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A new blog for 2024

chrisnicholas.dev

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Re: A new blog for 2024

#61

Post by digging »

dmje wrote: post #50
brigadier132 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I mean, write a simple plugin that enables you to embed these using a shortcode Ok, so learn php when they could just use js which they likely already know and likely get paid to know. Wordpress and php are negative value skills, you do not want to advertise that you know those things as a developer because someone might try to hire you for them.

Failing to understand what "Wordpress and php are negative value skills" even means. I'm pretty happy with the work I get paid for ;-)

It means I, for example, wish I didn't know how to use WP and PHP so I didn't have to work on them in our legacy apps. Because I don't want to write or read PHP. I'm much happier when I don't have to. Get paid the same either way.

Re: A new blog for 2024

#63

Post by ctnicholas »

Retr0id wrote: post #23

My favourite animated blog header of all time is that of acko.net: https://acko.net/blog/zero-to-sixty-in-one-second/ The design language is (understandably) feeling a bit 2013 these days, but objectively I think it's held up great. It's something I'd like to do for my blog, since I'm getting tired of looking at the same static header, but I've yet to come up with the perfect design.

Damn, that's crazy! Reminds me of the old Windows "pipes" screensaver, but far nicer.

Re: A new blog for 2024

#64

Post by ctnicholas »

Kharacternyk wrote: post #11

The background noise is a subtle detail I would have never noticed on my own, but it does subconsciously make the blog appeal to me. Content in front of something that looks like real paper appears more credible than the same content on a flat background.

100%! I tried to set it at a level where it "feels" right, but you don't realise why.

Re: A new blog for 2024

#65

Post by fouronnes3 »

rambambram wrote: post #45
fouronnes3 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree! Any tips on how to implement it?

What about a background (pattern) that has the noise already in it? I use https://bg.siteorigin.com/ often to create subtle backgrounds like the one on https://www.winkeljustitia.nl/

I was thinking maybe there's a pure CSS way to do it? That seems to be inline with the style of the author's blog.

Re: A new blog for 2024

#66

Post by ChilledTonic »

fouronnes3 wrote: post #13
Kharacternyk wrote: post #11

The background noise is a subtle detail I would have never noticed on my own, but it does subconsciously make the blog appeal to me. Content in front of something that looks like real paper appears more credible than the same content on a flat background.

I agree! Any tips on how to implement it?

It appears his full CSS is as follows:

  background-image: url(/css/noise.png);
  background-repeat: repeat;
  background-size: 182px;
  filter: brightness(6);
  opacity: 0.018;
In my experimentation with it, I can't quite figure out how he applies the effect to the whole page without it either dissapearing on adjustments to the viewport or affecting the pages text opacity.

Re: A new blog for 2024

#67

Post by dmje »

joshmanders wrote: post #55
dmje wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry to be argumentative, but it just isn't. It's PHP, and you probably don't need to code anything at all. You also don't need many plugins. Incompatibility issues and vulnerabilities just aren't a thing - as long as you keep stuff up to date and don't install a thousand dodgy plugins, you'll be fine. And yes, this is what I do: maintaining 50+ sites for clients, so I have been round the block a few times, not just…

"This is what I do and I am fine with all the trade-offs so doing it any other way is wrong and a waste of time" - classic developer do-as-i-say-ism.

It’s funny, I see it as entirely the other way round.

I see many on HN as being sort of “automatically negative” about Wordpress and php and unable to see that there are actually some times when they’re totally the right tools for the job.

I’d be the last person to suggest anyone use Wordpress for everything - yes, I happen to have a niche that is about this tool, and I like it and am passionate about it, and for what we do it’s highly relevant and very much the right tool - but we’re also very pragmatic about decision making.

What I see so much in developer land is that certain trends drive strategy. It’s so often not the boring, known, stayed tool which wins the day but the bleeding edge one which actually isn’t as good a fit.

As I say in a comment lower down here - the tradeoffs to me here are: no feed, no comments, no categories, no OG tags, no API - all of which are out of the box with Wordpress.

Re: A new blog for 2024

#68

Post by brigadier132 »

joshmanders wrote: post #58
brigadier132 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I mean, write a simple plugin that enables you to embed these using a shortcode Ok, so learn php when they could just use js which they likely already know and likely get paid to know. Wordpress and php are negative value skills, you do not want to advertise that you know those things as a developer because someone might try to hire you for them.

> Wordpress and php are negative value skills, you do not want to advertise that you know those things as a developer because someone might try to hire you for them. This was unnecessary.

It's the truth, the jobs that use php are not the ones I want to work in. People are saying php is actually good nowadays but I have no reason or desire to learn it. I don't want to learn or work with wordpress, I already know as many scripting languages as I need to know, and there are no companies I want to work for that use php.

I'm already in the part of my career where learning another programming language is not what will take me to the next level so unless there is something unique about a programming language that makes it very useful I'm not interested in learning it.

Learning how to use more tools is not necessarily better when you are already proficient in other more flexible tools.

Re: A new blog for 2024

#69

Post by nkohari »

dmje wrote: post #24

Again, because I'm boring like that: it's pretty hilarious to me that anyone would choose to make a new blog and not just use WordPress, especially when their stated aim contains this: "...that makes it as easy as possible to create posts". There are some moments when you shouldn't use WordPress. A blog is not one of those moments. Avoiding the obvious tool for the job is classic developer trendytool syndrome.

Wordpress is incredibly complex when compared to a static site that can be served ~entirely from a CDN. A database-backed blog has been outmoded now for years.

If you don't want a pre-built theme, you don't need the plugin ecosystem, and you don't need/want a WYSIWYG editor, there's no reason to choose Wordpress.

Re: A new blog for 2024

#70

Post by FalconSensei »

pvg wrote: post #35
dmje wrote: post #24

Again, because I'm boring like that: it's pretty hilarious to me that anyone would choose to make a new blog and not just use WordPress, especially when their stated aim contains this: "...that makes it as easy as possible to create posts". There are some moments when you shouldn't use WordPress. A blog is not one of those moments. Avoiding the obvious tool for the job is classic developer trendytool syndrome.

Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Author mentioned that the reason for the new blog is to be easier to create posts. But doesn't mention much of what changed in the workflow. Seems he's using md files. But then what was he using before? If MD->MD, then what changed? Using Obsidian to be easier to edit and sync between devices?
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