Tilting At Steemit Windmills - My Steemit Library Progress And Setbacks
“The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.”
– Albert Einstein –
Well, I was all excited about the Steemit SQL database...
I was thrilled to think I could use it to update and maintain my Steemit Library.
I told you all about it here:
I might even have succeeded. I was making headway.
But then, just as I began to get some traction and meaningful results, the SQL database operator started charging admission... <sigh>
Please don't get me wrong:
I have no problem with the owner/supplier of a service charging for it. It's just that, at my limited level of skill and knowledge, I can't justify paying for software support for what is—for me—an iffy, occasional, part-time venture.
So many books... So little time...
Image courtesy of Yaroslav Blokhin and http://unsplash.com
So, I've been forced to change gears.
I've completely "had it" with making excuses for the state of my Steemit Library. I'm tired of explaining to people how an unannounced and unexpected change in the Steemit User Interface made it impossible to click on the links in my old library. So, not only is my Library more than six months out of date, it's totally unusable unless you manually edit each click...
As Winnie the Pooh would say, "Bother!"
Adding insult to injury, the standard Steemit U/I now ends at the first article of last year (2017). What the heck? What do you mean, I can't even get to my older articles?
So, What's the point of a permanent blockchain?
The Steemit User Non-Interface, as currently designed, makes you only as good as your latest post.
Actually, you're only as good as your latest post that happens to get noticed.
It's a pain wanting more than that, but I think it's worth my effort. I want you (along with all my heirs, successors, and assigns) to have access to my entire body of writing. Eventually, I'd like to develop some tools to let any interested Steemian easily create and maintain something similar.
You can read much of the history and rationale for my library here:
...A ~Better~ Way to Steemit...
Please feel free to ask questions, and to copy my format if you find it interesting or useful.
CLICK the Image Above to Access My Steemit Library
Another "glitch" has been slowing me down.
I have been using a very fine URL shortening service that, unlike Google's URL shortener, is both quite reliable and allows for editing of the target destination. This allows me to update where each shelf in the top level of the library points to without actually editing the top level.
Well, I somehow lost access to the service. That meant I couldn't update where the links point to.
Thankfully, because of Rebrandly's excellent support, I've regained access to my account at http://rebrandly.com and I'm back at work on my library!
What's not to love about the library?
Image courtesy of Alex Iby and http://unsplash.com
I've begun the process of a manual library update.
It's a rather painstaking process, but I plan to muddle through it over then next little while. I've already republished my Library Steemit Shelf, and the others are in the works.
Since I'm not up to paying for database access, I hope to (time permitting) try to learn how to access the blockchain more directly.
What's my new plan?
I think what I need to do now is create some HTML / JSON code utilities for scanning the blockchain and extracting the data I need to maintain my Steemit Library.
In the meanwhile, both you and I will have to live with a manually edited, hierarchical collection of Steemit posts that provide ad-hoc, topically organized access to my collection of Steemit articles.
As indicated before, in the long term, I hope to make some Library-forming utilities available to other Steemians who might like to create and maintain Steemit Libraries of their own.
Please wish me (better) luck this time around!
P.S. Steemit Inc?
I'm still waiting for the ability to edit my older articles, promised with HardFork 17.
~FIN~
Einstein was right about this...
Image courtesy of AZ Quotes
Don't Miss Our Series on Using STEEM In The Real World
Articles In The Series
- "Be The (Ex)Change You Want To See In The World"
- Up To 1,000 STEEM Available... ~Will Exchange for Fiat~
- Putting My ~STEEM~ Where My Mouth Is - Up To 1,000 Steem To Exchange
- A Personal, Private Exchange of Steem for Fiat - Initial SUCCESS Report!
- Moving Product - A SILVERengines proton Exchanged for ~STEEM~
- STEEM Now Worth More Than SBD... Should I Buy SBD?
For more Steemit articles, please visit our freshly updated Library Steemit Shelf - Just CLICK the shelf below.
Introducing: The SILVERengines proton - Image by @creatr
You are why I'm here on Steemit!
I have very eclectic interests and hope, over time, to write about them all.
⬇️To Check Out @creatr's World⬇️CLICK Each Image Below⬇️
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Hi Dear,
Your Steemit Library Very Nice, Great New Plan With HTML / JSON Programing Language, Can Your maintain Steemit Library, Good Think, Thank You
upvote and resteem done
Thank you for the re-steem, and for your encouraging words.
keep on the good work mate nice article !
