On Giving a Damn About Code, Life, and Others
Not your usual articles and books on web development and engineering management, politics and philosophy.
On Respect and Gratitude in Open Source
How a project treats its contributors says more than its code. A note on the basics we’re skipping—and what it’s costing us.
#800 · · development, society
2026: 2 of the Global Top 200 Websites Use Valid HTML
Among websites, being part of the 1% is a good thing—the latest findings from the annual study about the most important and simultaneously most difficult language in the world.
#799 · · development, html, conformance
Stop Linking Terrorism With Religion
An atheist’s perspective on a war on Islam that’s being fed by Islamophobic rhetoric.
#798 · · politics, society, misc
HTML Minifier Next: Unused-CSS Removal, Improved Web Demo, and Greater Versatility, Security, and Performance
A few notes on the latest updates to HMN.
#797 · · tools, development, html, performance, optimization
The Trolley Problem but Difficult?
On the assumptions we’re making.
#796 · · philosophy
Website Optimization Measures, Part XXXIX
On maintaining and optimizing package.json files, Eleventy configs and performance, CSS declarations, redirects, GitHub Actions, Git configs, and GitHub and GitLab issue links.
#795 · · development, optimization
AI-Assisted Development Means Test-First Development
There may have never been a better time to embrace tests.
#794 · · development, ai
How to Kill Fascism
Fascism’s unifying idea also carries its death.
Ethics in Tech Publishing: On Human Rights and the Middle East
On tech publishers platforming individuals tied to military institutions under investigation for war crimes, implicating the wider developer community and normalizing atrocities.
#792 · · development, politics
5 Useful npx Helpers
Joy on the command line.
#791 · · development
Western Hypocrisy Is Western Supremacism
An argument against double standards, separation, and a hierarchy of worth.
#790 · · politics, philosophy
Maybe the “Webmaster” Isn’t Dead After All
On AI and an all-encompassing role in modern web development.
#789 · · development, ai
Sanctions Against Israel and the US—and an International Military Mission to End Israeli Colonization and Warmongering
Or, why the West needs help.
#788 · · politics
14 Tips for Working and Developing With AI
From guarding our professional expertise to rethinking processes, some advice for using LLMs effectively and responsibly.
#787 · · development, ai
Syntax Highlighting: No Extra HTML for Code Blocks via Custom Highlight API and syntaxp
Keeping it simple where it affects your code and your users.
#786 · · tools, development, html
HTML Minifier Next: JSON Schema, Cache Statistics, Default Config File
An update on the latest changes on the super-configurable web page minifier.
#785 · · tools, development, html, performance, optimization
CSS: Deduplicate and Speed Up Your Style Sheets With CSS Dedup
On an old CSS optimization technique that is non-trivial to automate but for which there’s a new tool.
#784 · · tools, development, css, maintainability, performance, optimization
Website Optimization Measures, Part XXXVIII
On indentation, repo architecture, Twitter/X support, llms.txt, email address escaping, GitHub workflows, Dependabot configs, and test triggers.
#783 · · development, optimization
AWAGAM: Easier Importing and Sharing of Blocklists With Bundles
Extending the TLD, domain, and URL blocker.
#782 · · tools, politics, misc
Israel, the United States, and Their European Clients vs. the European People
European leadership continues to back the violence against Palestinians (and other Muslim people), ignoring the clear and documented opposition of its own citizens.
#781 · · politics
Releasing Feed Ghost, a Dual-Purpose Web Tool to Access and Subscribe to Feeds via the Internet Archive
Are there RSS/Atom feeds of sources you mistrust but need to check or follow?
Anti-Pro-Palestine as Pro-Islamophobia, Pro-Racism, Pro-Genocide
On the weaponization of political discourse—and the necessity of enforcing values.
#779 · · politics
HTML Minifier Next 7 Is ESM-Only
The next major version of the super-configurable web page minifier is there.
#778 · · tools, development, html, performance, optimization
On the Two Sides and the Spectrum That Is Open Source Maintenance
Open-source bureaucracy shifts the burden of issue reporting from maintainers to users. A look at the maintenance spectrum—and the risks of asking too much.
#777 · · development, management
Beware the “First”
On zero-sum thinking and why “someone first” rhetoric destroys true leadership.
Releasing Middleman Alerter, a Chromium Extension to Warn About Third-Party Reverse Proxies
A mini-tool to make it transparent when another party can potentially access and correlate your online activity.
How to Provide a “Random Post” Feature With Eleventy and PHP
Try it out: webglossary.info/random.
#774 · · development
On the Twisted Logic of Labeling Criticism of Israel as “Anti-Semitism”
When defending human rights is framed as prejudice, the public conscience is backed into a corner.
#773 · · politics, philosophy
Websites Are Not Going to Die
AI search feels like a threat to the open Web, but the future of the Web does not depend on select large players.
Slavery
Chances are, we’re all enslaved, and accept our lot rather than reimagine how we could all live together on this planet.
#771 · · philosophy, politics, misc
Releasing hihtml, a Supertool for HTML Validation, Link-Checking, and Minification
What if you only needed one tool to handle all the key HTML optimization tasks?
#770 · · tools, development, html, conformance, quality, optimization
AI and HTML: Validating, Omitting Optional Code, and Minifying as Token Optimization
Producing valid, minimal, and minified HTML aren’t just frontend development best practices—they’re also a token optimization strategy. On HTML optimization coming with new incentives.
#769 · · development, html, conformance, ai, optimization
HTML.md
The briefest guidance for writing HTML.
#768 · · development, html, ai
Website Optimization Measures, Part XXXVII
Refinements in content, design, CSS, JS, and AI—as always, sourced from project maintenance for the possible benefit of yours.
#767 · · development, optimization
A Decent Person
Can we be, can we raise decent people if we cannot be against wars and genocides, if our governments prosecute being against wars and genocides?
#766 · · politics, philosophy
26 Tips to Become a Better Engineering Manager
Actionable tips for engineering leaders to foster trust, improve team performance, and manage the intricacies of the EM role.
#765 · · management
There Is No Elite Unless It Serves the People and the Environment
The word “elite” carries positive connotations that are hard to defend. A brief argument for what a true elite would look like.