress has to be heavy machinery for writers. What if I just want to write something quickly and get back to the other thing I was working on. Also the edit box in WordLand starts out the size of a tiny little text box, but grows as you add more words. You are allowed to keep going. No character limit.

A little quiet today but I got a lot done. Random debugging and wrapped up some new Open Graph plumbing which I’ll blog about tomorrow morning.

[Craig Silverman at ProPublica] Let the attention dollars flow: "Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also said in January that the company was removing or dialing back automated systems that reduce the spread of false information. At the same time, Meta is revamping a ...

I just got inspired to write some blog posts but I’m discouraged by the long list of previous ideas I haven’t written yet. Plus I usually end up distracted by ideas for improving my site. Anyone have tips on developing a writing habit? I mainly do it because I enjoy the feeling of capturing my thoughts and experiences for myself before they slip my memory. So I don’t need to publish consistently or even have anyone read it. But I think I need a way to whittling away at my ideas. Even ...

Just saw a report that styling isn't working in WordLand in latest versions of Safari. We're using MediumEditor to do the editing. Did a quick query in Claude.ai and there do appear to be some compatibility issues with Safari. A request that people actually report these problems in the repo, via the Support link in the main menu, otherwise it's hit or miss. Thanks.

Two stories that feel loosely connected. First on NPR, highlighting a veteran in Alaska fired from the Small Business Administration. He was planning to finish his career with the government, now he’s losing sleep, worried about supporting his family, saying:

I’ve never felt more betrayed in my entire life.

Then via Political Wire, James Carville has a prediction:

I believe that this administration, in less than 30 days is in the midst of a massive collapse and particularly a collapse in public opinion.

Since Bluesky gave us the ability to limit responses to people I follow, the amount of spam/abuse has been reduced to a trickle. People can still comment, by quoting my post. But they want to troll, to gain exposure to my followers. Helping promote my ideas is not their idea of fun.