I was talking with Wes Felter last night about a project I want to do. I want to get Frontier running more or less as-is on Linux. Wes was an early UserLander, he got us started with Frontier as an HTTP server. He understood the product at the time in ways I didn't. What came from that? XML-RPC, the website framework, Manila, Radio UserLand and lots of other stuff. We talked about how to get the project done, and he suggested doing video demos of the things that make Frontier unique. It's a really good idea. And kind of daunting. I'm thinking about how to get started. I think the first step is to think of a project I can do in steps, that touches on most aspects of the environment. Maybe a web site for Bull Mancuso or Kim Parker of Bloatware (two not-so-famous fake people I use for demos and docs). It would be more interesting if it turned out to be something useful that made sense to deploy in Frontier. I wouldn't mind setting up a server on Amazon running Windows just to get the app up and running. And then getting that app running in Frontier on Linux would be the home run. #Comedians should do the news. Proof is Robin Williams on The Tonight Show in 1991. He covers Supreme Court hearing for Clarence Thomas, the dissolution of the Soviet Union and everything else. (PS: Trump is a comedian. That's his (open) secret. He entertains his base.)#
On Sunday I tweeted that librarians should run the web. I got a fair amount of snarky pushback on this. I didn't mean that you should run the web. I meant that the web should be run by people who are librarians. That the first questions they would ask would be questions librarians would ask. I've seen decisions made lately that took no account of the web as an archival medium. As a result, links to unknown amounts of the web broke that wouldn't have, if librarians ran the web. That's the thought behind that idea. The librarians I've known have been considerate, even loving people. I've written about that. Now I get that (of course) some are jerks. How could it be otherwise? Living is a process of having your ideals chipped away at. 🤷♂️#