Unlike other sites I’ve run in the past or run today, this one is deliciously spartan, utterly free and devoid of any sidebars, ads, or other extraneous clutter. This also means it doesn’t offer any permantent credits for, as an example, the bits of software that make it work.
So I’ll take this opportunity to mention some of that here.
First, like nearly everything I maintain, this site is published via Movable Type, and at this stage it’s a default installation without any extra functionality generated by any of the many fine plugins (except for SpamLookup and Nofollow which are installed by default) which have been developed by other MT users.
Those elements of the site which appear and disappear based upon clicking links (for example, the Archives link on the main page, and the Comments and Trackbacks links on the entry pages) do so through the magic of script.aculo.us, a suite of effects which in turn depend upon the Protoype framework.
In order to make the “live preview” portion of entry comments work properly, I had to kludge together two different scripts for that function. I’ve lost track of their origins, but one was lifted from a plugin originally intended and written for WordPress. The other, while I think I found it via an MT-based site, clearly had its initial basis in the WordPress community as well.
Why I had to mash together portions of two different “live preview” scripts in order to make this feature work properly is something that escapes me. But neither original script worked on its own.
Finally, in order to comment here you first will need to register with TypeKey. In addition to registration being required, comments (and, for that matter, trackbacks) will be moderated.
There will be no free-for-alls here, as this site is more comparable to my living room than to a corner of the public square.
On the other hand, some commenters eventually will be granted Trusted status, at which point their comments no longer will be held for moderation, and instead will publish immediately upon submission.
Ok, so I do now include one additional plugin, in order to add a Recent Trackbacks section under the Recent Comments section on the bottom of the main page.