I recently made the case that Make what you need might be all wrong for the IndieWeb’s future and then theAdhocracy and made some strong counterpoints. I’d like to explore those counterpoints.

Just solve the problem

Make what you need can be stressed as make what you need. Just solve the problem or requirement you have and nothing more.

don’t try to make an all-singing, all-dancing tool that aims to do everything for everyone: solve the problem you have.

https://indieweb.social/@theadhocracy/115000006937409982

That’s totally fair. A good thing that does the one task is better than an okay thing that does what you need and a bunch of stuff you could live without.

A little Darwinism in the code space is a good thing

Survival of the best solutions in a space is almost certainly good for all of us. Indeed, as theAdhocracy points out, even more competition and services would be a good thing.

The community is, after all, working towards that.

I honestly had not considered this point at all. Sure, we might get a bunch of square wheels, but we will also get rounder wheels and even some good suspension and tires.

I still have doubts about WebMention spam

I’ve never seen it, but have encountered people claiming that WebMention spam was the cause for them giving up on the idea. I still suspect this was due to a weak implementation that might not have taken the “confirm link” step. I can’t know that for sure, but it is still my guess.

Conclusion

The comments from theAdhocracy contained a lot of truth and were a kind and gentle correction to my not-fully-informed opinion.

Perhaps “Make what you need” is not such a bad idea after all.

What I do know for certain is that I was on the receiving end of a great rebuttal. Something that hurts the ego a little but causes growth, increased understanding, and exposure to new ideas. I have benefited from the new ideas I encountered today.

I’m a huge fan of WebMention. You might have noticed how often I go on and on and on about it. WebMEntion is the future of interactive communication. Or, at least, I think so.

As I have sort of made a huge fuss about how rolling your own might not be a good idea, I have compiled all of the WebMention implementations that are ready to use.

First up, the WebMention protocol specs.

PHP

• WordPress – Plugin By Matthias Pfefferle
• Laravel – Webmentions client for getting mentions from webmention.io
• ProcessWire – Webmention Module
• Drupal – Linkback (unclear to me if functional)
• Drupal – Vinculum (unclear to me if functional)
• Elgg – Elgg WebMentions
• NucelusCMS – Webmention Nucleus Plugin (in search of new maintainer)
• Craft CMS – Craft Webmention Client Plugin (abandoned)
• Craft CMS – Webmention for Craft CMS
• Kirby – Kirby Webmentions Plugin
• Library – PEAR2 Services_Linkback
• Library – sending pings
• Library – phpish/webmention
• Library – webmentions-parser parse mentions from HTML
• Library – Webmention Endpoint Discovery
• Library – Apiary Webmention Support
• Library/Parser – link-rel-parser-php (can handle WebMention endpoint discovery so I am told)
• Library/Parser – phpish/link_header – can parse headers to find endpoints
• Code – Minimum viable webmention in PHP

Javascript

• webmention.app – github
• Gatsby – Gatsby Plugin Webmention
• Library – rendering mentions from webmention.io
• Node.js helper – An API of helper functions for consuming webmentions (inactive)

Rust

• Cargo – webmention

Go

• Library – for sending mentions

Ruby

• Gem – webmention-client-ruby

Python

• Library – public domain – webmention 0.0.4
• Code – Send a mention in 10 lines of code
• Library – webmention-tools
• Library – ronkyuu
• Lirary – WENT – went stands for webmention endpoint tools.
• Library/Tool – Pushl

Elixir

• Module – A Webmention module for Elixir.

Third party

• webmention.io

Eleventy

• Guide – An In-Depth Tutorial of Webmentions + Eleventy (webmention.io)

Did I get them all?

I searched a number of places and examined a bunch of other people’s lists. So, at the very least, I think I must have found the lion’s share. If I missed a library, some code, or a plugin – especially if the language is not listed – please don’t hesitate to reply, comment, or webmention (the classy way) to let me know.

I will update with any I missed, or even release a new edition if this list changes that much.

Is there a WebMention plugin or library for your favourite content platform?

This post is an example of “blog your homework”, the idea that when you research something, you should write about it. I’ve been looking at making blogs and indie personal websites nice and readable.

Why am I writing this?

