Jon Tan’s profile

I just realised, commenting on Simon Clayson's #ideasofmarch post, that I also miss conversations in comments. I think I'm going to try and contribute more in comments, too. They're like lubrication and encouragement to post more, certainly for me.

I disagree with those that suggest receiving blog comments are purely about ego. I think those that think that have confused a social media marketing view of the world, which sees comment count as proof-positive of value, with real conversations, where an even one speculative thought is of more value than any number of "likes". In passing thoughts lie the seeds of inspiration.

So, I undertake to have the courtesy of acknowledging a post with a comment, when I feel I can add something useful, and even when mine may be the most cursory thoughts. After all, who doesn't like to be acknowledged, engaged, and even disagreed with (if done gracefully). If that provides even a minuscule bit of encouragement to the authors I miss reading, it’s worth it.

Posted in Ideas of March.

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 at 11:12:24 GMT

Ace. And, done: Ides of March (not a typo). :)

Posted in Ideas of March.

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 at 13:39:52 GMT

Thanks! We really appreciate the compliment about Analog.

However, could I make a suggestion? I would appreciate it if you did not just re-use the background I created by hand, but made your own, inspired perhaps by Analog’s, but not taken from us without permission.

Posted in 2010 Highlights.

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 at 21:06:18 GMT

It's a stitch-up! Okay, okay, I concede. Seven things coming sometime soon (and I may even try to port this meme into the design fraternity).

Posted in Seven Things.

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 at 13:02:01 GMT

Hi Michael. What do you mean by a Unicode font? Do you mean fonts that include all 95,221 Unicode characters?

To answer you second question, as the article Chris linked to indicates, EOT and OTF can both have subsets depending on the unicode range required which can reduce the file size significantly. For example, to the 32KB (OTF) or 10KB (EOT) in the article.

Posted in Font Linking.

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 at 09:19:37 GMT

Thanks for the mention, Chris. I'm looking forward to the follow-up. I think the hard-won experience of web app security people can help the type and design communities avoid mistakes that have gone before, and understand how to move forward.

Posted in Font Linking.

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 at 09:44:52 GMT

It was great to be there, meet so many good people, and soak in the atmosphere (sometimes literally). Mint was a highlight! Next time out of the blocks I have a feeling our talk might prompt a few more discussions, especially given the very useful feedback from people. Thanks for hosting me Chris, I appreciate it.

Posted in OSCON Wrapup.

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 at 13:52:07 GMT

Thanks for posting this Chris. The only thing stopping a typophile like me using it is that lack of a Safari plugin (hint, hint, guys). :)

Posted in OpenID with myVidoop.

Wed, 07 May 2008 at 23:02:35 GMT

In principle, Chris' analysis is right. It's important to separate the UX issue from the outright security ones. Leaving URLs, and other possible development flaws aside, the issue that initially emerged here is of of user experience, or user expectations.

The definitions of security and privacy as Don has described are not necessarily congruent with the understanding of users. Add to that what seems like a genuine desire to give users finely granulated control over their content, and what you end up with is a degree of confusion. If that confusion leads to users choosing privacy/security settings that they didn't intend, it is a UX issue.

Without delving further in to the checks and balances within the interface, it's impossible to say how secure the user experience is. However, even with the extra form labels, there is obviously an issue of clarity, and perhaps one of decision validation. User testing would provide empirical evidence of any flaws, and allow better design decisions. If the finely granulated settings need to persist, then my recommendation would be revisiting a user centered design process as well as fixing the entirely separate programatical security problems, if they exist.

If nothing else, this example serves to demonstrate that user experience design is critical to security when users gate keep their own content.

Posted in Security and User Experience.

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 at 15:13:22 GMT

Nick, not only are you dead wrong, but your comment was also rude.

...half-assed reliance-on-authority screed

See my point? Chris was exploring Tim O'Reilly's idea of the Web as OS, quoting the Unix philosophy, then citing and linking to the same. He did a pretty good job of provoking some interesting thoughts, too. Was the entry really a screed? It is neither long, monotonous, or ranting. Did you actually read it? I ask because you seem really quick to judge, and have done so with complete inaccuracy.

Posted in The Internet is the New Unix.

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 at 08:52:21 GMT