The amount of casual PC users telling me my website is broken *because* I don't paywall my writing nor track my users or shove a mailing list thing at them is worrying me.
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Whereas the old ones trust your site more because its simple and static.
You should tell them a council of Unix greyhairs have approved your site.
@alienghic @WeirdWriter @GreenSkyOverMe I'll approve it.
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The amount of casual PC users telling me my website is broken *because* I don't paywall my writing nor track my users or shove a mailing list thing at them is worrying me. I know it's unconventional to have a website *not* throw popups at you every visit, but come on, this is deeply unsetteling. I can't express how many people are scared of my website *because* I don't track my users, I don't bombard them with things upon visiting. The only thing that's broken at the moment is the navigation menu button doesn’t work with JavaScript disabled, but there's a site map non JavaScript people can use. https://sightlessscribbles.com/ #WebDev
@WeirdWriter I've tried to reflect on my definition of a website, and years of conditioning have made it so that I think a website is a piece of inherently hostile architecture, a towering castle that lures you in with false promises like "I have the information you are looking for" or "here you can buy what you are looking for" or "I'll entertain you the way you want to be entertained", and makes sure you have a horrible experience once you are inside.
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@WeirdWriter I've tried to reflect on my definition of a website, and years of conditioning have made it so that I think a website is a piece of inherently hostile architecture, a towering castle that lures you in with false promises like "I have the information you are looking for" or "here you can buy what you are looking for" or "I'll entertain you the way you want to be entertained", and makes sure you have a horrible experience once you are inside.
@WeirdWriter That experience is defined by misleading search results and misleading descriptions of the website on other websites, and sensory overwhelm on the website itself: Lots of unnecessary images, autoplaying videos, only the brightest colors to glue me to the screen, cookie and ad pop-ups and chatbots. And when I manage to remind myself why I'm there, I can't find what I need because it's hidden somewhere in a multi-layered menu. I often struggle to even find the menu.
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The amount of casual PC users telling me my website is broken *because* I don't paywall my writing nor track my users or shove a mailing list thing at them is worrying me. I know it's unconventional to have a website *not* throw popups at you every visit, but come on, this is deeply unsetteling. I can't express how many people are scared of my website *because* I don't track my users, I don't bombard them with things upon visiting. The only thing that's broken at the moment is the navigation menu button doesn’t work with JavaScript disabled, but there's a site map non JavaScript people can use. https://sightlessscribbles.com/ #WebDev
@WeirdWriter we need a "my website doesn't treat you as the product" webring. Only tracking on my site is there to make sure I don't unknowingly pass into the paid tier haha.
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@WeirdWriter That experience is defined by misleading search results and misleading descriptions of the website on other websites, and sensory overwhelm on the website itself: Lots of unnecessary images, autoplaying videos, only the brightest colors to glue me to the screen, cookie and ad pop-ups and chatbots. And when I manage to remind myself why I'm there, I can't find what I need because it's hidden somewhere in a multi-layered menu. I often struggle to even find the menu.
@WeirdWriter All of this is to say, your website doesn't feel like a website to me, it's more like warm hands holding my face. Not only are there no visual distractions, the text is large and high-contrast. It gives me the kind of friction I want: One that originates with engaging with your writing, not with the website itself. It's a kind piece of art.
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The amount of casual PC users telling me my website is broken *because* I don't paywall my writing nor track my users or shove a mailing list thing at them is worrying me. I know it's unconventional to have a website *not* throw popups at you every visit, but come on, this is deeply unsetteling. I can't express how many people are scared of my website *because* I don't track my users, I don't bombard them with things upon visiting. The only thing that's broken at the moment is the navigation menu button doesn’t work with JavaScript disabled, but there's a site map non JavaScript people can use. https://sightlessscribbles.com/ #WebDev
@WeirdWriter ooh "achievement unlocked" as the kids used to say

Not had that yet but I'm in a similar boat with my site.
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@WeirdWriter ooh "achievement unlocked" as the kids used to say

