Field Notes on Quiet Tools
Some tools ask for attention; others give it back. A good notebook is the second kind. These notes collect small observations about software that stays out of the way.
Plain files outlast apps
A folder of Markdown files can be read by almost anything: a text editor, a script, a static site generator, a future program nobody has written yet. When the file is the note, there is nothing to export and nothing to migrate.
That is also why an editor should never quietly rewrite a file just because it was opened. Line endings, byte-order marks and odd bits of syntax belong to the author.
Formatting as you type
Live formatting works best when it is honest. Headings look like headings and bold looks bold, but the characters that make them are still there, one caret-movement away. Nothing is converted behind your back.
Where the markup goes
When the caret leaves a line, the markers fade into the margin. Return to it and they come back. The text on disk never changes.
Publishing without a platform
A personal site can be a folder of static pages. Choose the notes that should be public; everything else stays on your machine. Links from a public note to a private one simply become text, so nothing leaks by accident. See the Style Guide for how the pages look.
Small rituals
- Write the title last.
- Keep one idea per note.
- Link generously, publish sparingly.
The margin is where the reader talks back.