As I think about next steps for building out from WordPress to create a network of users and their writing, I wanted to review how XML-RPC came to be, so I did a podcast, and there were some real gaps in my memor. Then just a minute ago as I was browsing around the discuss.userland.com archive I came across this post entitled How XML-RPC will Evolve. This was in November 1998, five months after XML-RPC for Newbies and the Frontier implementnation were released. It was a few years before the W3C came out with their equivalent of XML-RPC, and as I promised, Frontier supported it. In fact, what a coincidence — I worked on that project with Jake Savin, and we're once again working together on a project that's kind of like what we were doing then. It's also interesting that there are people to play the role that the three Microsoft people played, inside the WordPress community. And there is no one that can make them wait, as the Microsoft team in 1998 was stopped by their huge organization. But they were lucky to have me, someone completely outside their management structure, to decide to go ahead and release it. A lot of good came from that. #
BTW, promising to support the W3C version of your work in 1998 was what you did when the BigCo's said they're gunning for you. One thing you can be sure of is it'll take more time for them than it did for you. Also it'll be more complex, and take more work to support. And you never will be able to fully support what they come up with, by design. So you just say Yeah! Let's do it, and in the meantime go ahead and develop the market. When people ask about the threat, we're on board. I had learned this from the experience with Apple and AppleScript. Take it in stride, don't assume they win just because they're large. Just take the bullet. (And btw, Carney's story at Davos about dealing with the BigCo country follows exactly the same pattern. We didn't give Apple or the W3C awards, but net-net they were about as impetuous as the country Carney was talking about. What he said there could have been a Davenet post from the 1990s.) #
At some point we're going to want to make it as easy to set up a WordPress site as it is to create a new Bluesky account, because the two things will be basically the same thing. Either one will get you access to a network of bloggers. #
Random ramblings with past experience dealing with tech bullying.
As I think about next steps for building out from WordPress to create a network of users and their writing, I wanted to review how XML-RPC came to be, so I did a podcast, and found some real gaps in my memory.
Then just a minute ago as I was browsing around the discuss.userland.com archive I came across this post entitled How XML-RPC will Evolve. This was in November 1998, five months after XML-RPC for Newbies and the Frontier implementation were released.
It was a few years before the W3C came out with their equivalent of XML-RPC, and as promised, Frontier supported it.
In fact, what a coincidence — I worked on that project with Jake Savin, and we're once again working together on a project that's related to what we were doing then. It's also interesting that there are people to play the role that the three Microsoft people played, inside the WordPress community. And there is no one that can make them wait, as the Microsoft team in 1998 was stopped by their huge organization. But they were lucky to have me, someone completely outside their management structure, to decide to go ahead and release it. Imho a lot of good came from that.
BTW, promising to support the BigCo's project the they said, collectively!, they're gunning for you. One thing you can be sure of is it'll take more time for them than it did for you. Also it'll be more complex, and take more work to support. And you never will be able to fully support what they come up with, by design. So you just say Yeah! Let's do it, and in the meantime go ahead and develop the market. When people ask about the threat, we're on board. I had learned this from the experience with Apple and AppleScript. Take it in stride, don't assume they win just because they're large. Just take the bullet.
And btw, Carney's story at Davos about dealing with the BigCo country follows exactly the same pattern. We didn't give Apple or the W3C awards, but net-net they were about as impetuous as the country Carney was talking about. What he said there could have been a Davenet post from the 1990s.
PS: I think perhaps just for fun we should create an XML-RPC implementation of the wpcom API. I have just the thing to base it on.
PPS: At some point we're going to want to make it as easy to set up a WordPress site as it is to create a new Bluesky account, because the two things will be basically the same thing. Either one will get you access to a network of bloggers.
Nominated for best picture of 2025, ranked by Metacritic rating.