#postelslaw — Public Fediverse posts

So, interacting with an AI trying to get domain specific answers where you already have domain knowledge, basically teaches you how awesome human minds are at interpreting context and intent and providing an answer that contributes to the perceived goal.

It also teaches you how woefully sloppy and imprecise your own thoughts and verbalisations are.

So we're basically back at Postel's law: be strict in what you send, liberal in what you receive.

#ai #PostelsLaw

So, interacting with an AI trying to get domain specific answers where you already have domain knowledge, basically teaches you how awesome human minds are at interpreting context and intent and providing an answer that contributes to the perceived goal.

It also teaches you how woefully sloppy and imprecise your own thoughts and verbalisations are.

So we're basically back at Postel's law: be strict in what you send, liberal in what you receive.

#ai #PostelsLaw

🎪 "Hey folks, gather 'round for the latest spectacle: a software engineer's desperate attempt to teach us why Postel's Law is losing popularity! 🤡 Spoiler: it's less about groundbreaking insights and more about reminding everyone he's worked everywhere and knows everything. 🏆"
https://alexgaynor.net/2025/mar/25/postels-law-and-the-three-ring-circus/ #PostelsLaw #SoftwareEngineering #TechHumor #CareerJourney #InsightfulRead #HackerNews #ngated

🎪 "Hey folks, gather 'round for the latest spectacle: a software engineer's desperate attempt to teach us why Postel's Law is losing popularity! 🤡 Spoiler: it's less about groundbreaking insights and more about reminding everyone he's worked everywhere and knows everything. 🏆"
https://alexgaynor.net/2025/mar/25/postels-law-and-the-three-ring-circus/ #PostelsLaw #SoftwareEngineering #TechHumor #CareerJourney #InsightfulRead #HackerNews #ngated

Postel's Law and the Three Ring Circus

https://alexgaynor.net/2025/mar/25/postels-law-and-the-three-ring-circus/

#HackerNews #PostelsLaw #ThreeRingCircus #TechNews #InternetPolicy #Cybersecurity

Postel's Law and the Three Ring Circus

https://alexgaynor.net/2025/mar/25/postels-law-and-the-three-ring-circus/

#HackerNews #PostelsLaw #ThreeRingCircus #TechNews #InternetPolicy #Cybersecurity

Python fails Postel’s Law parsing email messages, with a workaround

The next-generation email parser in Python silently ignores data it doesn't understand, sometimes to the detriment of the caller.

https://blog.kamens.us/2024/06/08/python-fails-postels-law-parsing-email-messages-with-a-workaround/

#Python #PostelsLaw #email #FreeSoftware

Python fails Postel’s Law parsing email messages, with a workaround

The next-generation email parser in Python silently ignores data it doesn't understand, sometimes to the detriment of the caller.

https://blog.kamens.us/2024/06/08/python-fails-postels-law-parsing-email-messages-with-a-workaround/

#Python #PostelsLaw #email #FreeSoftware

Python fails Postel’s Law parsing email messages, with a workaround

The next-generation email parser in Python silently ignores data it doesn’t understand, sometimes to the detriment of the caller.

#PostelSLaw #Python

https://blog.kamens.us/2024/06/08/python-fails-postels-law-parsing-email-messages-with-a-workaround/

Python fails Postel’s Law parsing email messages, with a workaround

The next-generation email parser in Python silently ignores data it doesn’t understand, sometimes to the detriment of the caller.

#PostelSLaw #Python

https://blog.kamens.us/2024/06/08/python-fails-postels-law-parsing-email-messages-with-a-workaround/

@MostlyCoraGrace The <article> tag generally wraps the only content worth actually keeping / reading on a page...

Answering @inthehands: you might want to take a look at the Readbility.js code to see what elements its looking for on pages to render the actual main article payload. Though I suspect much of that is itself an ad hoc mess.

I've suggested a browser built on an FYWD principle.

Some people say that means Fine Young Western Dinosaurs.

Others insist it means Fuck Your Web Design.

The parser would be premised on a strict rejection of Postel's Law.

http://deirdre.net/programming-sucks-why-i-quit/

#FYWD #PostelsLaw #TheWebIsAnErrorCondition

@MostlyCoraGrace The <article> tag generally wraps the only content worth actually keeping / reading on a page...

Answering @inthehands: you might want to take a look at the Readbility.js code to see what elements its looking for on pages to render the actual main article payload. Though I suspect much of that is itself an ad hoc mess.

I've suggested a browser built on an FYWD principle.

Some people say that means Fine Young Western Dinosaurs.

Others insist it means Fuck Your Web Design.

The parser would be premised on a strict rejection of Postel's Law.

http://deirdre.net/programming-sucks-why-i-quit/

#FYWD #PostelsLaw #TheWebIsAnErrorCondition

“Be conservative in what you send, liberal in what you accept.”

From Jon Postel, aka “God of the Internet”.

My takeaways:
1. Be strict with every API call, message, event you send. Play by the rules.
2. Be open to accepting anything you receive. No expectations. No errors.

#softwarearchitecture #softwareengineering #design #postelslaw

#postelslaw and its consequences have been a disaster for the web.

@icing @bagder “Be liberal in what you accept from others and ruthlessly brutal in what you do,” or words to that effect 😉 #PostelsLaw

@icing @bagder “Be liberal in what you accept from others and ruthlessly brutal in what you do,” or words to that effect 😉 #PostelsLaw

@jchyip I think #PostelsLaw is also useful in non-technical social systems.

@jchyip I think #PostelsLaw is also useful in non-technical social systems.

Wondering about #PostelsLaw applied to #Sociotechnical systems

Wondering about #PostelsLaw applied to #Sociotechnical systems

Be /broad/ in what you accept and /precise/ in what you emit. #linguisticshift #PostelsLaw