Links

Purists versus Pragmatists

How the IETF redefined the process of creating standards.

To some visionary pioneers, such as Ted Nelson, who had been developing a purist hypertext paradigm called Xanadu for decades, the browser represented an undesirably messy direction for the evolution of the Internet. To pragmatists, the browser represented important software evolving as it should: in a pluralistic way, embodying many contending ideas, through what the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) calls “rough consensus and running code.”

Oh No! Our Stylesheet Only Grows and Grows and Grows! (The Append-Only Stylesheet Problem) | CSS-Tricks

I think Chris is on to something here when he identifies one of the biggest issues with CSS growing out of control:

The developers are afraid of the CSS.

Clippy — CSS clip-path maker

A handy tool with some pre-made CSS clip paths that you can then tweak to your heart’s desire.

And now, a brief definition of the web - The Verge

Analysing what the web is. It’s not the technology stack.

To count as being part of the web, your app or page must:

1. Be linkable, and
2. Allow any client to access it.

I think that’s a pretty good definition.

Mind you, I think this is a bit rich in an article published on The Verge:

The HTML web may be slow and annoying and processor intensive, but before we rush too fast into replacing it, let’s not lose what’s good about it.

Excuse me? Slow, annoying, processor-intensive web pages have nothing to do with the technology, and everything to do with publishers like The Verge shoving bucketloads of intrusive JavaScript trackers into every page view.

Still, we can agree on this:

Preserving the web, or more specifically the open principles behind it, means protecting one of the few paths for innovation left in the modern tech world that doesn’t have a giant company acting as a gatekeeper.

Code clarity - Anthony Ricaud

Breaking down programming tasks into smaller chunks …and naming things.

I’ll take a piece of paper and write the function names I’m going to implement. Or I’ll do it directly in my code editor, with real functions or comments.

It allows you to focus on one problem at a time. When you’re writing those function names, you are thinking about what the code should be doing. When you’re implementing the functions, you are thinking about how the code should do it.

Using CSS variables correctly - Mike Riethmuller

Mike examines the real power of CSS custom properties compared to Sass variables—they can change at runtime.

I’m convinced that in almost all cases, responsive design logic should now be contained in variables. There is a strong argument too, that when changing any value, whether in a media query or an element scope, it belongs in a variable. If it changes, it is by definition a variable and this logic should be separated from design.

Standard Ebooks: Free and liberated ebooks, carefully produced for the true book lover.

Beautifully designed and typeset eBooks of royalty-free works—yours for the taking and reading.

There’s a styleguide if you want to get involved on the production side too.

Microformats : Meaningful HTML

A great one-page intro to microformats (h-card in particular), complete with a parser that exports JSON. Bookmark this for future reference.

IndieWebifying my website: part 1, the why & how – AltPlatform

Richard MacManus begins to document the process of making his website part of the indie web.

Beyond Curie—a design project celebrating women in STEM

Beyond Curie is a design project that highlights badass women in science, technology, engineering + mathematics. 

The IndieWeb Movement Will Help People Control Their Own Web Presence?

A pretty good summary of some key indie web ideas.

Here are 3 legal cases from the future

1. People v. Dronimos
2. Writers v. A.I. Rowling
3. The Algorithm Defense

2001: A Space Odyssey — A Look Behind the Future - YouTube

The following film describes an unusual motion picture now being produced in London for release all over the world, starting in early 1967.

An intro to web components with otters – Monica Dinculescu

A really great introduction to web components by Monica. But I couldn’t help but be disheartened by this:

Web components tend to have dependencies on other web components, so you need a package manager to herd all them cats.

For me, this kind of interdependence lessens the standalone nature of web components—it just doesn’t feel quite so encapsulated to me. I know that this can be solved with build tools, but now you’ve got two problems (and one more dependency).

Design in the Era of the Algorithm | Big Medium

The transcript of Josh’s fantastic talk on machine learning, voice, data, APIs, and all the other tools of algorithmic design:

The design and presentation of data is just as important as the underlying algorithm. Algorithmic interfaces are a huge part of our future, and getting their design right is critical—and very, very hard to do.

Josh put together ten design principles for conceiving, designing, and managing data-driven products. I’ve added them to my collection.

1. Favor accuracy over speed
2. Allow for ambiguity
3. Add human judgment
4. Advocate sunshine
5. Embrace multiple systems
6. Make it easy to contribute (accurate) data
7. Root out bias and bad assumptions
8. Give people control over their data
9. Be loyal to the user
10. Take responsibility

With New Browser Tech, Apple Preserves Privacy and Google Preserves Trackers | Electronic Frontier Foundation

It’s interesting to see how excessive surveillance is (finally!) being treated as damage and routed around. Apple seem to get it—they’re tackling the tracking issue. Meanwhile Google are focusing purely on the visibility and UX of invasive advertising, without taking steps against tracking.

There’s a huge opportunity here for Chrome’s competitors—if Firefox and Safari protect users from unwarranted tracking, that could be enough to get people to switch, regardless of the feature sets of the browsers.

Human Document Project 2017

A conference in my old stomping grounds of Freiburg on archives, preservation, and long-term thinking:

It will present the state of art in long-term archiving as well as the present problems in preservation of information and scientific data in archives and libraries. Perhaps the most interesting aspect is that, since all conceivable systems are finite but can be quite large, a choice on the contents has to be made. This requires thinking of the human condition: Who we are, what we are and what do we find worth to preserve.

Inclusive Design Principles

I’ve added these to my collection of design principles:

• Provide comparable experience
• Consider situation
• Be consistent
• Give control
• Offer choice
• Prioritise content
• Add value

Worst volume sliders possible – Designer News

Truly awful interfaces …made real.

4 Things I Know About Pattern Libraries - daverupert.com

Dave muses on the challenges of maintaining a pattern library:

• Rolling out a Pattern Library is infinitely harder than building one.
• If you don’t have pages, it’s doesn’t solve the problem.
• Vertical spacing will make or break you.
• The Pattern Library is dead if it’s not prioritized.