# Closed Registration for a Small Web

I have been running a web service, flounder.online, with a relatively small active user base, since 2020. I remain happy with it, and administering it takes up a relatively small amount of my time. One reason I am able to sustainably run it, despite having a lot of other obligations and a relatively demanding full-time job, is that I keep its scale…
# In praise of git-request-pull

I'm a big enemy of Github monoculture, but I feel like many of the alternatives for project collaboration and communication are somewhat lacking. Using services like Gitea[0] or Gitlab[1] provide a familiar Github-like experience, but inherit a lot of its downsides, including requiring account creation to submit patches and being enormously complex pieces…
# Thoughts on self-hosting

I'm a big fan of self-hosted services, and self-host a number of applications, several of which I made myself[0]. However, in my view, there are a problems with a lot of self-hosted software. These tools mimic the design of large, corporate software. Sure, you can self-host discourse, mastodon, gitlab, nextcloud, and so on, and some people have a good experience…
# Monthly Update: November 2021

Writing this a bit early, as I'm traveling for Thanksgiving and won't be bringing my laptop.

### Flounder
I worked more on Flounder this month than I have in a while. There weren't many new features, however, I
* Added a finger server (add to .plan)
* Fixed a few outstanding bugs
* Improved site performance

If I keep…
# Gemini and Desire
A common refrain I hear from Gemini skeptics is 'Gemini is nice, but, I wish it had [x feature].' The problem is, no one can agree with X is. For some people, it's in-line text styling or links. For others, inline media. Or more extensive header options, or optional TLS, and so on. I have my own set of features that I wish Gemini has. However, I think appreciating Gemini…
# Monthly Update: October 2021

I've been thinking of ways to better broadcast what I've been working on. I've seen others write a 'monthly update', and I decided to adopt the practice.

I've added a new section on my site:
=> /tech/

In this, you'll find a finger-based content aggregation protocol I put together
=> /tech/pinky.gmi

A new list I started with…
# Regularly delete old mastodon posts with this script

Twitter expects that your tweets form a permanent record. I am not a fan of this feature, and I don’t really like how Mastodon included it. Microblogging, to me, is about ephemeral, offhand thoughts, and I’d like to delete them automatically after a certain point. 

I put together a simple script that does this, written in Go,…
# Great Wall is unquestionably the worst Magic: the Gathering card

The Great Wall of China is the longest wall in the world, a monumental testament to human engineering and a national symbol of China. Magic: the Gathering's Great Wall is none of those things.

=> https://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=1615&type=card A not-so-great wall

Great Wall…
# Gemini is Useless

Translations:
=> gemini://cuates.net/elmau/blog/2021-06-13-gemini-no-sirve-para-nada.gmi español
=> //schmittstefan.flounder.online/Gemini_ist_nutzlos.gmi deutsch
=> //sawarka.flounder.online/translations/gemini-is-useless-ru.gmi русский
=> gemini://botond.online/hu/gemlog/2021-11-11-a-gemini-nem-jo-semmire.gmi hungarian

Background:
=>…
# Building Flounder

I think that a lot of the way people build web apps apps days is derived from how massive companies or startups build web services. I want to propose an alternative approach that is extremely simple, and more appropriate for someone working in their free time.

* Programming language: Go 
* Database: SQLite
* Frontend: HTML templates, CSS, very small…
# Gummo 2

(General content warning)

Gummo was a 1997 film directed by Harmony Korine, released when he was age 24. It was his second film, taking place in Xenia, Ohio, but filmed in Kentucky. It captured a Midwestern alienation that I understood, at least somewhat, growing up in Missouri and going to college in a small northwestern Missouri town. The…