02/10/2017

The archive contains older posts which may no longer reflect my current views.

# I have the endoscopy for my throat later this afternoon and I'll admit to being a bit nervous about it. Not so much the results but the actual process itself.

I've read up on it but you're never entirely sure how it's going to go until you're there.

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# In other news, I got my invite for the Ulysses version 12 beta this morning and there is a nice raft of updates that should help placate those saying they're not seeing any value for their subscription.

# Well, I have to say that the thought of an endoscope being fed up your nostril is actually a lot worse than having it done. There was a little discomfort but much less than expected and it was all over surprisingly quickly.

The good news is that there's nothing serious but there is a weakness which is aggravated by illness and subsequent coughing. I'm literally not allowed to speak AT ALL for a week (my wife cheered) as I'm not using my throat correctly and this only serves to aggravate it further and cause even more coughing.

If there's no improvement then the specialist will arrange for vocal and speech therapy to strengthen everything and ensure my throat is being used properly.

Thanks to all for the best wishes.

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# It was ironic that the specialist said "from now on you can’t speak" and then later proceeded to ask me if I had any questions. ?‍♂️

Required reading?

Dave Winer posted:

"I wish blogs could have the concept of required reading for the people who read the site."

He uses it in the context of something external which he feels everyone should be aware of but, I feel, it could be anything.

I've used a similar concept for years to highlight "recommended" posts to those who probably haven't visited the current version of the blog. If you try to visit the old randomelements domain you will be redirected to the /welcome page.

With each iteration of the blog I have refreshed the Welcome page but then invariably forgotten about it, leaving it stale and no longer a true reflection of what I consider should be read.

Some posts remain evergreen but blogs are (or should be) constantly moving forward with ideas and opinions growing and morphing all the time.

I wish I did a better job of keeping it up to date - the same with the /now page - or what's the point in having it?

I think the problem is that I never see it and it's not obvious that it even exists. It's almost "set it and forget it" but that's completely the wrong approach.

There are times I wonder if more regular readers would like or benefit from such a page, properly curated, but the dilemma of how to bring it to people's attention then rears its ugly head.

The old "cookie and pop-up" method is obnoxious and more likely to make people click away but the quiet menu link is a bit anonymous.

Changing the context from recommended to required makes that even tougher. Required reading becomes an obligation, perhaps a bit heavy for a blog, but I can see where Dave is going with it.

Maybe a different approach is needed, one that isn't in your face but people know or expect to be there. The About page is a web wide convention, one is just expected to be there on a site. Now pages are starting to catch on and some will automatically check if domain/now exists when visiting a new site.

What if /required became such a convention? Not forced upon you but expected to be there should you want to go looking for it?

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