Thank you.
upvote and resteemit done dear...
keep it on..
Thank you.
oh i'm sorry :( you were working so hard and long on this!!!
I don't understand half of the techie things you said haha but i hope it works! I know the frustration of just the smallest things (since I don't know code well at all!!!) Staring at the page, wondering why this is centered, when that is not.... etc. LCL
i'm empathizing with you - even though i'm sure your frustration is on a much larger scale!
Thanks. Sigh.
This saddens me greatly. I looked into your wonderful, friendly and well laid out library and started browsing poetry. As you say, the links are all broken.
It is as though art is imitating life, because despite Einstein's encouragement which I fully endorse, real public libraries are fast disappearing in austerity programmes.
I do hope you will somehow, perhaps with the help of a technical magician, be able to re-open your wonderful legacy library. I am sure many would like to follow your example.
Perhaps this is why a seasoned blogger commented recently that he would prefer to hang on to control of his blog by using word press and just copying posts here from there. Steemit will surely have to do some joined up thinking and iron out issues such as this.
You will find a way :)
Thank you, my friend.
Fear not, over the next few days I will fix all the broken links and add the newer stuff, manually.
The automated Library Generator will take more time... ;)
Very glad to hear that. You may find this post of interest - https://steemit.com/utopian-io/@imp.unity/the-future-of-steem-breaking-free-from-limitations#@imp.unity
Thank you for the article reference. Yes, it is very interesting. The author is quite visionary. However, I don't think he has a clue as to how extensive and difficult his ideas may be to implement.
I'm not discounting them, or saying they can't be realized... Just observing that there is a huge amount of work implied by his excellent ideas for what Steemit could become.
If I were given such a task, the very first thing I would work on would be creating a fundamental framework to support independently developed plug-ins. It is probably a reasonable idea to begin with an existing, already very mature content management system (CMS) such as WordPress...
Great idea @creatr ! All the best my friend !!
Thanks!
Awww a good ol' fashion library!! I wish you luck because any type of library should go on living long past it's contributors...and that my friend is a splendid legacy! Good ol' Einstein had it right; so I hope your "location" is preserved, long past the 'due date' on our posts here. Come on Hardfork, help a guy out...please:) Thank you @creatr for your hard work and persistence here...this library visitor appreciates all you do. Cheers!
Thanks for your kind encouragement. Over the next several days, I hope to get more of the Library shelves updated and functional!
I'm so glad because I've been wandering around in there since I left you this comment haha
It takes me back to the days when my mom would drag me to the mall (I was a bit of an anomaly, a girl who didn't like shopping gasp :), and I would spend those few hours in a bookstore or wander to the library to browse...and learn. Imagine! :)
i ALSO hated shopping! hhahaha AND talking on the phone! LCL
bookstore, fabric store, craft store... those were my haunts ;)
hehehe
hahaha where were you all my life LOL
i've been heeeeeeeeere!!!! waiting for you!!!! hhahaha
Wow!
Steemit library
This is great and awesome
Thanks.
I am so ready to be able to edit old posts- most of my images are broken on my travel posts from the last hard fork changing the resizing code, and I have no way of fixing them without reposting them. What are the benefits of using a URL shortener?
Hi, @sunravelme!
The main benefit (for my Library purposes) is that I can have one link that always remains the same, but I can change its destination as I replace Library Shelves, special articles, or even the main Library itself.
Yes, EDIT is desperately needed! And it would be so easy to fix, if Steemit Inc would only do it...
Good luck @creatr
I don't know why Steemit Inc seems to not give a rats ass about the UI here, although to give the benefit of doubt Steemit is very young. We can only hope that the coming months and years will see significant improvement in usability.
Thank you, @moneyinfant...
I appreciate your commiseration!
The one thing I would most dearly love to see changed is for the U/I to give us the ability to edit any and all of our files...
Well I'm not entirely self-less here as I would love to see you put utilities together that would allow for library creation :)
Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. You can always hit me up on Discord.
Thank you.
Actually, what I most need next, is some examples / templates of how to set up an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) in order to interact with the Steemit blockchain.
I am a lifelong coder, but need to get up to speed on the tools for network programming. I am running on a fairly capable MacBook, and should be able to begin learning this stuff with a little guidance in the right direction and a few tools...
Thanks!