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Dave Winer - Scripting.com

Scripting News - 2020-02-25T17:04:05Z

- 2020-02-25T15:33:54Z
Change notes for Little Outliner v1.8.9. New Tools menu. Get my tweets command. Defends against multiple instances of LO2 open at the same time.

- 2020-02-25T16:23:52Z
Does RSS need a song? Maybe this one.

- 2020-02-25T17:04:05Z
How about a puppy playing with an ice cube?

- 2020-02-25T17:02:09Z
If your strategy is that young voters will take you to victory there's a problem with that because young voters don't actually vote.

- 2020-02-25T16:02:46Z
Why didn't the NYT when it started on the web in the 90s try to do what Wikipedia has done? I have to admit, I didn't think of it at the time either, to me the function of a news org was to start fresh once a day. But this was always part of the potential of the web, create a base of info at the same time as flowing the new stuff. That's actually where we went with LBBS in the 80s. Did you know I was doing BBS software then? I was. Today I wish we had software that made it easy to build an index as we go. It's always in the back of my mind. I remember when we were publishing books (also in the 80s) we learned how to do indexes of paper books. The same approach would work for blogs or news.

- 2020-02-25T16:19:08Z
Senator Kennedy, I am the actor they hired to play the DHS secretary. I say nice things about the president, and that's about it.

- 2020-02-25T15:44:09Z
Maybe when Coronavirus comes to our town we should all just get it, and take our chances. Get it over with quickly. If you die, you die. Then we can go back to committing suicide in all our other ways.

- 2020-02-25T15:13:00Z
A drum I keep beating: When a campaign wants to break through, start doing good now, don't wait until you're elected. Now there's a chance to do just that. Use your advertising, rallies, interviews and debates to sound the alarm for coronavirus. Demand that Trump protect the citizens. Explain what Trump has done to put us at greater risk. Explain how a real government functions for the benefit of its citizens. PS: Puerto Rico.

- 2020-02-24T18:22:55Z
Video demo of a feature coming soon in LO2, probably tomorrow. You can load in all your tweets for the day. Makes it easy to use Twitter as a place to record ideas that then flow through your outline.

- 2020-02-25T01:07:23Z
We’ve been working on news on the web for 25 years, and given the bandwidth of the network, the power and capacity of servers, and the incredible devices we carry with us, that news on the net is such a miserable experience. Clearly something is very wrong.

- 2020-02-24T16:16:52Z
I've long felt that the niche occupied by Heroku is under-explored. It looks like Glitch is going there. Good.

- 2020-02-24T20:17:53Z
Since socialism is going to be a big "issue" for the foreseeable future, let me offer two pieces I wrote on the subject. First, The world is socialist in 2011. "Ayn Rand's philosophy might have worked in an agrarian society when people lived far apart, and couldn't pool their resources. When there wasn't much technology, so there wasn't much point in trying to fight disease or keep the trains running, because there was no medicine or trains." And Health care is socialist in 2017. "We don't know who will get sick, or when. So rather than take a risk that you'll be the one who gets the expensive disease, we pool our resources to pay a share of what the treatment would cost each year." I put "issue" in quotes because it isn't a real issue. Everything is socialist, it has to be, there is no other way. So it's redundant to say someone is a socialist. We all are.

- 2020-02-24T16:42:36Z
Is it any wonder that the presidential nominating process has become a weekly reality show, in every way.

- 2020-02-24T19:58:26Z
Ladies and gentlemen, Rush Limbaugh!

- 2020-02-24T16:41:25Z
Maybe the NYT was always this stupid, and we were too young and stupid ourselves to notice?

The seatbelt on my Subaru - 2020-02-24T15:01:27Z

I bought a new 2019 Subaru Forester about a year ago. It works pretty well. There are things that could work better, but I like it. It's a good car for where I live, in the mountains north of NYC. But it's not perfect. About the half the time the driver seatbelt gets stuck in the door. It was a hassle until now, but all the buckle slamming has broken a sensor built into the door. The car's electronics thinks the door is always open even when it's closed.

Now the battery runs down overnight and the car requires a jump start. And all the alarms are ringing when I'm driving.

I took the car in for service. It's still under warranty, but Subaru wants me to pay for the repair. Estimate $500.

