From Joel Spolsky, talking about the Gutenberg editor in WordPress and block editors in general:

This kind of “insert block” user interface concept is showing up in almost every blogging tool, web editor, note-taking app, and content management system. People like it and it makes sense. (Emphasis mine)

(Via Joel On Software)

I disagree with the bolded statement. Don’t take my word for it. Check out Reddit and other on-line communities where people are looking for alternatives.

Writing for me is about the content. Traditional typewriter-on-paper type interfaces like word processors provide are better for the flow of writing. I don’t want to have to think about “is this MP4 of an old song that has a static image of the artist and title an Audio block or a Video block” or “is this stream of consciousness I want to reference a quote or verse” or other meaningless distinctions.

Write. Edit. Repeat as necessary. Put in the supporting elements. Edit. Publish.

Powerpoint and block editors are about where things will go first. How big or small will they be? What kind of element (see above)? Oh, my writing is too big for where I want the text block to be. Let me move things around. Now I need to fix that the font size in block a is different than block c. Ohhh, now I need to make a change across all the blocks because I’m using a new template.

Ugh. Some people like the block editor metaphor, to be fair. I applaud them. It is not for me. Don’t say “people like it and it makes sense,” because some don’t like it and for them it does not make sense … I’m also talking to you, Automattic (makers of WordPress).

Once you truly accept the fictional chaos wrought by the alphabet, it’s hard to take a forceful stance against any other organizing principle. Books designed with the same color jackets are more likely to have things—themes, moods, genres—in common than books shoved together by their authors’ last names. Retellings? Coming of age stories? Books you read in college? Why not put them in clusters? Why not put a book by another book that it feels like, shelve Angela Carter where she can argue with the Grimms, leave Lev Grossman buddied up to C.S. Lewis, or put every book you read in middle school into its own shelf? (I keep being tempted to reshelve my books in the order in which I read them—a High Fidelity-esque notion that would probably end in tears and a large glass of whiskey.)

Your books are your books, and you get to decide what to do with them.

(Via Molly Templeton at Tor.com)

Mine are a roughly clumped collection of broad topics: container gardening, science fiction, philosophy, poetry, Japanese spas, thrift store finds I’ve yet to process, &c.

Nashville Public Library issues “I Read Banned Books” library cards:

They’re a “limited edition”, reports News Channel 5 out of Nashville, “available as long as supplies last.”

“Our job is just to ensure that if you want it, it’s here for you,” said Public Information Officer for the Nashville Public Library, Ed Brown.

“‘Maus’ is all checked out right now,” said Brown. “So we got more copies on order but as soon as word got around about what happened in McMinn County, we got a lot of holds.”

What a fantastic design! They should release it under a Creative Commons license—I couldn’t find any licensing information for it.

Uhhh … yes, please & @chattlibrary please do something similar!

A few months ago, Elon Musk offered a teenager $5,000 to delete his Twitter bot called “Tracking Elon Musk’s Private Jet,” which reports on the comings and goings of his private jet. The teen refused. 

Now that Musk owns Twitter, he has the ability to delete it. But the kid has set up the bot on many other social media services. Even with his vast wealth, Musk can’t buy all of them.

(Via Mark Frauenfelder at BoInGbOiNg)