🛩️ The C++ Standard Behind the F-35 Fighter Jet
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🎨 The ‘Go Away’ Contact Page
A refreshingly honest reflection on design ethics and client collaboration — showing how small UX decisions can reveal big truths about company values.
Designer Nic Chan shares how a client project went off track after implementing a ‘go away’ contact page — a design pattern meant to discourage user contact. Intended to mimic big SaaS practices, it backfired by cutting off customer leads. Chan reflects on the importance of communicating design intent, educating clients, and building trust early to align business goals with design ethics.
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🛡️ How I Block Every Online Ad
A detailed and inspiring deep dive into ad-blocking as both a technical craft and an act of digital self-defense.
The author shares a multi-year effort to eliminate online ads using layered defenses — from browser extensions like uBlock Origin to Pi-hole DNS filtering and VPN routing that bypass ad networks. The article explains how these components integrate to ensure ad-free browsing across platforms and offers practical tips for maintaining a secure, private setup.
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💾 The Internet Forgets, But I Don’t Want To
A thoughtful blend of nostalgia and technical craftsmanship — turning digital ephemera into a lasting personal archive.
Alex Chan reflects on the fleeting nature of online content and builds a personal ‘social media scrapbook’ to preserve digital memories. By archiving conversations from Twitter, Tumblr, and Bluesky with custom data models and static offline storage, Chan explores the intersection of personal archiving, data modeling, and the philosophy of digital permanence.
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