I can't imagine what they think I'm doing.

They say they can't reproduce the problem.

Seems to me it's a design flaw.

This is where we're stuck.

- 2020-02-24T00:55:11Z
I just finished Long Strange Trip, a documentary about the Grateful Dead. Beautifully done. I went to a lot of Dead shows, going back to the early 70s, on both coasts and in Madison, but never considered myself a Deadhead. I liked a lot of other bands. But I keep coming back to the Dead. Their songs are anthems for my life and work. I think we should play US Blues at baseball games and Fourth of July picnics. That's the America I come from. And of course the incredibly versatile slogan of this blog is from Touch of Grey. That one line is full of so much meaning, but yet so are many lines from many Dead songs.

- 2020-02-24T01:10:11Z
Maybe Twitter should offer the option of no-replies on a message by message basis. You can RT my post if you want, but I'm not interested in spam.

- 2020-02-24T01:09:04Z
!!Con 2020 -- The joy, excitement and surprise of computing.

- 2020-02-24T01:16:44Z
I watched the MSNBC segment where Chris Matthews and Joy Reid talked about the disaster that Sanders is as a candidate. I thought it was fine. I think they should do more of that. I want to hear what they think out in the open instead of between the lines.

- 2020-02-24T01:10:02Z
Also I'm not sure Anand Giridharadas is right. We've been through this before. Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, Jimmy Carter, John Anderson, Barack Obama. All these candidates had Sanders-like pitches. I'm transformative, they said. When I am president, everything will change. Problem is if they actually believe it and are elected, they and we are fucked. They turn out most definitely not to be transformative. The United States is a huge ship and it takes a lot of compromise and time to get it to turn. Giridharadas points out that Sanders is the son of a Holocaust survivor, well, so am I, and I don't like Hail Mary passes unless that's the only option left. This is not a normal election, and Sanders is way too risky. We need to get solidly off the path we're on, bringing as many people as possible along with us. Then let's go for a Sanders-like candidate, maybe when AOC is old enough to run for president.

- 2020-02-22T17:53:07Z
Loyalty to Trump is, today, an issue for people who work in the US government. Soon it will be an issue for everyone who lives in the US. You will have to sign a loyalty oath. We're way past the time when anyone should be working just for themselves.

- 2020-02-22T17:35:04Z
Today I learned that Sanders will be the presumptive Democratic Party nominee in eleven days, unless something happens to shake that up. If you don't believe it, read this piece.

- 2020-02-22T17:55:16Z
This piece is so chock-full of smarts, it should be a Twitter thread.

- 2020-02-22T18:11:46Z
I just saw pictures of a friend's teenage sons in current passport pictures. I've been following their travels via Facebook for years. They were always boys, but now you can see the men. There's a gravitas in the outward view. Thought. These boys were raised to be men. What a great word, raised. I don't think I was actually raised myself. Maybe here and there. Fed. Sometimes cared for. Mostly left to figure it out for myself.

- 2020-02-23T03:42:04Z
I thought Sanders' speech was good tonight. I was surprised. I think this may be the first time I've heard him give a speech. Previously I'd only seen him in debates, where he's a prick. Sorry, that's what I see. Even so, he really never has had a negative campaign run against him, and it'll be too late for all of us when the Repubs do. I can't imagine his past is not filled with lots of really awful stuff.

How does Twitter threading work? - 2020-02-23T03:32:12Z

This came up in an email discussion.

Doc said he doesn't really understand how Twitter threading works. I'm not sure I understand it either, and I've implemented it in two of my tools, first Electric Pork and now LO2.

Here's how I do it.

Suppose you have a sequence of four bits of text you want to turn into a Twitter thread.

Label them A, B, C and D.

When you post a tweet you can optionally specify which tweet it is in reply to.

First I post A to Twitter, not a reply.

• Then I post B, in reply to A.
• Then C, in reply to B.
• And D, in reply to C.

Twitter will display that as a thread. Like this.

Could I have had them all in reply to A? Not sure. I haven't tried it.

- 2020-02-21T19:53:59Z
I buy too many domains. Latest: textonrails.com.

