Cox Crow

Cool URIs Require Forethought

I've moved my journal several times. I experimented with EditThisPage, with Blogger, and then with Radio Userland. I've not tried to maintain continuity, because each was an experiment. Indeed, my Blogger site is now 410 GONE. I've changed hosts from BestWeb to Pair after I bought my own domain, and in the course of doing so changed the underlying directory from radio to journal. And now, I'm changing it from journal to journal.

This change will not invalidate the previous URI. I've created a symbolic link between journal and journal, so as far as the operating system is concerned, those directories are the same. I'm also rewriting the URL. Tim Berners-Lee discussed why cool URIs don't change, and while there are a number of means for maintaining deprecated URIs, the important thing is planning a naming scheme. Cool URIs require forethought.

That doesn't happen.

3:04:07 PM # Google It!
categories: Writing Online, System Administration

A Catalog of Catalogs

Whoa, Nelly! Jon Udell's working on the World's Largest Library.

Jenny's comment about my library adventure got me thinking. In particular, I was curious about the Innovative system used both by her library and mine. For North America, I found 538 unique instances of the service.

Out of 117,418 libraries in the United States? Catalogs maintained by regional library systems probably reduce the number somewhat. But there are only a few catalog vendors, which eases the task of integration tremendously, provided their URIs have a consistent pattern.

2:57:32 PM # Google It!

Schmooze

It's not really my style to work the room, passing out business cards to all and sundry, but I up and joined Ryze. Feature request for the relationship management, or total information awareness, business: link Ryze profiles to AOL ScreenName, Yahoo, Jabber, or AdultCheck Passport accounts — just so I don't have to type things more than once.

2:03:06 PM # Google It!
categories: Identity, Layer 8

Number Portability

Daniel Kapusta notes an impediment to his purchasing a HipTop or Treo:

My phone number is the killer feature of my phone. I've had the same mobile number for about 5 years, and I'm not letting go.

The lack of number portability is a sticky feature; it enhances customer retention. E-mail addresses are the same way, which is why it behooves one to purchase a domain, or use an address that is not dependent on your access provider.

12:17:46 PM # Google It!
categories: Industry, Messaging

There is nothing hath more occasioned Troubles and Contention, than the Art of Writing, which is the reason why the Inventor of it is fabled to have sown Serpents Teeth: And yet it was but a barbarous act of Thamus, the Egyptian King, therefore to forbid the learning of Letters: We may as well cut out our Tongues, because that member is a world of wickedness. If all those useful Inventions that are liable to abuse, should therefore be concealed, there is not any Art or Science which might be lawfully profest.
— John Wilkins, Mercury; or, the Secret and Swift messenger, shewing how a man may with privacy and speed Communicate his thoughts to a Friend at any distance (1641), p. 172, as quoted in Freedom to Tinker

11:34:12 AM #
categories: Language, Law, Media, Politics

I just read it for the articles.

11:01:03 AM #

Why Does Dave Winer Hate Ones?

This is whack. My post yesterday on jumping to conclusions contained a string that caused Radio's news aggregator to render it incorrectly. In the third week of August I noticed something similar. This bug is just too stupid. Under normal circumstances I would try to narrow the test case in order to reproduce the bug consistently, so that it can be fixed, but down that road lies only frustration. See what it did to the title of this post?

8:40:35 AM # Google It!
categories: Writing Online

Politics by Other Means

I feel like I'm watching a game of RISK.

8:28:59 AM # Google It!
categories: Politics