In my quest to bring the features of Livejournal (and other proprietary social networks) to the open, public internet, I'm stuck on how to properly implements friend groups. Friend groups determine which users are allowed to see your more sensitive blog entries. I've pulled together a description of several alternative models, and I'd like some input.
Read full entry »People are getting pissed at SixApart for their stupid modifications to LiveJournal, apparently in the name of cracking down on child porn. (They're doing it wrong.) The problem is that people want to move away from LJ to a decentralized system (such as the way email and web hosting works), but blogging software does not yet generally support locked posts. (Locked posts are blog entries that only selected friends have permission to read.) I'm thinking that OpenID could help with this situation.
Sorry for the disjointed, skimpy post: I just want to get these ideas out there for discussion.
Read full entry »The existing comment-tracking systems that I know of just aren't enough. CoComment is buggy and fails to properly parse out comments for a number of blogs, and is missing a number of important features. (Float unread to top of list, for example, or track a URL without visiting it.) Co.mments.com has a much nicer interface and tracks better, but lacks a Firefox extension and some of the advanced features of CoComment.
Rather than simply whining about the lack of excellent trackers, I want to help the existing ones improve. Here I present most of algorithm to parse out comments from an unfamiliar blog template.
Read full entry »WordPress is nice, but some of the plugins I've installed really boost the user experience (and mine!) I thought I'd share what I've gathered.
Read full entry »DHS funds research targeting anonymity and blogs.
From Osama Bin Laden's livejournal:
Current Mood: emo
I hate living in this cave, and I think I'm gtting fat from not moving around. lol. By ALlah, I think I'll go bomb some infidels.
Seriously. Doesn't the DHS have something better to do, like strip-searching grannies at the airport?