Rach Smith's Notes & Nuggets

My own little patch

note : meta Added May 22, 2024

I don't know if you've tried to use websites lately, but it's largely a mess out there.

It feels like things have descended in to a complete shitshow1 and are only getting worse. I know for some comrades, fellow developers who love websites and care about making good websites, this is too heartbreaking to bear. They consider giving up this vocation, because striving so hard to make a difference and feeling like you are achieving nothing is literally the path to burnout.

I understand that perspective, but for me, I almost feel the opposite.

If the web is now a metaphorical barren wasteland, pillaged by commercial interests and growth-at-all-costs management consultants, then I'm all the more motivated to keep my little patch of land lush, and green, and filled with rainbow flowers.

So, feel free to stop by any time and stay as long as you like. I won't track you, make you look at ads, ask you to download my app, harass you with popups, suggest you sign up for my newsletter or push you through a sales funnel. Enjoy the garden, and the peace 💐.

Footnotes

  1. This note may have been inspired in-part by the experience of using Microsoft/Minecraft's various "websites" to unlock a single permission for my kid's account. A horrendous hour of my life that I'll never get back. ↩︎

Thanks for reading! If you'd like to share your thoughts you can reply by email or hit me up on Mastodon or Bluesky.

Comments

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  • Alex P

    I share the same disgust _ Your little patch is a welcome oasis on this bland sprawl of a web. And YAY to colors!

  • Mike Hessling

    This is a great little site; I love it.

  • Dan Q

    A barren wasteland is an invitation to plant and tend a garden.

    Let's help the next generation of gardeners.

  • Sebastian Herrmann

    I feel similarly (about the depressing state of most major websites/webapps and it being a call for us developers and designers to create a counter-balance)! Your thoughts and your garden are highly appreciated, Rach! Thanks for this lovely contribution to the internet.

  • Richard

    So happy it only took you an hour! I remember this kind of ordeal taking ages. My son tells me it’s how he got into Steam - not the games but the massive ‘sign-in’ maze of Microsoft. Not so happy to hear it’s still terrible

  • Devpapa

    Thank you for the colorful cursor trails.

  • Gil

    I return to this green patch quite often thanks to RSS.

    🌿🌱🌳