Don’t depend on Threads to validate the Fediverse. That’s not what they’re doing. Some of the people working there have good hearts and mean well, but Meta is a huge company, competing with other huge companies, and the goals of the Fediverse do not show up in their roadmap.#I got a notice that Threads had deleted one of my posts because they said it violated their rules. They thought I was claiming to have written something I had not written. I didn't keep the notice (it popped up when I signed on). I shrugged it off when I got it, but then realized that we are very far away from the web. It has been turned into Disneyland where the cops are algorithms and they err on the side of stopping innocent things. I was just passing on a link to someone else's blog, something I thought an informed person would want to know about (that's the idea behind every link I share). We really do need to dig our way out of this hole, again. This is of course no better than Twitter or Facebook. Not a place to get work done. #
It's amazing that the million-plus Americans who died from Covid during Trump's tenure aren't even mentioned as a campaign issue. Maybe people don't want to be reminded of those dark days. #
- I'm continuing to develop on WordPress. I see the opportunity regardless of what else is going on. #
- I could be wrong, I have been before. I kept using Twitter for identity after Musk took over, even though as time went by it was increasingly obvious that developers weren't part of his plan. I've been there before, with Apple, after Jobs came back. We had a great developer community for the web on the Mac, better than anything on Windows or Unix, and the management before Jobs, Heidi Roizen advising Gil Amelio, seemed to value our contribution, even if we weren't prospering. But there was a moment when Jobs introduced the open source equivalent of some of our products -- and that basically spelled the end of our little adventure, since Apple was putting the spotlight on them and not us.#
- But it doesn't always go that way. I kept investing in the Mac in 1985, a very bad year for Apple, and in 1986 we had a huge hit, and because we were almost alone in sticking it out, we were rewarded with booming sales. Of course it mattered that MORE was a lovely product. But if no one looks, it doesn't matter how lovely it is! #
- Anyway, the WordPress world is huge. Far bigger than the blogosphere in the 90s and 00s. Maybe somehow the trouble with WordPress will mean that people who see WordPress as a writing platform will all leave now, or stop considering new ways of writing. But honestly I don't think that's very likely. I have a few sites at wordpress.com that are archives, that I pay for, that I will continue to pay for. My father's memorial site, for example. Things would have to get incomprehensibly bad for me to consider moving it and where exactly would I move it?#
- But on the other hand, there isn't anything else out there that's offering something new for the writers. I think I'm pretty much alone working in this area. And maybe people need some good news? #
- My new product is a medium size writing tool. Less than a full word processor and more than a tiny little text box. I think there are a lot of WordPress users who will like it. And I think there's a chance they might notice it. So I'm going all the way with this one. I may lose the bet, but wtf, let's give it a try.#
Last night the Mets were eliminated by the Dodgers playing in Los Angeles.#- And I don't know about you but I'm really happy with how the season turned out. I didn't think the Mets would make it through any of the hurdles, making the playoffs, and beating the Brewers and Phillies. That was amazing. And the energy of this team, their humor and inventiveness, professionalism and perseverance. The Mets of 2024 were a great team, and they give us something to look forward to in 2025. #
- People say Mets pitchers walked too many Dodgers, but the walks were a result of discipline on the part of the Dodgers hitters. Most pitchers throw a lot of crap, and the hitters swing at it. The Dodgers are more discerning. If the Mets pitchers had thrown strikes they would have hit home runs. It's another way of saying that the Dodgers, no matter how much we despise them, this year at least, were the better team.#
- And there is a silver lining. I wasn't sure I wanted the Mets to beat the Dodgers once we knew the team from the "other" league was going to be the Jankees. Last time the Mets played them in the World Series, they beat us in Shea Stadium and as a result we had to tear it down and start over. I don't think any of us wanted that, or even to risk having to tear down Citi Field. I don't like to be reminded that the Jankees even exist, much less be forced to watch them play. And honestly between the Dodgers and the other NY team, I want them both to lose. Is there any way to arrange that? I don't even want to know. #
- Anyway thanks to the Mets for being such a wonderful team, a constant inspiration. So onward. Next year. And now..#
- The Knicks begin their season tomorrow night in Boston against the Celtics.#