Hello, world. I’m MacDara Conroy, and this is my blog.


Weaknotes for w/o 28 July 2019

In the middle of another long work stretch, eight days that ends this Wednesday evening. But it also includes a press screening on Tuesday so it’s not all bad. I’m looking forward to having a couple of days off to unwind later this week.

So what else is up? Since last time out, I’ve added microformats to the blog. I think? Each post now has a ‘h-entry’ class, and permalinks are marked up as ‘u-url’ with their own ‘u-syndication’ feeds. That much I’m pretty sure I have right. I’ve added some basic Twitter Card support to individual posts via the code block provided here, and it validates.

I’ve also added the ability (via plugin) to send and receive Webmentions, which appears to work on the back-end, and at least nominally to display them (based on this blog post) but whether that actually works or not remains to be seen, as I’ve no way to test it. It’s probably something to do with me not ever using WordPress comments, so I never accounted for them when I built my theme, and I need to have a deeper look at my settings and template code. But it’s frustrating.

I’ll say this: the documentation around this whole IndieWeb malarkey leaves a lot to be desired. It’s great that there is a notion of openness around the development of the underlying tech, but it still presupposes a lot of knowledge to which I’m very much not privy.

When I complained about it on Twitter, I got a response that directed me to the very documentation I was complaining about: all insider jargon, no ‘here’s how you do it’ without presupposing a whole maze of knowledge. And honestly, I don’t feel comfortable dipping into the IndieWeb WordPress chat. It’s the same feeling I get when I go into a bicycle shop, being judged for being basic. Maybe they’re actually lovely people who would have no problem helping, but I feel the way I feel. Someone please just write ‘Webmentions for Dummies’ so I can it on my own.

On the same DIY note, I must note that I previously failed to credit Tania Rascia’s immensely helpful guide to developing a WordPress theme from scratch, which was my main reference for building the design you’re currently seeing (provided you’re on my website right now, and it’s 2019 or thereabouts). That’s the kind of documentation I’m talking about: a step-by-step walkthrough for the lay person.

That was my week. I hope yours was more remarkable.

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