Bobbie Chen
@bobbiechen.com
Product, platforms, UX, and more - writing about connections at digitalseams.com
I haven't seen it, but it would be similar to how "honeypot" hidden form fields are used to detect dumb bots.
In general I think people are sensitive to false positives and conversion rate enough that they wouldn't serve a fake captcha unless it was already suspicious ("tarpits")
In general I think people are sensitive to false positives and conversion rate enough that they wouldn't serve a fake captcha unless it was already suspicious ("tarpits")
January 16, 2026 at 8:37 PM
I haven't seen it, but it would be similar to how "honeypot" hidden form fields are used to detect dumb bots.
In general I think people are sensitive to false positives and conversion rate enough that they wouldn't serve a fake captcha unless it was already suspicious ("tarpits")
In general I think people are sensitive to false positives and conversion rate enough that they wouldn't serve a fake captcha unless it was already suspicious ("tarpits")
We only use 33% of the traffic light, wake up sheeple
January 13, 2026 at 5:22 AM
We only use 33% of the traffic light, wake up sheeple
I've seen "homecooked apps", via Robin Sloan www.robinsloan.com/notes/home-c...
An app can be a home-cooked meal
I made a messaging app for my family and my family only.
www.robinsloan.com
January 12, 2026 at 6:44 PM
I've seen "homecooked apps", via Robin Sloan www.robinsloan.com/notes/home-c...
George Dantzig core: "seemed to be a little harder than usual"
![During his study in 1939, Dantzig solved two unproven statistical theorems due to a misunderstanding. Near the beginning of a class, Professor Spława-Neyman wrote two problems on the blackboard. Dantzig arrived late and assumed that they were a homework assignment. According to Dantzig, they "seemed to be a little harder than usual", but a few days later he handed in completed solutions for both problems, still believing that they were an assignment that was overdue.[4][6] Six weeks later, an excited Spława-Neyman eagerly told him that the "homework" problems he had solved were two of the most famous unsolved problems in statistics.[2][4] He had prepared one of Dantzig's solutions for publication in a mathematical journal.[7]
From a Wikipedia screenshot](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5kr3l2clcsd2b6w6j4be77x7/bafkreibd22f26yofuysepknlm4bdhxdibnf2ocwaxkailedr6kuazzyc2y@jpeg)
January 11, 2026 at 5:47 PM
George Dantzig core: "seemed to be a little harder than usual"
Alternate-world person-tool etymology:
Protractor used to be someone who made meetings drag on longer by considering new angles (some say this role still exists today)
digitalseams.com/blog/compute...
Protractor used to be someone who made meetings drag on longer by considering new angles (some say this role still exists today)
digitalseams.com/blog/compute...
Computers that used to be human — Digital Seams
Before Macs or mainframes, computers were people: a brief etymology of people becoming tools.
digitalseams.com
January 11, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Alternate-world person-tool etymology:
Protractor used to be someone who made meetings drag on longer by considering new angles (some say this role still exists today)
digitalseams.com/blog/compute...
Protractor used to be someone who made meetings drag on longer by considering new angles (some say this role still exists today)
digitalseams.com/blog/compute...
in contrast to its modern casual meaning of "I guess".
In dictionaries from the 17th century you'd see Computer defined as "Reckoner", like Leibniz's "Stepped Reckoner" calculator
In dictionaries from the 17th century you'd see Computer defined as "Reckoner", like Leibniz's "Stepped Reckoner" calculator
Stepped reckoner - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 11, 2026 at 5:21 PM
in contrast to its modern casual meaning of "I guess".
In dictionaries from the 17th century you'd see Computer defined as "Reckoner", like Leibniz's "Stepped Reckoner" calculator
In dictionaries from the 17th century you'd see Computer defined as "Reckoner", like Leibniz's "Stepped Reckoner" calculator
Wow, that's unexpected
Anti vagueposting: Old French randir "to run fast" -> with great random "at great speed, with impetuousity" -> random "haphazard, lacking purpose"
Just recently in blog research I learned "reckon" used to mean "calculate or compute" with financial or numerical precision,
Anti vagueposting: Old French randir "to run fast" -> with great random "at great speed, with impetuousity" -> random "haphazard, lacking purpose"
Just recently in blog research I learned "reckon" used to mean "calculate or compute" with financial or numerical precision,
January 11, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Wow, that's unexpected
Anti vagueposting: Old French randir "to run fast" -> with great random "at great speed, with impetuousity" -> random "haphazard, lacking purpose"
Just recently in blog research I learned "reckon" used to mean "calculate or compute" with financial or numerical precision,
Anti vagueposting: Old French randir "to run fast" -> with great random "at great speed, with impetuousity" -> random "haphazard, lacking purpose"
Just recently in blog research I learned "reckon" used to mean "calculate or compute" with financial or numerical precision,
Everyone is a PM now (derogatory)
January 9, 2026 at 5:19 AM
Everyone is a PM now (derogatory)
I really enjoyed seeing the band Couch live for the third time! They are just such great performers.
January 5, 2026 at 1:52 AM
I really enjoyed seeing the band Couch live for the third time! They are just such great performers.
