Category: Weblogging

Categories
Weblogging

RSS, XML, and Namespaces—oh my!

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

Dave writes that the use of namespaces is fundamentally flawed because the hasty introduction of namespaces into RSS 2.0 generated problems with several aggregators:

If this is true, we can’t design using namespaces until:

1. All the parsers are fixed, or

2. Users/content providers expect and accept this kind of breakage (I don’t want to be the one delivering that bit of bad news, got burned not only by the users, but by developers too, people generally don’t know about this problem, or if they do know are not being responsible with the info).

Anyway it looks to me like there’s a big problem in the strategy of formats that intend to organize around namespaces.

Sam Ruby writes:

I therefore must change my opinion. Where I previously thought that RSS 2.0 suffered from a simple omission, now I must consider RSS 2.0 fundamentally busted.

My oh my oh my oh my.

Dave, saying that the problem you experienced with the hasty rollout of RSS 2.0 is because namespace implementation in XML is flawed, is about the same as me saying that MySQL and PHP aren’t working correctly on my system because the theories behind relational databases and web application script engines are fundamentally flawed.

Damn PHP and MySql for mucking up my system, anyway. Bad boys.

Update: I think Dave’s essay was deliberate bait. I think he was having fun with us when he wrote it: pulling our legs, yanking our chains, getting a rise out of our choleric reactions. Why, if he really believes in what he wrote, I’ll eat Jonathon’s hat.

Update Two: Lovely posting on this by I. M. Orchard. More fodder over at Ben’s. Now, ‘scuse me, I have to find work to do.

Categories
Weblogging

The hunt for the wild MT Documenters

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

Jonathon Delacour and Allan Moult have started their Movable Type Documentation posts. If ThreadNeedle had existed, this tool would be perfect for tracking their work, as well as ancillary writing and posts related to their generous efforts. I know it’s only a matter of time before others also post their own tips and experiences, and ThreadNeedle could have pulled this all together into one lovely package.

However, ThreadNeedle, the tool, does not exist, for which I must bow my head with shame. (Well, not really with shame; more of a slight nod of consternation –a bot mot of “Oh well, it didn’t get done and loss of techie karma points to me”.) Therefore, I have no other option: I am become ThreadNeedle.

(Don’t sue me for that ‘become’, Ryan.)

I have created a new weblog, The Hunt for the Wild MT Documenters specifically for tracking Jonathon’s, Allan’s, and other’s efforts related to User-originated Movable Type Documentation.

Why have I done this? Well, one reason is as I stated — there is no ThreadNeedle tool, so I am become ThreadNeedle personified. However, a second reason is that I’m blatantly crashing Jonathon and Allan’s party. The wonderous thing about the Internet in general and weblogging specifically is that you can’t keep out the riff raff out no matter what you do. And baby, I can be the worst form of riff raff.

So join me at the new weblog, The Hunt for the Wild MT Weblogger, as we spy on the elusive and wiley MT Documenters going about their every day life. The first installment, The Hunt’s Afoot, and the second, First Sighting have already been posted.

MT Documenters: Serve with capers and a fine red wine, and in the company of someone you love.

Categories
Weblogging

Becoming a dead bore

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

Well, I’ve become such a dead bore, lately. Either writing on technology, or other stuff that lacks zip and zing.

I should be writing about Chris Locke rising from the dead in his manic phase. Hey Chris, if you want to know about Krakens, holler, I have a story for you. Gary Turner has gone soft, warm, orange in his new weblog design, and Allan Moult, Jonathon Delacour, and Loren Webster are all out experiencing the joys of Movable Type on Unix. They’re having fun.

And others are out and about having fun. I should stop being a dead bore and start having fun.

Categories
Technology Weblogging

Consumer rights and RSS

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

Yesterday was a disappointing technology day. I had hoped to use the position of devil’s advocate at the RSS-Dev group to see if we couldn’t get a firmer definition of what the group sees as its future direction, strategy, as well as specific reasons for use of RDF. I continue to see confusion reign as to a) what the group sees as its purpose, and b) what the group sees as its direction.

Last week, I found I was having a hard time justifying the use of RDF for throwaway syndication feeds. I’ve always felt that if you can’t easily justify something, or provide a solid argument in support, either you don’t understand the need, or there isn’t a need — one or the other. At this point, I couldn’t continue to support RDF for throwaways.

Phil found out in the last two weeks of very hard effort that sometimes RDF just doesn’t work for a specific application. Doesn’t mean RDF is ‘bad’ — I use it for 3 applications at my web sites and it’s wonderful stuff. But RDF isn’t a replacement for XML. Sometimes XML works better. Sometimes plain text works better. If we start developing an attitude of “It’s on the web, so let’s put it into RDF”, we’re guilty of using the right technology for the wrong task, which doesn’t benefit anyone.

Now, I can support RDF for a different type of business, such as persistently documenting each weblog or news item posting, using something that is Dublin Core like, but geared more towards the document sub-unit business. This then could be used for traditional syndication/aggregation, but would primarily be used to literally document our content — for searches, for identification, for whatever. And I tried to get the RSS-Dev group to bite off on this as a possible direction, but in the end I was left with “we’re syndication/aggregation”, or in another case, “we’re RSS and the purpose of this group isn’t justification but tools development”.

Making a long story short: though I respect many of the individuals involved with RSS 1.0, their effort and hard work and intelligence and capability as well as energy, I can’t continue to support RSS 1.0 or RSS-Dev. Not with this current level of confusion about what the group sees as its purpose.

Unfortunately, not supporting RSS 1.0 is seen as giving victory to Dave Winer at Userland, by forcing us into choosing an RSS 0.9x/RSS 2.0 path. However, I still don’t approve of Dave’s approach to implementing RSS and his unwillingness to give up ownership of it. I can respect Dave’s contribution, and his hard work and effort, and his intelligence and capability, but I can’t support a supposedly ‘open’ spec that’s controlled by one company.

Ultimately, supporting either specification means, to me, continuing to support this competition between the groups, competition which threatens to Never…Go…Away, as can be seen in the comments to Phil’s posting.

Sometimes, when I read these types of comments, I feel as if you and I don’t matter at all; that you and I are nothing more than scraps of meat being fought over by two junk yard dogs. Well, this just peeves me. So, I’m taking the route that’s been available to consumers since the beginning of time: I’m not buying.

I’m not buying into RSS 0.9x. I’m not buying into RSS 2.0. I’m not buying into RSS 1.0.

I changed my RSS 0.91 and RSS 1.0 templates to read the following:

 

RSS not supported here

This weblog does not support RSS 0.9x, RSS 2.0, or RSS 1.0. If you wish to view entries, may I suggest that you visit the weblog, and save your fast skimming for the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

 

My weblog. My web sites. My choice.

Categories
Weblogging

Switching comments

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

I’m updating my PHP system, which is breaking dotcomments. So, I’m in the process of converting comments over to Movable Type. Until I’m finished, you won’t be able to post new comments.

Update: The comments system has now been converted over to Movable Type comments. You’ll have to check out the styles of the comments in both the main page and on the individual pages. Let me know if they don’t display well in your OS and with your browser.

I also listened to the discussion about calendars and I was so inspired, I removed my calendar from the main page without a second thought. Jonathon, you’re such a trendsetter, a weblogging stylist head of the pack. Alpha Designer.

You can still access previous postings through the monthly or category archives, though I only see the category archives used. Perhaps the next step is to remove the monthly archives and add in searching.

Now, on to muck up my PHP environment to add namespace parsing of XML.