- 2020-02-21T22:15:19Z
Doc posts a monster thread from LO2 to twitter. Here's the thread, and the outline. I just made a small change to the reader so that when you click on a tweet node, it opens the tweet in Twitter.

- 2020-02-21T19:14:49Z
Joe Trippi: "Here’s an idea. Why not hold House hearings on what every American should watch for and be on guard against in terms of how Russia or any other foreign actor tries to influence our election? Or maybe a network do a one hour special? No one knows what meddling means."

- 2020-02-21T19:40:07Z
Meddlers enhance divisions. Start with a crack, and grow it. Look at how Bloomberg is being invalidated. He's a powerful force in Democratic politics. In whose interest is it to undermine that? They have to be investing in that. The meddlers, whoever they are.

- 2020-02-21T22:24:47Z
2019: Instant tech bootcamps for journalism.

Bloomberg, part 3 - 2020-02-21T13:53:25Z

Bloomberg was NYC mayor after 9/11, during and after the 2008 financial crisis and Hurricane Sandy. The city recovered from all, though we could discuss his mistakes during all.

In the debate we should’ve talked about how we’re going to restore Congress, rule of law, the Constitution, courts in the aftermath of Trump, which will be like all three NYC disasters Bloomberg dealt with.

I don’t think Bloomberg had any possible response to Warren's attacks, any more than Al Franken could respond to the attacks that forced him to resign.

We need all hands on deck to rebuild after the superstorm terrorist attack happening right now in the US. Bloomberg will be part of that, whether or not he's the candidate.

The greed and selfishness on that stage was appalling. From Warren and Sanders, who I will vote against every chance I get (except if the other choice is trump of course).

- 2020-02-20T17:55:08Z
A new version of LO2, v1.8.8. This is the first one that can publish twitter threads. Also fixes to keystrokes. Here are the change notes.

- 2020-02-20T18:06:19Z
A short podcast explaining the new version of LO2.

- 2020-02-20T16:36:21Z
We need to view the government as a system, and unsentimentally fix the broken stuff, while preserving and enhancing the best core ideas that define America.

- 2020-02-20T16:44:10Z
After all the dust settles, the question Bloomberg asked about starting businesses, that's micro-targeted at me. Yes, I have started businesses. And I've built networks of software with millions of nodes.

- 2020-02-20T22:02:56Z

Notes on last night's debate - 2020-02-20T14:40:06Z

Watched the whole debate last night in despair, watching our last hopes evaporate.

• These debates are crazy.
• They do nothing to help us find good leaders. Probably the opposite. People who think and listen before speaking are penalized. Yet this is what we need from a leader.
• Has Bernie Sanders ever listened? To anyone? Ever?
• Biden is even more pitiful. Please if someone loves him tell him to quit. He lost.
• Amy doesn’t know when to shut up.
• I have no words for the disaster that is Warren.

I were on the debate stage last night, I would have done what Bloomberg did. All these people yelling about crazy nonsense, a lot of it at me, should I join in the yelling? Fuck no.

People say Bloomberg didn't respond to the accusations. I listened to what he said, this is what I heard.

• Yes, I made a lot of money, and I'm giving it all away.
• I made jokes about women and paid for my sins.
• A communist can't win in America.
• I'm a manager. I'm going to manage this.
• I'm sorry for my fuckups.

What his critics really mean is that he declined to partake in the food fight.

I was shocked when I realized that lots of people were going to vote for Trump. But that's nothing compared to the gobsmacking realization that enough people want Sanders that he might actually be the nominee.

• I guess the way to win people's hearts is to yell at them and over them, wave your hands in their face, and never listen to anyone.
• Sanders has a slogan for everything, except it's always the same slogan.
• I think Sanders would be great on Crossfire. As president. Oh god help us.
• Sanders is so awful he must be a Putin plant. When the oppo research comes out, obviously after he's nominated, I feel certain we're going to see pictures of him at dinner with Putin in Moscow with Jill Stein and Michael Flynn.

I think everyone could stand to re-watch Jon Stewart on Crossfire.

Felt sad when I realized Buttigieg is by far the youngest person on the stage, but Sanders is getting the support from young people.

Bob Bierman: "Man. Dems are going to have to do better than spend the evening taking easy razzle-dazzle shots at a billionaire who lacks theatricality and defensiveness but is giving all his money away to progressive causes. Where were the redirects to core issues?"