Art predicts life luigithemusical.info#about
Luigi: The Musical
Experience the dramatic and possibly true story of Luigi's journey through his journey of despair and redemption with the most unlikely of cellmates.
luigithemusical.info
January 4, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Art predicts life luigithemusical.info#about
Happy new year! I'm thankful for all the little interactions with people here and looking forward to more!
January 4, 2026 at 7:24 PM
Happy new year! I'm thankful for all the little interactions with people here and looking forward to more!
There are three kinds of Bluesky alt text
December 24, 2025 at 5:15 AM
There are three kinds of Bluesky alt text
What a journey, I fear SVG now lyra.horse/blog/2025/12...
SVG Filters - Clickjacking 2.0
A novel and powerful twist on an old classic.
lyra.horse
December 5, 2025 at 1:21 AM
What a journey, I fear SVG now lyra.horse/blog/2025/12...
Reposted by Bobbie Chen
I hope this email finds you under his domination you will never be free again.
November 17, 2025 at 8:35 PM
I hope this email finds you under his domination you will never be free again.
Somerville polyculecore
Forget love triangles. Meet the ‘polycule’ with 80 people in it
Polyamory is on the rise — especially in one US city where romantic partners have organised themselves into ever expanding networks
www.thetimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Somerville polyculecore
And... they've disabled tag notifications, presumably because they can't handle the abuse: github.blog/changelog/20... what a shame
November 9, 2025 at 8:32 PM
And... they've disabled tag notifications, presumably because they can't handle the abuse: github.blog/changelog/20... what a shame
There are college students younger than this user agent!
November 3, 2025 at 10:38 PM
There are college students younger than this user agent!
Yep. All coming from two ASNs.
November 3, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Yep. All coming from two ASNs.
I won't be able to make it tonight, but are the daytime meetings at ECTO open as well?
November 3, 2025 at 12:46 PM
I won't be able to make it tonight, but are the daytime meetings at ECTO open as well?
Don't make the mistake of Makefile creator Stuart Feldman by clinging to compatibility:
"Even though I knew that 'tab in column 1' was a bad idea, I didn't want to disrupt my user base [of a dozen friends]
So instead I wrought havoc on tens of millions."
"Even though I knew that 'tab in column 1' was a bad idea, I didn't want to disrupt my user base [of a dozen friends]
So instead I wrought havoc on tens of millions."
November 3, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Don't make the mistake of Makefile creator Stuart Feldman by clinging to compatibility:
"Even though I knew that 'tab in column 1' was a bad idea, I didn't want to disrupt my user base [of a dozen friends]
So instead I wrought havoc on tens of millions."
"Even though I knew that 'tab in column 1' was a bad idea, I didn't want to disrupt my user base [of a dozen friends]
So instead I wrought havoc on tens of millions."
As you know, all changes are breaking, I wrote about this exact topic earlier this year! digitalseams.com/blog/is-back...
Is backward compatibility even possible? — Digital Seams
Writing a new API? Have you considered your version compatibility guarantees? It’s harder than you might expect. API compatibility is pervasive. In the web, the misspelling of the HTTP “Referer...
digitalseams.com
November 3, 2025 at 12:42 PM
As you know, all changes are breaking, I wrote about this exact topic earlier this year! digitalseams.com/blog/is-back...
At my first IETF in Montreal! #IETF124
@bibo7086.bsky.social , meeting you inspired me to fixup some bugs on my Bluesky alt text stream, thanks! bobbiec.github.io/bluesky-alt-...
@bibo7086.bsky.social , meeting you inspired me to fixup some bugs on my Bluesky alt text stream, thanks! bobbiec.github.io/bluesky-alt-...
Bluesky Alt Text Stream
A view of all alt text (image descriptions) on the Bluesky Firehose
bobbiec.github.io
November 3, 2025 at 1:08 AM
At my first IETF in Montreal! #IETF124
@bibo7086.bsky.social , meeting you inspired me to fixup some bugs on my Bluesky alt text stream, thanks! bobbiec.github.io/bluesky-alt-...
@bibo7086.bsky.social , meeting you inspired me to fixup some bugs on my Bluesky alt text stream, thanks! bobbiec.github.io/bluesky-alt-...
Haven't had the chance to test it myself as I don't write that much code these days, but I want to know if it helps!
October 25, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Haven't had the chance to test it myself as I don't write that much code these days, but I want to know if it helps!
I saw a tip that Claude is role-playing a programmer and will happy tell you a feature will take 1-2 weeks to implement, then write all the code in a few minutes.
Apparently it helped to constantly prompt that there is no time pressure or deadline, and the important thing is doing it right.
Apparently it helped to constantly prompt that there is no time pressure or deadline, and the important thing is doing it right.
October 25, 2025 at 8:43 PM
I saw a tip that Claude is role-playing a programmer and will happy tell you a feature will take 1-2 weeks to implement, then write all the code in a few minutes.
Apparently it helped to constantly prompt that there is no time pressure or deadline, and the important thing is doing it right.
Apparently it helped to constantly prompt that there is no time pressure or deadline, and the important thing is doing it right.