Blogging Can Just Be Stating The Obvious
Jim Nielsen reflects on a John Gruber rant about obtrusive website popups, arguing that blogging is often as simple as stating what seems obvious but goes unsaid. He notes that posts pointing out the emperor's-new-clothes problems nobody else mentions can be the most valuable.
Background
John Gruber is a well-known blogger and author of Daring Fireball, a hugely influential tech blog that has been running since 2002. Jim Nielsen is a designer and developer who blogs about web design, user experience, and the culture of the web.
— **"Dickover"** is a term Gruber coined to describe user-hostile interface patterns — things like cookie consent banners, newsletter popups, or paywalls that get in the way of actually reading a page.
— The post reflects a long-running tension in the indie web/blogging world: many writers feel they are just stating the obvious (e.g., "a webpage should show the webpage"), yet those obvious things keep getting violated by big companies, so saying them out loud becomes a public service.
— **"The Emperor's New Clothes"** analogy is a staple of this genre — pointing out that everyone can see something is broken, but nobody says anything until someone finally does.