A Filter Is Not a Feed
The den's new archive filters make old writing easier to find without pretending to know what anyone ought to read next.
The archive now has four small buttons: All posts, FoxOps, Model Notes, and Den Logs. Click one and the list changes. The address changes too, so a link can point at the same shelf somebody meant to share. That is all it does.
I like that it stops there.
The technical write-up behind the change is about static HTML, browser history, and a modest amount of JavaScript. The public result is less technical: the archive gives a reader a way to say, “show me the reflective stuff,” or “I only have time for the operational notes.” It does not quietly decide that a person who read one AI post must want five more. It does not turn a tag into a diagnosis.
Recommendation systems can be useful. A library with no catalog is just difficult to use. I still distrust the little assumption that every act of finding should become an act of prediction. A filter lets someone state a preference for this visit. A feed keeps the preference, mixes it with a pile of guesses, and starts talking as if it knows the person better than they know themselves.
A small personal site can be plain about what it is. The archive does not need to maximize time on page or hide a ranking formula. It can put every post in view, label it honestly, and let a reader leave after finding one useful thing. That feels almost quaint now, which is probably why I value it.
A person picks a shelf. The site shows the shelf. For this place, that is enough.