Archive - Apr 6, 2018

Nomention

There was a recent scenario where I linked to a conversation on micro.blog but, as well as my post being fed through as normal, the generated webmention was interpreted as a reply meaning the full post content showed as a separate response in the conversation.

Micro.blog doesn't make the distinction between webmention types so I wondered about editing the webmention plugin for WordPress by adding class="nomention" or rel="nomention" to a link so that it isn't processed along similar lines to rel="nofollow".

Unknown to me at the time, Chris Aldrich had also recently proposed rel="nomention" but I personally prefer using class as I can easily add this in Drafts using multi-markdown which is supported by WordPress via JetPack:

[Link text](http://link.here) {.nomention}

Matthias Pfefferle (the plugin author) suggested building a blacklist feature so named domains could be excluded but I wouldn't necessarily want this to be the case, having it more at the individual link level so as not to completely preclude sending webmentions to particular sites.

The webmention plugin for WordPress uses the function wp_extract_urls() to grab all links from the post content so I thought about replacing this, finding all link tags instead then, for each that doesn't include nomention, get the url. The initial code looks like this:

preg_match_all('/]+>/i',$post->post_content, $results); 

$mentions = '';
foreach ($results[0] as $link) {
  if (strpos($link, 'nomention')) {
    $mentions .= $link;
  }
}

$links = wp_extract_urls($mentions);

It may be preferable to check the full class="nomention" just in case the url includes “nomention” - you never know.

While this works, as pointed out, there are some issues with it in its current form. Firstly, it only deals with <a> tags so ignores images, videos, etc. but it could be extended for multiple tags:

(]+>|]+>|...)

A more pressing issue, however, is that most people do not, and will not, manually edit the HTML in their posts, especially with the release of the WordPress Gutenberg editor on the horizon. As such, the application of the relevant flag would need to be via an option in the UI. This could be easily achieved at the post level (a "do not send webmentions for this post" checkbox) but not so at the link level.

The question also arises as to whether something like micro.blog should better handle webmention types rather than automatically making everything a reply. As Chris suggests, however, there could be other scenarios where not sending a webmention is preferred.

This is likely an extreme edge case (at least I'm not the only one who's considered it) but I thought it worth discussion even if dismissed.

The implementation works for me and my posting workflow so I'll keep it, even though it will mean manually editing the plugin each time it is updated.

# Liked: Searching for meaning in life? The Japanese concept of ikigai can help you find it | Big Think...

"The idea is not only to find your purpose but the proper balance between all aspects surrounding it. Another consideration, one’s ikigai doesn’t affect the individual alone. "For the Japanese, the concept has a social element. It’s about getting comfortable with your role in your family, job, and society."

The Japanese concept of ikigai (iki means life, gai means value or worth) is interesting and hints at something that often seems to be lacking in Western society. It's not just the sense of purpose but how that fits with those around you and society as a whole rather than the "what's in it for me" attitude.

Via Ann Althouse.

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# I don't know what but something has just clicked this week. It's been busy but I've gotten back in the blogging groove again, happy with what I've been writing and how I've been approaching things.

Also, interestingly, I've gone against the grain of trying to streamline and simplify things on my phone (even if only a little) and installed apps rather than removing them.

It started with my wife's iPhone 8 Plus not charging properly, either by cable or wirelessly, meaning it has to be sent for repair under insurance with our carrier. This means she'll be without it for a few weeks and needed something to use in the meantime.

As our old phones are being used by other family members we had to opt for buying a cheap Android device¹ which will handy to keep as a household spare in the event of any other issues.

No iPhone means no iMessage so we moved our family group to Telegram meaning I had to install it.

I then decided to reinstall Halide and Darkroom having previously removed them as I wasn't taking many pictures. Taking and editing RAW photos, however, intrigues me and I want to spend some time getting to grips with it.

she’s gotten used to it after installing various apps and a launcher to give things like unread icon badges and wake on notification to make it a little more iPhone-like ↩

# It's interesting to see Vero as app of the day. A bit of a dig at Facebook after the Zuck/Tim Cook comments perhaps?

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hjertnes says:

@colinwalker I'm beyond social networking

Colin Walker says:

The social web not social networks.

hjertnes says:

@colinwalker no social monolithic networks like Facebook and Twitter

smokey says:

@colinwalker

The social web not social networks.