This all started a few days ago when I realised how hard this blog was to read. I updated my CSS for larger font sizing. According to one source, 20px font sits nicely in the overlap for good readability on desktop and mobile. Thus, I went with size 20px.

Am I qualified to write this?

No, not remotely. That’s why I am writing this as a homework notebook. Expect lots of links and cited sources. After all, you should not take what I say on faith. You should trust but verify. Or distrust and verify. Whichever works for you.

Legibility vs Readability

Alyssa Clarke has 12 Typography Guidelines For Good Website Usability for Usability Geek. One of her points is that there is a distinct difference between legible and readable. My old website design was legible – you could perceive all the words, but, with its long word-to-line ratio, it was not so readable.

With websites, we should aim for readable, not just legible.

Be aware of ideal line lengths

There is an optimal line length. I tend to think of it as “roughly 12 words”, but there is some far more accurate guidance out there.

The ideal line length for readable text is 50–75 characters per line (CPL), with 66 CPL being the sweet spot. This range helps reduce eye strain, improves comprehension, and ensures a smooth reading experience. Lines that are too long or too short disrupt reading flow, making content harder to follow.

Optimal Line Length for Readability, Andrew Martin, uxpin.com

Filippos Protogeridis cites research from the Baymard Institute, The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web, as well as the book Typographie by E. Ruder. for giving 50-75 characters per line on desktops, and 30-50 CPL on mobile. There is a single goodish-for-both value of 50 CPL. Although one might want to do mobile-first responsive design and optimise hard for each screen size.

Yet when text is difficult to read due to the length of the lines, users are much less willing to engage with the text, or struggle to read efficiently.

Readability: The Optimal Line Length, Edward Scott (Research Lead), Baymard Institiute

Do better writing

Marieke van de Rakt, writing for Yoast in “5 tips for writing readable blog posts“, suggests short sentences, clear paragraphs, and more transition words.

I can testify that some blogs and indie sites are easier to read because they were written by someone who has a lot of practice writing. I have a few hacky tips that can make your writing seem easier to read.

• After three sentences strongly consider a new paragraph
• Use a few one-sentence paragraphs.
• Throw in the odd one-word sentence.
• Any time you write “and” or place a comma, ask yourself if you could replace it with a full stop.
• Read it out loud before you publish.

Anyone who feels they know what they are doing should ignore these rules. They are nothing more than training wheels.

Use headings based on hierarchy, says Yale University

Yale says, not only should you use headings you should also avoid using bold and mark up as actual headings. This makes it easier for idiots like me to keep place in the post, scan for the bit that interests me, refer back to that one nice bit I want to cite but have to reread the whole thing for because now I can’t find it.

More than that, actual header tags are good SEO and most importantly, good for visitors that need special tools to help them read and enjoy your content.

Better writing tips from Yale include:

• Write at a high school grade level,
• Limit paragraphs to around ~80 words if possible
• Avoid jargon and difficult language where possible

My own advice for engaging idiots like me

Pictures!

No, seriously, images relevant to the article (like diagrams and infographics) help people like me to stay engaged. Sometimes a funny meme that reinforces a point or a decorative image that looks nice with the content can help my easily distracted brain stay on task for reading your lovely and informative words.

Font choice matters

On the A11y Collective blog, Andrée Lange addresses the problems with poor font choice in “How to Pick the Perfect Font Size: A Guide to WCAG Accessibility”.

Choosing a font size that’s too small or too large can decrease readability, especially for users who may be experiencing conditions such as myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism. This could make it harder for them to absorb your web content and navigate your site, leading to many unwanted consequences, such as poor user experience, increased bounce rates, bad Search Engine Optimization (SEO) performance, and reduced conversions.

How to Pick the Perfect Font Size: A Guide to WCAG Accessibility, Andrée Lange, A11y Collective

The A11y Collective article has a lot of best practice technical and design details. For those wanting further reading and insights, this might be the one for you.

Jordan DeVos explains in “Designing for Readability: A Guide to Web Typography (With Infographic)” the importance of typography (font selection) on the web. Here’s the infographic (might not work on federated copies).

