I was writing a piece about a feature I'd like to see added to WordPress, basically a refcon for each blog post, that would allow me to write an editor that managed data that's structured differently than a classic blog post. #
I briefly explained what a refcon was, and then searched the web via Google to find a definitive page on what a refcon is. Not finding one immediately, I had the idea of asking ChatGPT to write one. And what it came up with was not only accurate, but imho beautiful.#
Now there probably is a page somewhere on the web that explains the philosophy of refcons, but once I got the idea to give the problem to ChatGPT that was the end of my searching. #
I love refcons, they are so respectful, both ways, and I love ChatGPT just as much, because it says even if Google can't find something that doesn't mean I can't have it! #
PS. I honestly don't know if the Mac OS still has refcons, but it did in the 80s, and they were very important imho to the success of the Mac as a developer platform. #
Last update: Wednesday September 27, 2023; 7:14 PM EDT.
You know those obnoxious sites that pop up dialogs when they think you're about to leave, asking you to subscribe to their email newsletter? Well that won't do for Scripting News readers who are a discerning lot, very loyal, but that wouldn't last long if I did rude stuff like that. So here I am at the bottom of the page quietly encouraging you to sign up for the nightly email. It's got everything from the previous day on Scripting, plus the contents of the linkblog and who knows what else we'll get in there. People really love it. I wish I had done it sooner. And every email has an unsub link so if you want to get out, you can, easily -- no questions asked, and no follow-ups. Go ahead and do it, you won't be sorry! :-)