Interesting! I guess I’ll try embeddeding Commento into my blog posts as well and see what happens. Thanks for your suggestions!
Share what you are working on and using!
No problem @Cat! I am glad to see your experimentation with Write.as, especially with all the channels of interaction on your blog. Do let us know how it goes!
1 Like
I don’t know if it fits in here, but Ive just implemented a maze game in my blog (out of pure boredom 
). I’ve also programmed some bots to solve the generated mazes, each one using a different algorithm. Everything in pure JS.
I’ve also noticed, while doing this, that there’s a limited amount of JavaScript we can add to our blogs (about 1300 lines of code – depends on how much code you put on a single line). Had to use a js minifier to reduce my code so it could be uploaded to my blog.
2 Likes
I don’t think we’ve had anyone run into the limit for Custom JS, so knowing it is 1300 lines is good to know! And the maze game is awesome! I had no idea about the Manhattan Distance and maze algorithms. Is it possible to share the repository?
Makes me think if there are other interesting possibilities with the Custom JS, especially with interactive fiction and other choice-based writing.
Trying to take the idea of an embedded form that updates a Write.as post and put it into action with an open course called Blogging Futures. The structure of the course is an open blogchain, meaning that people write posts on their own site and contribute to the ongoing thread. In order to make this possible, I used an embedded form so that people could add their post to the conversation.
Check it out and join in if you’d like. It is a conversation about the future of writing on the web and it’s been picking up. Would love to have you all contribute a post or two.
Just sharing a trick that I discovered, to disable the Stats link from the drop-down menu when logged in.
/* Hide Stats link */
nav#manage ul a[href="/me/c/<UserName>/stats"] {
pointer-events: none;
color: #fff;
background: #fff;
}
1 Like
That’s great @dino! I experimented with your code and found that below works equally well, even removing the white space left in the menu:
nav#manage ul a[href="/me/c/<UserName>/stats"] {
display:none;
}
This actually builds off something I did with my blog (and looks like you did too from reading yours) - removing the view count on posts for your blog when logged in. The CSS looks like this:
.views {
display: none;
}
Combined together, this is a great way to actively remove the compulsion to check views and blog stats so that you can focus on what matters in the first place - writing.
Many thanks again for sharing this!
1 Like
@cjeller1592 that’s even better! Now it looks as though the link was never there in the first place, perfect.
Exactly! It definitely gives you a cleaner solution.
I am looking forward to seeing how your experiment with removing the views/stats goes! Removing the post views changed my perspective on my own writing and the reception of it for the better. Hope it does the same for you too @dino!
1 Like
We created an updated version of a Glitch app that allows you to search Read Write.as - check out the app here. It is built upon the API and uses an openly accessible Read Write.as endpoint - learn about it here.
1 Like
Remixed the write.as search app on Glitch and made this one. I have to say, the search functionality using the Write.as API works really well. It performed way better than I thought it would.
Glad you were able to get it working! I really like the changes you made to make the search page truly your own. And just out of curiosity, what surprised you in the performance for it to be better than you thought?
Also, if anyone is interested in how @dino got his Search page the way it is, he outlines the process in this post along with helpful resources for using Glitch:
3 Likes
My expectations for it were low due to an earlier experience with a hashtags search app that to me, didn’t seem to work right. So when I used the search app and saw that it found anything I wanted to search for, I was thrilled. Now I realize after playing around with Glitch, that it was not the API that was so slow, but that it depends on how an app makes use of the API.
Exactly! And I remember the hashtag search app you’re referring to! We’ll have to revisit that to make it more useful.
Also, if you have any questions about Python or Flask just let me know. That’s my primary language/framework for using Glitch & Write.as so I’d be glad to help with anything you run into. Otherwise you seem to have a handle for it because the search app works wonderfully!
2 Likes
We’ve created a simple app that takes a Medium article, converts it into Markdown, and then publishes it as a Write.as post! All you need to do is feed in the Medium link. Feel free to check it out here.
2 Likes
I found myself using the Write.as editor a lot as a scratchpad - drafting out emails, writing to-do’s, and sketching ideas. None of this went into a published post but it was annoying to have to open up yet another editor when I wanted to actually write something to post.
So we created a way to make the Write.as editor an auto-saving scratchpad! Notes are saved in local browser storage, so it saves the text in the editor wherever you left it off. Local browser storage also ensures whatever you write is private to you, even if someone else is using the app.
Check out the Glitch app here.
Also want to bump this topic so that others can share their projects too!
2 Likes
Created a Glitch app that can display the 5 most viewed posts from my site. For more info, read this.
3 Likes
Fantastic!
Added a full list of posts using Dino’s glitch app and revamped the searchbar following CJ’s instructions at the very bottom of my about page.
Thanks guys!
A question about DDG searching: I have made several tests and it doesn’t work very well, either nothing or a link to the blog and not the specific post. I mostly use DDG in general and the results are pretty good, and I tried on CJ’s website: the search bar gives links to specific posts and works pretty good.
Is it because you need multiple occurences of a word in a post for it to appear if you search for said word?
1 Like