Latest posts
- Paywalls For MinimalistsMar 08, 2026Ernie Smith
What’s the least you can do to build an effective paywall for creators that’s mostly open-source? If we can figure that out, that might make it easier to cut out the big platforms. One of the reasons why companies like Substack have such a strong hold on creators is pretty simple: It’s hard to build a paywall. You have to deal with a lot of really hard stuff, like logins and payment methods. And
- Betting Against SubstackMar 03, 2026Ernie Smith
I once turned down Substack because of their design limitations. As they emerge yet again in the news cycle, I thought I’d make my point with some of that design stuff they don’t do. So, this is not a normal issue of Tedium. I have been messing around with some email design stuff recently, and I decided to try out an experimental new layout. This was built using MJML, an email scripting tool, an
- They’re Vibe-Coding Spam NowFeb 25, 2026Ernie Smith
The problem with making coding easier for more people is that it makes spam more conventionally attractive. Which is bad. I have a problem: Unlike most people, I actually read my spam folder on a regular basis. (Often, they’re some of the most interesting emails I get.) I find spam to be intriguing, interesting, and often highlighting some modern trends. And sometimes, it surfaces something I act
- Markdown’s MomentFeb 18, 2026Ernie Smith
For some reason, a bunch of big companies are really leaning into Markdown right now. AI may be the reason, but I kind of love the possible side benefits. So, here’s something that I didn’t expect to be saying in 2026: There seems to be a nonzero chance that Markdown might become the new RSS. “Whoa, crazy talk! It’s not even a protocol!” I hear you saying. But the evidence has seemed to pick up o
- Project Code NameFeb 16, 2026Ernie Smith
Why do corporate restructuring plans get code names the way operating systems do? And why are the names often so bizarre? Today in Tedium: Recently, Amazon did something kind of annoying in the midst of doing something painful. It laid off a ton of people, but in the midst of doing that, it accidentally dropped an email revealing the layoffs early, before people got laid off. That email revealed
- Design DeconstructionFeb 14, 2026Ernie Smith
Design is perhaps the software paradigm most wedded to the mouse and the GUI. But there’s no reason it can’t be text-driven. To me, the hard part about being creative is that you’re always trying to look for a new path. Sure, you’ve done things a certain way for a long time, and it’s worked for you. But it’s hard not to want to dabble in new directions just to see where it takes you, and hope tha
- PostscriptFeb 08, 2026Ernie Smith
Mass layoffs are a fact of life in journalism. Your favorite writers and editors have dealt with them. But they weren’t supposed to happen at The Post. Over the last week or so, I’ve been dealing with a bit of a nightmare. Our upstairs heat pump system got frozen over because of the recent weather issues—and the temp did not tip above freezing for days. So we were stuck away from our house for an
- A Quiet Townhouse, A Great GiftFeb 06, 2026Ernie Smith
A mostly unknown townhouse in Manhattan was the site of a small but significant moment in the history of 20th-century American literature. It also gives insight into how modern society defines its history. Hey all, Ernie here with a piece from an old friend—Andrew Egan. This is his first piece since 2023, and we’re happy to have him back on here once again. I’ll be back at the bottom of the piece
- Slide AwayJan 29, 2026Ernie Smith
My favorite UX metaphor, the scrolling window manager, is having a moment—and it’s for pretty dank reasons. I was a pretty early adopter of perhaps the best GNOME extension, PaperWM, which displays your windows as sliding frames that move fluidly with the press of a keystroke. When everyone was going nuts over tiling windows, I was quietly calling this scrolling style the real innovation in windo
- Minus WorldJan 23, 2026Ernie Smith
Rumors of OnePlus’ possible death are heating up, which would be a real shame, given how much the smartphone market has already contracted. It’s not true, but their grip is slipping. With all the panicked chatter about the OnePlus brand over the last couple of days, I have a useful anecdote to add. And it involved a recent trip to the very T-Mobile store I first got acquainted with the OnePlus br