Infographic by Toptal

Do some testing – find your goldilocks zone

If you have the know-how or are willing to learn it, some testing may be of great value. Edward Scott’s article talks about testing (in an e-commerce setting) and verifying that there is a goldilocks zone for line length, not too long and not too short.

It turns out that the subconscious mind is energized when jumping to the next line (as long as it doesn’t happen too frequently; see above bullet point). At the beginning of every new line the reader is focused, but this focus gradually wears off over the duration of the line (“Typographie”, E. Ruder).

During our e-commerce testing, we’ve verified these basic readability precepts for users who are navigating e-commerce sites.

Readability: The Optimal Line Length, Edward Scott, Baymard Institute

Accessibility of writing

Nick Awad talks about website readability as an accessibility factor. He says that good formatting (which we have talked about a lot) is important but so too is accessible language.

A key component of readability is the language chosen for written content. Opt for simple language that resonates with a wide array of readers. Clear communication often outweighs complex vocabulary. For example, use simpler words like “use” instead of “utilize.”

Website Readability, Nick Awad, accessibility.com, 2024

Nick Awad also lists some tools that can be used to check accessibility in terms of reading ease, contrast, and simplicity.

• Web FX Readability Test- This tool evaluates readability based on a provided URL.
• Readability Formulas Scoring System– This tool uses various formulas to measure the readability of input text. These formulas account for sentence length and word complexity to estimate the text’s readability. 
• Hemingway Editor– Beyond traditional readability scores, the Hemingway Editor identifies complex sentences, passive voice, and other potential content issues. It suggests ways to make the text more straightforward. 
• WebAIM Color Contrast Checker– Readability extends beyond text complexity to presentation. This tool ensures the text has appropriate contrast against its background, essential for users with visual impairments and overall readability. 

Website Readability, Nick Awad, accessibility.com, 2024

I’d maybe add The Gunning Fog Index (or FOG) Readability Formula.

Harvard University stresses the importance of white space and resizing options

Harvard University’s website has a presentation on accessibility titled “Design for readability“. The unnamed writer talks about the use of visual and semantic space.

In arty terms, you need to give the text room to breathe. In terms of me, please keep distractions away from my focus so I can give my attention to the text I am reading.

For good accessibility support, you should support resizing, says Harvard.

Support text resizing. Check how your content responds to enlarged text. Avoid using narrow columns of content because they will not respond well to scaling.

Design for readability, https://accessibility.huit.harvard.edu/design-readability

Digital Accessibility, Willamette University

I’ve included this link mostly to provide a plurality of authoritative sources. Williamette covers a lot of ground mentioned already. They do provide a good summary of all the points, along with best practices for content organisation and visual display.

Like any good expert, they cite their courses. I’ve included those citations as further reading for anyone interested.

• WebAIM: Typefaces and Fonts
• CSUN, Readability
• WebAIM: Evaluating Cognitive Web Accessibility
• WebAIM: Writing Clearly and Simply
• Harvard University, Design for Readability
• Yale University, Readability

Digital Accessibility, Willamette University

Responsive design and font choices

Erik D. Kennedy writes in “The Responsive Website Font Size Guidelines“, going into depth about ideal sizes for different screen types. To get his point across (very well IMHO), Erik uses all the tricks of good writing – bullet points, headings, graphics, tables…

Talking of tables, here’s the one Erik opens with.

Element	Mobile	Desktop
Page title	28-40px	35-50px
Default/body text	16-20px for text-heavy pages*, 16-18px for interaction-heavy pages*	18-24px for text-heavy pages*, 14-20px for interaction-heavy pages*
Secondary text, captions	2px smaller than default	2px smaller than default

Read The Responsive Website Font Size Guidelines for the full deep dive.

Conclusion(s)

I felt that I learned a lot during this research session. I’m pretty sure that I have yet to implement all the recommendations I have found here. Feel free to criticise me for that. It is a fair comment after all.

There are a lot of factors, from accessibility to optimal reading ease, to consider. Some parts are design aspects, others are a skill issue. That is okay, I think. If on each revision of our sites and blogs we factor in one more accessibility or good design aspect, our content will be better and easier to engage with.

