During Helene, I just wanted a plain text website

1. Identify core functionality. 2. Make that functionality available using the simplest technology. 3. Enhance!

https://youtu.be/T55Z3VlG43g?si=bJnsv2smKChO9y6q&t=2101

- I got caught in the mountains for a few days due to landslides in Nepal. The only available information was relayed by phone between locals. People had no idea of what was going on and their vacation ended on the day the road reopened. It caused a pile up of cars where the road had slid off a few days prior. In some parts, rocks still fell from the cliffs above. We flagged a passing car and asked them to keep us updated on WhatsApp instead. We could have all stayed put if we had that information before.

- During covid I maintained a page with simplified local restrictions and a changelog of new restrictions. The alternative was to follow press conferences and re-read the entire regulation the next day, or keep checking the newspapers. Mine was just a bullet list at a permanent location.

- During the invasion of Ukraine, refugees have set up the most impressive ad hoc information network I have ever seen. It was operational in 24 hours and kept improving for weeks. People sorted out routes, transport, border issues, accommodation, translation and supplies over Telegram, Notion and Google Docs.

Information propagation is critical during emergencies, and people are really bad at it. Setting up a simple website and two-way communication channels makes a huge difference.

I run a website that's primarily text-based. When I change the base template, I still check that it works without CSS. This just means semantic HTML.

That being said, CSS is rarely that large. Even after a few years of relative indulgence, the gzipped CSS for the whole website is still something like 20kb.