Very True Things

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-09-05

2010-09-05T11:00:00Z

Okay so http://twitter.com/very_true_thing/status/22819322333 included the comment subject and a link. What if the… http://j.mp/abvXkb #
Let's test this cross-posting nonsense http://j.mp/9VVGIA #
Payback time – next door has got builders banging about. Oh well, she had to put up with the similar racket we made recently. #fb #

All your comments belong to ????

2010-09-01T21:34:06Z

Latest storm in a teacup over at LiveJournal is worth a few notes.

Much of the functionality in the latest release is good or at least inoffensive (pingbacks, cross-post posts to Twitter and Facebook, add Facebook Connect alongside OpenID for non-LJ users to log in and post comments). But one item, the ability to cross-post comments to Facebook and Twitter has caused a bit of a fuss (understatement, this is LiveJournal so toys have been ejected from perambulators with great vigour).

It seems like a dumb idea, badly implemented.

Context
Why cross-post a comment out of context from the post it is commenting on (and indeed out of context of an any comments it may be in reply to, LJ having a decent threading system for comments unlike some other blogging systems)? It seems pointless.
Privacy
The fact that the choice to cross-post is entirely at the hands of the commenter and ignores the privacy settings of the original post has caused the biggest fuss and rightly so. If someone posts a friends only post to their blog, then should their friends be able to share their (out of context) comments on that post with everyone on Twitter or Facebook? Well, at least you’ll find out who your real friends aren’t…
Poor User Interface
The positioning of the checkboxes for cross-posting between the comments field and the comments submit button is likely to lead to accidents. And considering the context and privacy issues such accidents will be at best nonsensical and at worst deeply intrusive.

I would never have gotten beyond the context issue if someone had brought this up in a brain storm with me. The sheer pointlessness of this function means it should never have been developed, and now that people have expressed almost entirely unfavourable opinions because of the privacy and UI issues, should mean that it gets removed rather than “fixed”.

I hope that the cross-posting of comments, and only the cross-posting of comments, is removed soon, as it threatens to overshadow the other features in this release which offer useful functionality that can enrich the LiveJournal experience for users who use it as a general blogging platform rather than a private, anonymous, slash-fiction, walled garden.

BTW, this post was created in the WordPress blog on my personal site; cross-posted to LiveJournal; syndicated via RSS; a notification tweeted; and Facebook notes will pick it up from the RSS in a couple of days. Your comments and replies will only appear in the place they were made however, unless you use (on purpose or by accident) this misguided feature on the LiveJournal version of this site.

Very True Mood: contemplative

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-08-22

2010-08-22T14:28:39Z

First beer spillage in the new house. Now it feels like home! I knew there was a reason to get IPA coloured carpets. #fb #
There's a crowd (swarm?) of beekeepers gathering outside the office. #fb #
Had enough. Can I go home now please? #fb #
Thank you @thameswater, mystery solved. #
60% of my "missed" calls are from the same recruitment agency. Persistent but not very quick on the uptake. #fb #
Bloody hell. Just stumbled across @edie (http://www.edie.net/) on Twitter. That takes me back. #wickedweb #fb #
So @thameswater sent me a final demand for a bill they claim to have sent on 14 July. But I only gave them my details on the 22nd. ???? #
Possibly, no probably, the worst thing I've seen on telly for a long while. #Vexed #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-08-15

2010-08-17T10:28:34Z

Reached that point where I need to make it more-or-less look right in IE6. Wish I could go hardboiled like @malarkey but not this time #

Google Gordouli

2010-08-12T17:06:14Z

Checking out the Broad Street colleges on Google Maps and I saw something interesting.

Good: Balliol is shown with an appropriate higher education icon, whilst Trinity is shown with an appropriate primary school icon.

Bad: Trinity seems to be located in the middle of Balliol’s front quad.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-08-08

2010-08-11T20:38:54Z

I've just been followed down the road by Batman. And Spider-man, And a pirate. Oh, and the Pope. #fb #
Switch computer on for first time in new home. 4 wireless networks found. 0 unsecured. #fb #
Living in one room. Rest of house resembles a building site. Grumpy levels at 10. Was it all worth it? I think so but time will tell. #fb #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-08-01

2010-08-11T20:39:01Z

Packed. Just about. Need to seal and label some boxes. Empty the fridge. Disconnect the washing machine. Oh and sort out the computer… #fb #
whimper #
2002 price list from a miniatures company I can't even recall? Balliol Annual Record 1992-2010? Both gone in the recycling. #oddbedfellows #
Packing. Hmm. Books >>>> Boxes. Problem. #fb #
Only moving ~6 miles to the next borough. But the recycling rules are completely different. What's that all about? #fb #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-07-25

2010-08-11T20:39:08Z

Gas, Electricity, Water, Council Tax all sorted. Letting agent inspected old flat. Removal firm confirmed and paid. Getting there… #fb #
… It seems that Virgin Media are the only cable company to cover the area. Any opinions on them? #
… which sucks, so getting Internet via cable seems sensible. Which logically means getting TV via cable as well … #
There's a phone line and cable and a satellite dish. None of which are active. There's no aerial. Max broadband speed in the area is 5Mb … #
Bitter Shandy – the taste of summer #fb #
Moving firm gave us 10 small + 10 large boxes. "Most" of the DVDs fill one small box. And we have 10x more books than DVDs. Hmmmm… #fb #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-07-18

2010-08-11T20:39:15Z

How long before I get used to the new BBC News web site? Logically I can see things that are better but emotionally – "Change! Waaaah!" #fb #
Carpet on top of laminate flooring on top of hardboard on top of the floorboards. WTF? All needs to come up to get at the wiring. Sigh #fb #
So, to let the electrician into the new house at 7:30am tomorrow. I need to be awake and leaving the old house at WTF o'clock! #
House. Completed. Have keys. Have quote for rewiring. Have date for moving. Lots of cleaning to do. Timescales tight. Knackered. Happy. #fb #
I'm in ur CSS, over riding ur selectors !important is serius biznis #
This is some very ugly CSS. I'm deep into specificity conflicts between the 10 stylesheets that someone else saw fit to include in the page. #
OFFS. The words "work" and "home" really trigger the spam bots don't they? #
Once every 2-3 months I need to do proper graphics work at home. Is that enough to justify the cost of Photoshop? 'cos I'm hating GIMP. #fb #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-07-11

2010-08-11T20:39:21Z

VLAD lives! #