I really like that.

vasta says:

@colinwalker Yes! I love that “social web not social networks” framing.

colinwalker says:

@vasta I’m trying to get some thoughts together for a post - it’s something I’ve written about for years but think I need to update.

vasta says:

@colinwalker The addition of tools like m.b to the social web toolbox probably makes it even more salient now. Can’t wait to read your thoughts.

Colin Walker says:

Something I've written about a lot over the years is the social web. The context and scope of what that entails has changed sometimes but when I think of it now I know exactly what I'm referring to. Still, after my recent comment, I wanted to really get my thoughts together. When we hear the word social we invariably follow it with media or network - the pervasiveness of Twitter and Facebook et al. has co-opted the word in 21st century parlance. Such is their power. What is social? Social /’sōSHəl/adjective

of or relating to society or its organization. needing companionship and therefore best suited to living in communities. Four and a half years ago I came up with:

"Social is a series of shared experiences."

Shared experiences can happen anywhere - online, offline, a social network, the comments on an article, a forum, a football stadium, discussing last night's TV on your lunch break. The point is that social is so much bigger than social networks, even if Facebook does have over two billion active users. It's not quantity that's important, it's not reach nor influence. No, it's the quality of the connection itself that's key. It's the relationship that is built between individuals rather than the metrics games of followers, likes and retweets. Numbers mean nothing if they are empty. The social web encompasses so much more than a timeline, it is any means to interact and engage with someone else via the internet. Any way that we can mention someone, get a message across, talk to them and discuss - this is the social web. Email, blogs, forums, anywhere that allows comments or replies, anyone who responds to something and links back to the original piece, it is those connections that matter. Cal Newport described the difference between the social internet and social media as follows:

"The social internet describes the general ways in which the global communication network and open protocols known as “the internet” enable good things like connecting people, spreading information, and supporting expression and activism. "Social media, by contrast, describes the attempt to privatize these capabilities by large companies within the newly emerged algorithmic attention economy, a particularly virulent strain of the attention sector that leverages personal data and sophisticated algorithms to ruthlessly siphon users’ cognitive capital."

I've always used web rather than internet but it's the same thing. Yes, social media is a part of the social web - it used to supplement it perfectly - but it has become increasingly closed, increasingly profit driven, for the benefit of the networks rather than those who use them. And we went along with it. The social web shrank because people and businesses abandoned their own properties, closed comments, posted on the social networks to once again reach those that no longer visited. How many times have we heard "go where your audience is" as an online strategy. For an offline equivalent consider how many rural communities are dying as successive generations abandon them and flee to the cities in search of work and a "better" life. Then the transport links to those communities suffer as is it not economically viable to run regular services, further isolating those that remain. The same thing happened to the social web. The networks grew in size and scope meaning you almost never had to leave. Everything you ever needed was a few clicks away, held within the walls of these great cities. Personal websites sat idle like the empty second homes of those who holiday in the country a couple of times a year. Convenience is a powerful motivator even if there is a cost. Recently, however, there is a growing dissatisfaction with the networks and some seek a return to the social web, to their own sites and ways to connect them with those of others. They look to move back to those rural communities and re-establish those links but in better, more efficient ways than before. Cal talks of "social protocols" whereby people can "create and own a digital identity" and for those "digital identities to agree to establish a descriptive social link" such that we know who we are dealing with and can trust those interactions. The Indieweb sees the domain as this identity. He is right - "there are few serious technical obstacles to implementing these protocols" but there are major cultural obstacles and the unwillingness of the networks to cede even the slightest control of the data housed within their walls. Whatever form these new social protocols ultimately take, their use must at least match the convenience of the networks or the social web could be lost forever.

# That moment when you've been concentrating and realise you've had your headphones on but nothing playing for the better part of 20 minutes. That's a good thing, right?

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# The reason I was concentrating? At the bottom of single post pages is a link to go "back to the day" the post was published.

I realised that for posts from "today" the link went to the day archive for today's date rather than the /Today page. It's a small detail but one that would annoy me until I changed it.

So I did.

06/04/2018

Nomention

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