#essays

Please don't mess with links

A short personal essay from maurycyz.com arguing that real hyperlinks should be used instead of click-handler spans or popups, because real links support new tabs, status previews, copying URLs, keyboard use, and screen readers. Written in the idiosyncratic, opinionated voice of a personal blog with interactive demos.

daniel.haxx.se (Daniel Stenberg's blog)

Personal blog of Daniel Stenberg, the creator and maintainer of curl. Longform writing on curl development, open source, licensing, and related topics, in a plain personal voice. The candidate URL is a single post; the site root (https://daniel.haxx.se/blog/) is the better listing URL.

Matthew Garrett's Blog

Long-running personal blog by Matthew Garrett (mjg59) on codon.org.uk, covering Linux, security, firmware, and free software in longform technical writing. The candidate URL is a single post, but the site itself is the inclusion target, so the entry should point to the blog root (https://codon.org.uk/~mjg59/blog/).

The Universe of Discourse

Mark Dominus's long-running personal blog, covering programming, Git, math, and assorted essays. Idiosyncratic and longform, with a full archive back to the early 2000s and active RSS/Atom feeds. A classic example of a personal blog with real character.

Anil Dash

Long-running personal blog of Anil Dash, a tech writer and longtime web figure, publishing since 1999. Essays on culture, language, platforms, and power. The candidate URL is a single post, but the blog itself is the destination. Feed-enabled personal site with a clear voice.

Shtetl-Optimized

Scott Aaronson's long-running personal blog on quantum computing, complexity theory, and science, philosophy, and family life. Opinionated longform writing with a strong voice. Submit the homepage (https://scottaaronson.blog/) rather than this single post, since the site is the destination.

Jim Nielsen's Blog

Personal blog about web development and the "big beautiful mess" of making things for the world wide web. Thoughtful essays exploring practical web development topics with substantive analysis.

brennan.day – Personal blog on tech ethics and open source politics

Personal blog by Brennan Kenneth Brown, a writer on AI ethics and open source governance. Has RSS/Atom feed and IndieWeb markers. The submitted article is substantial longform commentary on far-right ideology in open source, but this is a single article URL, not the site homepage.

Discard Pile

Personal blog featuring technical and cultural commentary. Original voice, thoughtful critique of AI adoption trends. Maintains RSS feed and IndieWeb markers.

Rambles around computer science

Personal technical blog featuring longform essays on computer architecture, systems programming, x86 segmentation, and the history of memory models in computing. Active with RSS feed.

Jim Nielsen's Blog

Personal blog exploring web design, aesthetics, and the indie web. Thoughtful longform essays on design patterns, AI aesthetics, web standards, and digital creativity.

Ankur Sethi's Lab Notebook

Personal tech blog featuring thoughtful essays about development practices, AI tools, and software engineering philosophy. The author critically examines how to use LLMs productively while maintaining cognitive engagement and genuine understanding of code.

Lapham's Quarterly

Literary magazine exploring history and ideas through themed essays, primary sources, and contemporary commentary.

Tom MacWright

Thoughtful essays on software, maps, and technology. Creator of several popular open source projects.

Wait But Why

Tim Urban's long-form illustrated essays. AI, procrastination, Fermi paradox, and more.

Ribbonfarm

Venkatesh Rao's longform essays on organizations, technology, and thinking.

RogerEbert.com

Continuing Roger Ebert's legacy of film criticism. Thoughtful reviews and essays on cinema.

Jeff Kaufman

Wide-ranging essays on effective altruism, parenting, contra dancing, and technical topics. Refreshingly honest.

Paul Graham

Essays on startups, programming, and life from the co-founder of Y Combinator. Influential and often contrarian.

Aeon

Essays on philosophy, science, and society. Deep thinking for curious minds.

Brain Pickings

Maria Popova on literature, science, and wisdom. Now The Marginalian.

Arts & Letters Daily

Curated links to essays and reviews. The thinking person's homepage.

London Review of Books

Literary and cultural essays. Some of the best long-form writing.

New York Review of Books

Essays and reviews on books and ideas. Intellectual discourse since 1963.

Public Domain Review

Curated essays on public domain works. Rediscovering forgotten treasures.

Gwern Branwen

Extensive essays on statistics, psychology, technology, and self-experiments. A masterclass in long-form web writing.

The Pudding

Visual essays that explain ideas through data and design. Journalism meets data visualization.