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OuterVale

Re:Show HN: Encarta 95 Web on Tuesday October 27, 2026 @06:28AM (#50256990)
Glad to see I'm not the only one who immediately ditched an opportunity to learn for AoE. It lures like a siren's song.
Certainly.

> Xi Jinping looks a bit like Winnie-the-Pooh.

> 'I am sorry, I cannot engage with this comparison. Please feel free to ask me other questions.'

https://vale.rocks/posts/chinas-web#artificial-intelligence

Re:CSS-Tricks has a new owner on Monday October 26, 2026 @08:12PM (#50253046)
Previous discussion:

CSS-Tricks in Limbo | 273 points, 146 comments | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49708993

So many great options. I always opt for Web Origami though.

It is more like a dialect of JavaScript optimised for developing static sites than a static site generator in and of itself. It has lots of 'builtins' for things like RSS and converting Markdown to HTML. It is so wonderfully flexible and doesn't lock you into a specific site structure like others SSGs do.

https://weborigami.org/

Re:Apple Music 404 Not Found on Saturday October 24, 2026 @08:22AM (#50220597)
Was pleasantly surprised by the iOS 7 era iTunes logo in the favicon for that JSON.
Re:The Future of CSS on Thursday October 22, 2026 @07:44AM (#50194025)
It has been a bit since I've researched why tables shouldn't be used for layout so I'm not full bottle. Perhaps I'll have to write an article.

Linear layout issues come to mind first: https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Techniques/failures/F49

Then there are issues with screen readers and how they interact with tables. Tables convey that they are tables, so screen readers treat them as such. Sometimes this means reading headings in between cells to help orient the user, and sometimes it means they'll add numbers for orientation. A bit of detail here: https://dequeuniversity.com/rules/axe/4.1/layout-table

If there are any mistakes in the markup, then it can completely throw off the layout in the accessibility tree without having any visual indication that something is wrong. Perhaps most importantly, tables are very rigid and inflexible, so if trying to do anything more dynamic or out of the boxy flow it usually means messy hacks.

If you're really careful you can sometimes get away with it, provided your site is extremely rigid in layout, but it generally ends in an inaccessible mess that is inaccessible in ways that people don't even bother to document nowadays. Just use flex and/or grid if you're targeting modern browsers. Much easier to author and much better for users.

Re:NPM is experiencing degraded package install and publishing on Wednesday October 21, 2026 @11:58PM (#50191019)
Seems to be somewhat resolved. I just managed to publish a package.
Re:The Future of CSS on Wednesday October 21, 2026 @03:17AM (#50177148)
For data? There are some foot guns but they do intended job well. For page layout? Accessibility nightmare.
Re:The Future of CSS on Tuesday October 20, 2026 @11:58PM (#50175925)
Worth keeping in mind that Josh's blog is absolutely over-engineered and I'm sure he'd admit that himself. He tried to keep parity with his rather complex course systems and his blog itself is a lot more than 'text on a page'.
Re:Weball: Play Katamari on Websites on Monday October 19, 2026 @07:58PM (#50159593)
This is such fun. I just went along and rolled up a few websites, including my own. Great little bit of web whimsy.
Re:How employment is changing at Anthropic on Sunday October 18, 2026 @07:25AM (#50140055)
As obvious as it seems to say, with no new juniors there will be no new seniors.
Re:OpenCode Hacked: User credentials leaked on Sunday October 18, 2026 @03:51AM (#50138905)
You usually can't downvote HN posts.

https://vale.rocks/micros/20260512-0652

Re:Beauty in DVD Menus on Thursday October 08, 2026 @10:37AM (#50006328)
I can understand the argument of simplicity and consistency for something productivity-related, or whatever, but when watching a DVD it is almost always for the purpose of entertainment. A fun and intnrnsting menu feels like part of the experience. It is a bit more of an event with all the little added flourishes.
Re:The death of web development education on Thursday October 01, 2026 @06:44PM (#49927931)
I've written for a range of front-end publications. This year they've all cut down the amount they're publishing, started slopping out articles, or gone quiet altogether. It is rough. Speaking as an author, even those that seem 'fine' at a cursory glance now feel strained behind the scenes. It makes me so sad.
Re:Sober: We Ported Roblox to Linux on Tuesday September 29, 2026 @09:48AM (#49893214)
The name progression is fun. The original popular Roblox-on-Linux tool was built on WINE and so was named GrapeJuice. Then GrapeJuice gave way to Vinegar, which has since given way to Sober. There is also another tool named Cordial.
Re:OpenAI Feared "Optics" of what might appear on Hacker News on Sunday September 27, 2026 @05:32AM (#49864973)
You forget how many influential tech professionals are present here (especially those in Silicon Valley) and that Altman was president of Y Combinator for several years.
Re:Trump says US will henceforth call AI 'super intelligence' on Wednesday September 23, 2026 @12:15AM (#49811564)
The title I submitted it with was the title shown on the article when I submitted it, as evidenced by the URL slug. Reuters changed it at some point after I submitted it. No editorialising intended or done on my part.
Re:The Worst Spam Emails: Inside iLands' AI Agent Hustle on Saturday September 12, 2026 @08:57AM (#49671895)
Any evidence it is an iLands-affiliated person making those posts? My timelines have been full of people I know complaining about the emails, and they're certainly not affiliated with iLands.

Personally, I've been getting the iLands emails into my inbox too. It seems I might have entered onto the radar due to my posts being popular on Hacker News, as the message bodies reference my posts.

Re:Antiquated HTML Snippets and Artefacts on Tuesday September 08, 2026 @09:58AM (#49610441)
Keywords aren't (completely) dead (yet), unfortunately. https://bsky.app/profile/vale.rocks/post/3muylxyhg5222

Mention of usage by Yandex: https://yandex.com/support/webmaster/en/controlling-robot/me...

Re:Antiquated HTML Snippets and Artefacts on Tuesday September 08, 2026 @09:19AM (#49609973)
The same will happen regardless in the case of content extending beyond the width of the viewport. With `initial-scale=1` it'll be a horizontal overflow, without it'll zoom out. I argue that the latter is preferable (https://vale.rocks/micros/20260908-1315) but either way should never reach users due to the usability fails and major accessibility issues.
Re:Antiquated HTML Snippets and Artefacts on Tuesday September 08, 2026 @08:38AM (#49609530)
I use them whenever I have an excuse!
Re:Antiquated HTML Snippets and Artefacts on Tuesday September 08, 2026 @08:37AM (#49609516)
Oh, that is so great to hear. Glad to provide it! While writing I was very much thinking about it from the perspective of stripping things out, rather than incorporating legacy code for legacy contexts. Really interesting to think about that line of usage.
Re:Antiquated HTML Snippets and Artefacts on Tuesday September 08, 2026 @08:32AM (#49609470)
You don't need both, but you should have the width set. From that page:

> A page fails the audit unless all of these conditions are met:

> - The document's <head> contains a <meta name="viewport"> tag.

> - The viewport meta tag contains a content attribute.

> - The content attribute's value includes the text width=.

I researched and tested this extensively the other day. `<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width">` is all you need. https://vale.rocks/micros/20260902-1350

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