3 ms·

I don't even use a site generator. I just edit the html directly via ssh. I use putty from win machines, ssh from nix machines, and connectbot on android (with

I don't even use a site generator. I just edit the html directly via ssh. I use putty from win machines, ssh from nix machines, and connectbot on android (with Hacker'S Keyboard). Once there, I use nano, it's fine for editing small text files. the VPS I'm on costs $10/month, but you can get them for $15 a year. Yes, I've had to learn how to use debian from command-line, but I am very, very glad I know how now. If you want, you can use a sftp-capable text editor, and that works too. I used to use jEdit, but it's not installed everywhere, and it's definitely not installed on my smart phone, so... Also, for those who complain that the site looks like 1993, that's intended, as it looks fine and loads very fast in mobile, and that's essentially my only target platform.

jacques_chester 13y ago
I have some static sites I build with Nanoc. The source content is mostly HTML with a sprinkling of ERB. I could do all of it by hand, but using a SSG lets me factor out a lot of repetitive scut work. For example, I have a function that takes a hash and builds the HTML for a collection of references. Doing it by hand would be time consuming and error-prone. More obviously, when I update my page layouts, it happens across the whole site. I don't have to go around copying and pasting, again introducing more busy work with room for error. "What about grep and sed?", I hear you ask. By the time I'm building ad hoc build pipelines each time I fiddle with the site, I once again introduce new opportunities for error. Why not just automate the whole pile of wax and be done with it?
- chris_mahan 13y ago
  About updates to the site layout, I've come to the realization that the site doesn't need to have a uniform look and feel for the whole site, or sections of the site. I came to the understanding that each page can do, can be, what it needs to be. Plain html5 (no css, no js) is enough for my needs, and each page is customized for its own purpose. I have a crumbs navigation at top, that may go away too. most people (99.9% i think) navigate forward, then use the back key in the browser to go back, so I may get rid of the crumbs someday. each page on the site is accessible from the whole internet. If Joe the poet links to a page on my site, essentially, my page becomes part of the web experience Joe is building. I want to show respect to Joe, and not suck in his readers into my own site. if people want to get to the root of my site, they already know how to edit the uri down to the domain name. (sorry for philisophizing! )
corobo 13y ago
Just a heads up the link in your profile appears to have a typo in it :) Confirming your site makes the majority of minimalist themes look bloated! I'm probably just used to things being more central but I think the only issue I had with the site was the extreme left alignment :)
- chris_mahan 13y ago
  (fixed the link... do'h, my bad...) there's not much I can do on the margin-left without introducing css. (i leave javascript and css out--makes the site faster). Please go to the writing section and look at one of the stories and one poem to see if the left alignment still bothers you after. I think e-book readers left align as much. Thanks for the compliment! (ultimately, I go for separation of concerns: the server serves content, the browser renders. people can set font size, etc to suit themselves).

jacques_chester 13y ago

I have some static sites I build with Nanoc. The source content is mostly HTML with a sprinkling of ERB. I could do all of it by hand, but using a SSG lets me factor out a lot of repetitive scut work. For example, I have a function that takes a hash and builds the HTML for a collection of references. Doing it by hand would be time consuming and error-prone. More obviously, when I update my page layouts, it happens across the whole site. I don't have to go around copying and pasting, again introducing more busy work with room for error. "What about grep and sed?", I hear you ask. By the time I'm building ad hoc build pipelines each time I fiddle with the site, I once again introduce new opportunities for error. Why not just automate the whole pile of wax and be done with it?

chris_mahan 13y ago
About updates to the site layout, I've come to the realization that the site doesn't need to have a uniform look and feel for the whole site, or sections of the site. I came to the understanding that each page can do, can be, what it needs to be. Plain html5 (no css, no js) is enough for my needs, and each page is customized for its own purpose. I have a crumbs navigation at top, that may go away too. most people (99.9% i think) navigate forward, then use the back key in the browser to go back, so I may get rid of the crumbs someday. each page on the site is accessible from the whole internet. If Joe the poet links to a page on my site, essentially, my page becomes part of the web experience Joe is building. I want to show respect to Joe, and not suck in his readers into my own site. if people want to get to the root of my site, they already know how to edit the uri down to the domain name. (sorry for philisophizing! )

corobo 13y ago

Just a heads up the link in your profile appears to have a typo in it :) Confirming your site makes the majority of minimalist themes look bloated! I'm probably just used to things being more central but I think the only issue I had with the site was the extreme left alignment :)

chris_mahan 13y ago
(fixed the link... do'h, my bad...) there's not much I can do on the margin-left without introducing css. (i leave javascript and css out--makes the site faster). Please go to the writing section and look at one of the stories and one poem to see if the left alignment still bothers you after. I think e-book readers left align as much. Thanks for the compliment! (ultimately, I go for separation of concerns: the server serves content, the browser renders. people can set font size, etc to suit themselves).