Not had that yet but I'm in a similar boat with my site.
@emily_s Could you link me your site in a reply so I can add it to my Mastodon favorites? I use favorites like bookmarks around here rather than the actual bookmark. HAHA
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@emily_s Could you link me your site in a reply so I can add it to my Mastodon favorites? I use favorites like bookmarks around here rather than the actual bookmark. HAHA
https://parsecsreach.org/ mostly somewhat odd tech stuff. Do let me know if you encounter any issues, I'm willing to bet there are more than a few
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@WeirdWriter That experience is defined by misleading search results and misleading descriptions of the website on other websites, and sensory overwhelm on the website itself: Lots of unnecessary images, autoplaying videos, only the brightest colors to glue me to the screen, cookie and ad pop-ups and chatbots. And when I manage to remind myself why I'm there, I can't find what I need because it's hidden somewhere in a multi-layered menu. I often struggle to even find the menu.
I understand this and I also believe this push to turn websites into apps has something to do with this as well, like, it strikes me as some years ago big tech seemed to actively hate websites so wanted to make them look and feel more like apps? Need more time to flesh this out ore but thank you! @vivian
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The amount of casual PC users telling me my website is broken *because* I don't paywall my writing nor track my users or shove a mailing list thing at them is worrying me. I know it's unconventional to have a website *not* throw popups at you every visit, but come on, this is deeply unsetteling. I can't express how many people are scared of my website *because* I don't track my users, I don't bombard them with things upon visiting. The only thing that's broken at the moment is the navigation menu button doesn’t work with JavaScript disabled, but there's a site map non JavaScript people can use. https://sightlessscribbles.com/ #WebDev
It's like a dog who has only known violent abuse cowering at the gentle touch of a rescuer.
Also, I love your story of how you got a free pizza. Too many people are so quick to blame the grunt on the font line just because they're the one they can interact with, even though five seconds of actual thought can tell them it's not their fault. I hear stories like this all the time, where just a hint of kindness can go such a long way.
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It's like a dog who has only known violent abuse cowering at the gentle touch of a rescuer.
Also, I love your story of how you got a free pizza. Too many people are so quick to blame the grunt on the font line just because they're the one they can interact with, even though five seconds of actual thought can tell them it's not their fault. I hear stories like this all the time, where just a hint of kindness can go such a long way.
Ah yep! And if you want my more snarky side, see the post at end, and I have a habbit of correcting spelling etc. After publishing. Old time readers know this by now, but just in case your new, best to start at my /about page but https://sightlessscribbles.com/posts/the-paperwork-flood/ @raineyday
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https://parsecsreach.org/ mostly somewhat odd tech stuff. Do let me know if you encounter any issues, I'm willing to bet there are more than a few
Love this website so far! Only thing I can find is that main menu at the top, or whatever that button is, appears to have 2 keyboard commands. (Alt + T) but that conflicts with the browser's tools command. Alt shift T conflicts with some other program I have, but you do have landmarks so that's good! Keep the landmarks! @emily_s
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Love this website so far! Only thing I can find is that main menu at the top, or whatever that button is, appears to have 2 keyboard commands. (Alt + T) but that conflicts with the browser's tools command. Alt shift T conflicts with some other program I have, but you do have landmarks so that's good! Keep the landmarks! @emily_s
@WeirdWriter Oooh, the short cut keys must be coming from the template I used. I wasn't even aware they existed. I'll see if I can change them to something less conflicting. Thank you!
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@WeirdWriter we need a "my website doesn't treat you as the product" webring. Only tracking on my site is there to make sure I don't unknowingly pass into the paid tier haha.
I agree! I love that idea! I do need to seriously get into webrings a bit more. I guess I just don't fully understand them? Like, I like IndieWeb blog directories far more so if they, WebRings, could be like a collection of websites I can browse with a description or something I can browse in a list, I like that better, far better, than say, hitting next website on the ring. I guess I like to know where I am going! #WebRing #WebRings @natecox
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Whereas the old ones trust your site more because its simple and static.
You should tell them a council of Unix greyhairs have approved your site.
@alienghic @WeirdWriter @GreenSkyOverMe
As a Unix grey hair, I approve your site. I'll bring it to the council for the next meeting.
For now, just put a little animated "under construction" gif in the corner. It's the secret signal we all recognize.

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@WeirdWriter Oooh, the short cut keys must be coming from the template I used. I wasn't even aware they existed. I'll see if I can change them to something less conflicting. Thank you!
Ah yeah! This is just me, but I'd say remove the shortcut keys if you can! I personally never use them but I know other blind people that do! I navigate more by, like, landmarks instead of hotkeys, you know? I tend to save keyboard commands for desktop apps, which is probably why others are faster than me on some of these more app based websites like Gmail for example. @emily_s
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The amount of casual PC users telling me my website is broken *because* I don't paywall my writing nor track my users or shove a mailing list thing at them is worrying me. I know it's unconventional to have a website *not* throw popups at you every visit, but come on, this is deeply unsetteling. I can't express how many people are scared of my website *because* I don't track my users, I don't bombard them with things upon visiting. The only thing that's broken at the moment is the navigation menu button doesn’t work with JavaScript disabled, but there's a site map non JavaScript people can use. https://sightlessscribbles.com/ #WebDev
@WeirdWriter love this. i will say the font looks huge on mobile firefox. unclear is this is as desired or a bug but would have a bit of a "i wonder if a css or js file didnt load" vibe if i hadnt seen your post first.
but yes its really funny that plus no horrible UX does make it feel "broken"
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I agree! I love that idea! I do need to seriously get into webrings a bit more. I guess I just don't fully understand them? Like, I like IndieWeb blog directories far more so if they, WebRings, could be like a collection of websites I can browse with a description or something I can browse in a list, I like that better, far better, than say, hitting next website on the ring. I guess I like to know where I am going! #WebRing #WebRings @natecox
@WeirdWriter I didn't understand them either until I added myself to one a couple weeks back (despite being online through the 90's when webrings were everywhere).
Basically they're a list of sites that share some commonality. Each site in that list will usually post a link to that list, and there is usually a way to link to the website before you and after you as "next" and "previous".
E.g., https://natecox.dev is part of the human first webring, which is a list of sites that use no GenAI in their construction. You can see the links in the nav for my site.
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@WeirdWriter love this. i will say the font looks huge on mobile firefox. unclear is this is as desired or a bug but would have a bit of a "i wonder if a css or js file didnt load" vibe if i hadnt seen your post first.
but yes its really funny that plus no horrible UX does make it feel "broken"
The font being bigger is intentional. But thank you! For the non JavaScript folk, my site map is https://sightlessscribbles.com/map/ @glassresistor
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Ah yep! And if you want my more snarky side, see the post at end, and I have a habbit of correcting spelling etc. After publishing. Old time readers know this by now, but just in case your new, best to start at my /about page but https://sightlessscribbles.com/posts/the-paperwork-flood/ @raineyday
Your story of "Are you still disabled?" is distressingly common. A good (late) friend of mine who had Duchenne muscular dystrophy had to go through that once. Except it was an in-person meeting. So he and his father leaned into it with everything they had. Fix his posture. Scratch an itch. Wipe his eyes.