Brendan Greeley: "Bloomberg is an organization where journalists fly business class. I want to say that didn't matter but I also don't want to lie to you people."

- 2020-02-19T17:50:00Z
A thread I tweeted from a test version of LO2.

- 2020-02-19T21:09:07Z
Here's a screen shot of the outline the thread came from.

- 2020-02-19T22:00:15Z
Video demo of the Tweeted Threads feature, probably coming out tomorrow, 2/20/2020, a magical day.

- 2020-02-19T14:59:16Z
How journalism covers presidential politics. Gotcha, gotcha, horse race, gotcha, horse race, horse race, gotcha, gotcha, horse race, gotcha, gotcha, horse race, horse race, horse race.

- 2020-02-19T13:44:50Z
Every so often I hear of people who want to change RSS. There is a mechanism for that, it’s like amending the Constitution, but much easier. Create a namespace. Put your new or redefined tags there. I created a namespace for my additions, documented here.

Tweeting a thread (the plan) - 2020-02-19T16:03:26Z

Put the cursor on a headline.

Click on the tweet icon.

We confirm you want to post X tweets.

• First we make sure none of them are too long.
• If so, we report that instead of confirming. We move the cursor to the offending headline.

LO2 visits all the subs and tweets them, in a thread. All linked in a reply chain starting with the first one.

• We strip any markup from the text. So don't bother boldfacing items or linking. It'll all be gone as it's sent to Twitter.
• Ignore commented lines and their subs.

How threading works

• The first item tweeted is in reply to nothing.
• The second is in reply to the first.
• The third in reply to the second.
• The Nth in reply to the (N-1)th.

Will people use this? I don't know, but it's worth a try. Let's see what happens.

Candidates are mirrors - 2020-02-19T16:53:05Z

Honestly, either Klobuchar or Warren are more attractive than the others. I would definitely go with Klobuchar, still.

I don't want to say anything bad about the others.

Choosing a candidate to me has nothing to do with judging the morals of the person. I have no insight into that. These "people" are images of people, not real.

You're selling a mirror to voters. It's imperfect. But when they look in the mirror do they like what it says about themselves.

I liked looking into the Obama mirror. It says to me "we've accomplished something in my lifetime."

When I looked at HRC, I saw some level of competence, but mostly "NOT TRUMP."

Why I like Klobuchar is what I see is "This is America." A compromise with the other half of the country. I think enough of us can agree that this is America, for now, that we might be able to restore the rule of law.

I honestly don't think most people get how deep in the hole we are now. We'd make a better decision if we were.

PS: I used this post to test my outline-tweeting code.

- 2020-02-18T14:38:00Z
For tomorrow night's debate. It's 2021, you're president, there's a vacancy on the Supreme Court. You appoint a qualified judge, the Senate refuses to confirm. They'll wait for a Repub president, says the majority leader. What do you do?

- 2020-02-18T19:19:00Z
Andrew Shell did a voicemailcast about his work with rssCloud, which plugs into RSS 2.0 feeds, and maintains backward compatibility with my implementation which I no longer maintain. He has to do really horrible things to run my software to be sure his stuff still works with it. His philosophy is mine. I really have very little influence on what other people do, sometimes they seem to not listen to prove they don't have to listen, and over time all our work gets erased. But Andrew definitely is a charter member of the soon-to-be-famous No Breakage Club.

- 2020-02-18T18:36:57Z
Update on Concord work. I've been trying to fit a more powerful keystroke capturer under Concord's keyboard handling code, but I'm not ready to debug the resulting code, which would basically be turned inside-out. The problem is that none of the JavaScript key handlers (that I've found so far) will decode an existing event, they have to actually capture the event itself and call back to the app. Maybe there's an exception. If such a toolkit exists, that would make the systematization of Concord's keystroke handling simple enough to attempt. The goal is to have all combinations of option, shift, cmd (or cntrl) be handleable by the outliner.

- 2020-02-17T21:39:57Z
MORE II refcard from the late 80s. We used to include these in our products, a quick summary of all the keystrokes the software responds to. I'm glad to have this online now.

#rss