Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · 8d

Your timing is impeccable, I just left one.

youtu.be/6kLGw3tbzmk?...

She was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar

YouTube video by Memez4U

youtu.be

1 1

Reposted by Ryan McCue

The Repository @therepository.email · 17d

New FAIR 1.0 Release Brings Decentralized Package Management to WordPress

www.therepository.email

2 1

Reposted by Ryan McCue

LoopConf @loopconf.com · 27d

Don't sleep on this opportunity! Contact @rzen.net and join us on 25 Sept!

Brian Richards @rzen.net · Sep 11

If you want to come to @loopconf.com and the ticket cost is the only thing standing in your way, please reach out! I will make sure we can meet your needs and include you in the event.

The ONLY reason I'm producing the event is to create opportunity for as many WP devs as possible, including you!

Brian Richards @rzen.net · Sep 11

Hello fellow WordPress devs! If your schedule permits, I would be honored if you joined me for @loopconf.com on Sept 25th!

I personally curated the schedule and couldn't be happier about the diversity of perspectives and experiences we get to hear.

Check it out: loopconf.com

4 1

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Sep 8

Specifically, it's is_utf8_charset() which reads the blog_charset option.

Something that's also fascinating is that the charset option in the Reading settings will only show up if it's not already set to UTF-8 - I guess it's legacy support?

1 1

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Sep 8

Fun fact: esc_html() requires loading the WP database, since it's charset dependent.

1 3

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Aug 26

Re multiple directories, I think getting the directory to a "neutral" (multi-stakeholder?) host solves that problem, in the same way we don't need third-party backups for the DNS roots.

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Aug 26

The main thing there is performance, pulling the audit log data could require pagination and DID lookups are already relatively expensive in our flow (see also github.com/did-method-p...).

One option we talked about a little is that we could do validation in a labeler, making it opt-in.

Provide ability for bulk lookup · Issue #113 · did-method-plc/did-method-plc

We've got a situation where we want to revalidate ~100k DID documents on a regular basis. Right now, the PLC directory only supports single lookups of DIDs (or pulling down the whole history to red...

github.com

1 1

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Aug 24

(Also, the Bluesky client(s) you're using here use only the direct method fyi: github.com/bluesky-soci...)

github.com

1

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Aug 24

Indeed, although what's the threat model? If the threat is the PLC directory server, then loading the audit log from the server is no safer than the single endpoint - only mirroring it elsewhere and checking for inconsistency allows that.

2

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Aug 24

Might be a better question for @bnewbold.net & the Bluesky team on that, but I know there's tools to mirror the PLC directory, such as github.com/str4d/plc

(Note that we're using the single endpoint per spec, same as the official atproto identity package does.)

GitHub - str4d/plc: Key management for DID PLC identities

Key management for DID PLC identities. Contribute to str4d/plc development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

1

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Aug 24

Your Bluesky account eg is plc.directory/did:plc:fd7x... :)

plc.directory

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Aug 24

Each DID method defines its usage; the spec for PLC DIDs is to use the public endpoint. The audit log allows verifying it, but that's more of an offline process (and allows mirroring it).

We're also planning on supporting web DIDs, and potentially other methods beyond that - same as Bluesky.

2 2

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Aug 24

eg for did:plc:afjf7gsjzsqmgc7dlhb553mv, the DID document is at plc.directory/did:plc:afjf... and the key is zQ3shsLDoduUAwJjcc93ktzeQPRMghThq7LPEcsauSjgHpKZT

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Aug 24

You don’t need to parse the whole PLC audit log for operational usage, you can use the latest endpoint instead. The keys are encoded directly into the response in multibase. :)

2

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Aug 24

Thanks for diving in though! Come join our slack at chat.fair.pm if you want :)

Join FAIR Package Manager on Slack

Slack is a new way to communicate with your team. It’s faster, better organized, and more secure than email.

chat.fair.pm

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Aug 24

This isn’t quite right; the code for package signature checks is already in core, we just have to switch it on. It’s pending our server-side switch to Ed25519 before we do. It uses libsodium-compat, so should work on all hosts.

DAG-CBOR and multibase are byte encodings, no exts needed.

2

Reposted by Ryan McCue

Chris Reynolds @jazzsequence.com · Aug 20

ICYMI you can catch the VoD of my conversation with @rmccue.io about FAIR on the @pantheon.io YouTube page

www.youtube.com/live/PpVqbp_...

A Decentralized Future for WordPress Distribution

YouTube video by Pantheon

www.youtube.com

4 2

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Aug 20

I'll be live in an hour to chat about @fair.pm with @pantheon.io, including what we've been up to, and what's next! Tune in at www.youtube.com/live/PpVqbp_...

A Decentralized Future for WordPress Distribution

YouTube video by Pantheon

www.youtube.com

4 6

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Aug 9

If you have it locally, definitely try it: www.tracklements.co.uk/product/swee...

It’s strong English mustard and wholegrain rather than American yellow mustard. Now tempted to try the combo!

Sweet Mustard Ketchup 290g - Tracklements

A sweet piquancy, a good strong kick and a regal shade of yellow – this stuff is like bottled sunshine. We make our Sweet Mustard Ketchup with a combination of wholegrain and smooth mustards and a mea...

www.tracklements.co.uk

1 2

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Aug 9

The worst vegan/vegetarian food is anything pretending to be meat - just be good vegetables!

That said, honey roasted carrot with Tracklements (wholegrain) mustard ketchup would be delicious I bet.

1

Reposted by Ryan McCue

The Repository @therepository.email · Aug 8

WP Includes Is Helping Women Level Up Their Careers in WordPress — and Applications Are Now Open

Applications are now open for WP Includes’ next mentorship cohort, but the real story is the program’s impact since it launched in 2023.

www.therepository.email

3 1

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Aug 5

It’s fascinating seeing online arguments that, at the root, come down to people not understanding the difference between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources.

2

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Aug 4

Almost as bonkers as creating a temperature scale based on a mix of water, salt, and NH4Cl.

Ryan McCue @rmccue.io · Jul 10

I see someone was reading reddit today.

2

Reposted by Ryan McCue

LoopConf @loopconf.com · Jun 23

Early Bird tickets are now available for LoopConf, but only 50 of them!

loopconf.com

Register now for £299 (the lowest price ever for a LoopConf) and secure your spot in London on 25 September.

We can't wait to start sharing speakers with you!

WordPress Developer Conference – 25 September 2025 – London, UK

The premier conference for developers who choose WordPress.

loopconf.com

2 1