The article discusses the Friend-Of-A-Friend (FOAF) concept for establishing trust relationships through social graphs. It notes that FOAF implementations have varied over time, ranging from complex cryptography and key-signing ceremonies to XML RDF formats.
The human.json protocol allows humans to assert authorship of their site content and vouch for others' humanity using URL ownership as identity. The author implemented this protocol on their website, making it available at evanhahn.com/human.json.
The article identifies the most popular bloggers on Hacker News in 2025, focusing on individual bloggers rather than company or team blogs. It explains the methodology used to determine which blogs qualify for inclusion in the ranking.
In 2025, the author published 141 blog posts, with 33 reaching the front page of Hacker News. The blog peaked at 1.3 million monthly views in August and gained over 2,500 email subscribers. The author was the third most popular blogger on Hacker News for the year.
The author explains their decision not to offer an email newsletter for their website, preferring to write content that varies in quality depending on circumstances. They emphasize maintaining an RSS-dependent approach for their publishing platform.
Hillel Wayne is taking a break from writing his weekly software essay newsletter Computer Things for the rest of the year due to burnout. The writing process has become more time-consuming, taking two to three days instead of an afternoon. He plans to resume the weekly cadence in 2026.