WordPress has quite the steep learning curve, especially in combination with pre-fab templates. They are beautiful, but have so many hidden variables that interact with the basic architecture of WP you only discover when they throw an unexpected wobbler. And DreamHost’s site assistant is a double-edged sword. I’m not afraid of AI as a rule, as they still react the same way Dad taught me 45 years ago to think about computers: they don’t do what you intend, they do exactly to the letter what you say. Some superficial phenomena may look like relevant interaction, but that’s not really real. Trying to get continuity from such a beast is almost unpossible for instance and answers to the same question can contradict each other in new iterations of the same line of questioning. To then realize you could have gotten an answer in the first round which would have helped understand what’s happening and saved hours of pulling out your hair, understanding the underlying reasons for the problem you were trying to solve, but for some undefined reason you were sent on a merry wild-goose-chase.
So as of yesterday, the site assistant is re-christened as my Site Assassin. Its only saving grace is that those hours I’ve lost yesterday to endless circular reasoning led me to a whole new concept and I’m gonna restructure everything. The site will even get simpler and cleaner, as I’m booting half of the top-level pages. The only publicly visible parts will be entry points to the collections that will remain private, which gives me a lot of freedom to play with the visual aspects of the realm and keep the content to those eyes only who are supposed to engage with it.
A corner of the tarpaulin lifted
The realm will be accessible from three main points: the Castle, the Gardens and the Acres. These areas will be further divided into parts, housing different collections. Construction begins. There might be lots of sounds of sawing and hammering and the occassional scream when I drop something sharp on my toes.