The internet known within China is a very different internet to the one known by the world at large. It is censored, regulated and structured quite differently. It is controlled and managed, rather than organic and sprawling. From the outside looking in, it feels like an entirely different beast, and to begin to...

Hu Yaobang was a pro-reform member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Joining in the 1930s, he was promoted to General Secretary of the Secretariat in 1980 and proceeded to move up the ranks. In 1981 he became the highest ranking role in the party, the chairman, before that role was abolished in 1982 and became...

Accessibility overlays (sometimes called ‘accessibility plugins’ or ‘accessibility widgets’) are tools placed on websites that claim to improve accessibility. They usually appear as a small icon on the side or in a corner of a website’s viewport. Clicking on them usually presents a set of options such as the ability...

When I powered on my Xbox Series S for the first time, there was no ceremony. A flat interface presenting a collection of rounded boxes arranged in grids and lists. It felt no different from Windows 11. An interface designed for general computing (primarily productivity and work) should not be the blueprint for a...

I have dedicated substantial amounts of time moderating communities on the internet. One of the duties I fulfil at Stoat has been to moderate content, and in doing so I’ve seen a great number of horrific things. The sort of things that no person should have to see, but which nonetheless must be seen in pursuit of...

As years have stretched on, browser user-agent styles have grown somewhat estranged from how many developers use the web platform. I am no exception to this rule and find my own needs at odds with the predefined user-agent stylesheets of major browsers: Chromium -...

Ratz Instagib is a fast-paced first-person shooter. As the name suggests, each hit is an instant kill. Be not disillusioned by my writing of this article, for this is not a game I am good at. In honesty, one shouldn’t even venture as far as to suggest that it is a game I am so much as merely alright at. It is,...

This is my annual pulse post, which is data heavy and contains visualisations and interactive elements. The experience of viewing it in a feed reader might be compromised, so I advise viewing it directly on the web at Vale.Rocks. As is recent tradition at the year’s end, this is my ‘wrapped’ or ‘recap’ or whatever...

I’m frustrated, and I’m angry at the state of accessibility on the web. I’m usually not much one for profanity, but I’m fucking pissed off. I’ve been worn down slowly by thing after thing – death by a thousand cuts. I feel powerless and overwhelmed, and I’m dismayed to know I’m not the only one feeling as such....

As a unicyclist, I draw a certain amount of attention, and whether it be a busy sunny Saturday morning or 21:00 on a grim Monday evening, people are inclined to ask me questions. I imagine the spectacle and presumed friendliness of someone riding a unicycle contributes to people’s willingness to enquire, and I’ve...

There are few greater joys in life than the creation of a strongly worded email. I have an innate love for the medium. It is an art form that sits at the intersection of literature, warfare, and therapy. Strongly worded emails are, perhaps, the most completely backwards form of communication that the human race has...

I’ve been fortunate enough to write for a number of publications under some fantastic individuals and have taken away many lessons via observations and from making mistakes while doing so. I figured I’d collate some of them so that I and any similarly incapable fool can avoid future bungles. This article is largely...