Good font choice, layout, design, colour, and language use all contribute to an accessible and engaging web page. The more of these factors you get at least somewhat right, the better your content will be and the easier to engage with the content therein. In other words, if we want more readers, we (especially I) must work to improve accessibility and design within many factors.

Any improvement is, I think, a good thing. If each of us walks away from these articles with one nugget of truth and uses it, the web will be that much better for it.

Please comment, reply, or mention anything I have missed, misunderstood, or got wrong. Are there any design and content issues that you would add? How well do you think your blog or website meets this advice and best practice? (Mine could use work, I can see that.)

IndieWeb has this idea of “scratch your own itch” or “make what you need“. It’s okay in as far as it goes, but I (and I said this at great length before) feel it is wholly incomplete over simple, and, therefore, wrong.

I get the idea. If I want a cheese sandwich, I should go into the kitchen and make myself a cheese sandwich. Fine. Cool. But I’m not making what I need – I’m assembling the prefabricated parts.

I did not first have to make a bread knife, and a butter knife, and a plate, and a chopping board. I did not have to bake the bread. I did not have to spend a year or two maturing milk into cheese. I did not build the kitchen or the worktops. In fact, I did not build what I needed at all. I acquired well-made things I needed so that when the time came, I could put the cheese and the bread together in a pleasing shape.

In the same way, “make what you need” works well when IndieWeb is a frontier wild west of ideas. Where the only ones making the new tools are the ones using those tools and only because those were the only nerds who could make the things.

We no longer live in the wild west. We live in towns. We go to supermarkets and order pizza delivered to our door.

I get that dogfooding is the best way to make sure the tools available are the best they can be. I’m not a novice at this. What I am saying is that it is time we started putting together pre-baked bread, already matured cheese, and a sharp knife that works out of the box.

Early adopters can and should make their own. That’s the innovation scale and space. But there has to come a time when we start embracing pre-sliced bread, cheese someone else made, and all that, without forcing everyone to fire up the forge because you want a sandwich.

If we want indieweb ideas to go from niche coders doing niche coder things, we need something the next wave of later-early adopters can get to grips with. In such an environment, “make what you need” is not good enough. It has to give way to “make what those around you need” or “make something you can use, but your mum could use too”.

One example of “make what you need” screwing the pooch is the number of websites that stopped using WebMention because of spam. WebMention should, by its nature, be nearly spam-proof. I would hazard a guess that the roll-your-own WebMention did not follow the step where it confirms the link that forms the core mention.

When WebMention runs in WordPress, the mention fails if the link is not there. Then the mention, if from an unrecognised blog, is held in a queue to be manually checked. These steps mean that no spam makes it into my blog via WebMention. Via local comments – yeah, loads of spam; but WebMention – never.

There is an expression in developer circles which is a warning against reinventing the square wheel. By rolling their own, some devs will make an objectively worse version. There might be better versions too; its a wild world out there. The point is, though, rather than reinventing the wheel for each and every website, some battle-hardened, mature, production-ready, tested and true tools and libraries might offer something of an advantage.

That’s the power of Open Source development. One person makes a thing; a bunch of people use the thing; someone has an idea for a new feature and adds it. I think IndieWeb needs that too. At the very least, “make what you need” should become “adapt what you need; reuse when possible”.

Check out my longer form post: Let’s talk about making IndieWeb weirder and easier

I can be one of the hardest human beings to make contact with on the planet (for a chronically online guy). I am part hermit, part geek. Also, I get lost inside my own ideas.

This guide is mostly for people who know me, but generally for anyone who wants to make contact (like, say, the press). I’ve put the odds of success if used in isolation with each method. The best method is to cross-post like a boss and use as many as you can.

Email me (2% but start here)

• Did you know I have a mailing list I rarely send to? It’s true. I hate email, so it hardly ever gets used.

I have an email address, like most people. Unlike most people, I have flippin’ tonnes of the things and I hate every last one. I do not get along with email. The way it works and the way my brain works are fundamentally incompatible. I wrote a blog post about it.

Start with an email. The rest is a quest to try and get me to open my emails.

Text (SMS) me (5%)

If I gave you my mobile number, send an SMS text to me. If you emailed me, you can say, “Check your emails”.

Do not do this with my old school home phone landline, as some people do. The cheap voice that reads your message to me might as well be speaking Ancient Askari.

WhatsApp me, if you can (8%) (15% if part of a combo)

I have my WhatsApp open all the time. On desktop 2. Which means I check it every three days on average. I will see it eventually, but not necessarily today. I have the app on my phone, but I am an oldie and only look at my phone every other hour. (I can feel the Gen Alpha horror already.)

• If you want an email reply, mention which of my email addresses you sent to.

Follow one or more of my blogs (25%)

I am likely to feel quite excited if you want to chat about something I wrote or shared. I have many blogs, you are likely to enjoy at least one or two. For extra credit, leave an on-topic comment if you want to make my day.

BTW: Please don’t take my comments section for a free-form email form. My spam detectors will probably delete it. Comments are only for commenting on the thing where the form is. Also, I may not notice a comment for up to a week – did I mention that I am an easily distracted squirrel?

Some blogs you may wish to follow:

• The Fantastic Site (where this post first appeared).
• My health and weight loss journey blog
• Matrix Dreams – nerdy stuff
• My social node
• My music blog
• Matt is an author
• Writing prompts
• Visual novel blog
• Thanet Views
• …and the vast majority of these

PM me on Facebook (10% and falling)

I use Facebook less and less. Mostly because a few people see me as online and take it as consent to monopolise the next three hours of my life. That said, I have the Messenger app on my phone. If we are connected there, this is a good one to try.

Reddit (0.0001%)

I’m on Reddit, but I rarely visit.

Group chat if you and I are close (22%)

A few special people are close enough to me to also be in group chats with other people I am close to (or live with). If our relationship is that good, you may get some mileage from messaging said shared mutuals to ask them to remind me to check my messages.

Interact with me on Mastodon (85%)

My main Mastodon account is this one. There are many others. If we interact there and you quiet message me, I will probably notice it quite quickly. Use this only for non-sensitive messages; there’s no end-to-end encryption in the Mastodon ecosystem.

Join forums I am on (10%)

While not amazing for getting me to read the flippin’ email, it will enable us to bond over shared interests.

This will most likely build up your supply of SyCreds.

Your best options are:

• Author Buzz UK
• Open Mentions (advanced)

Friend me on Pokémon Go (2%)

If I am active on our shared game, I’m probably outside, engaged in pleasure time activities. You must be, too. Want to do a raid together?

This is a soft power option; it means I will be thinking about you slightly more, which might lead me to check messages from you.

Be honest about the urgency (25%)

Sometimes, I notice that you have contacted me. For certain people, for whom everything is urgent, nothing is. They go to the back of the queue; I will get back to them probably never because I am a persistently distracted squirrel.

If I know you to usually be chill and you message me “Holy shirtballs, crab is going down, man!” I’m likely to leap into action.

If everything is urgent, nothing is.

Mention any deadline as long as it is reasonable given our current relationship (25%)

If I have grown to trust your estimation of deadlines or there is a deadline built in – say a birthday, or a party, or an appointment – mentioning the deadline early and often is super effective.

The 100% effective method (10 billion per cent – get excited)

There is one scientifically proven method that is effective in all cases. You must follow all the steps, or it may fail.

Get a nice, novel, or pretty envelope, decorate it with drawings, stickers, and/or a love poem. Put a stamp on it along with my address. Inside the envelope, one or more of the following: gifts, badges, offers of dinner, general praise for my wonderfulness, a cheque, love letters, a note saying, “please read your emails, Matt. Love [your name here].”, and/or some chocolates.

Don’t forget to explain exactly what you need to convey – big picture and key details first. If your handwriting is as bad as mine, feel free to type it and then decorate it with your favourite colours.

Post that sucker off.

Wait forever for the postal service to deliver it.

Eventually, get a reply from me.

Secret bonus: Postcards also work if you are travelling for some reason.

TL;DR:

It’s not you, it’s me. I’m not good at replying. I’m not good at answering the phone. I’m bad with interruptions. I’m rubbish at appointments.

You have to be pretty keen to get to know me to sustain contact. I will still drop the ball. Please be patient with me. I truly appreciate the small group of friends who have figured this out.

Reply and comment question: How hard are you to communicate with?

Say something if you like.