#24: That CSS Masonry Syntax (Again)
Oh, and if you're not working on a fediverse platform today…you may be tomorrow!
Friday, October 26, 2024
Yeah I know, I know. We've talked about this masonry business so many times already on That HTML Blog, but the conversation is continuing right along into genuine experimental implementations as the spec gets standardized, so we're running out of time to make our voices heard.
Should masonry be part of Grid? Or its own display layout type? That is the basic question at hand, but the devil's in the details. Jen Simmons, Elika Etemad, and Brandon Stewart wrote up a dynamite deep-dive into the latest state of the conversation, and it's pretty eye-opening regarding how layout might work in CSS generally going forward. Could we get grid-like features even outside of grid layout one day? It's possible!
Video Killed the Open Web Star?
This short essay is a bit out of the normal scope of That HTML Blog, but as "the fediverse" is increasingly a fundamental part of what "the web" is and how it works, I think there's plenty of philosophical overlap. If you, as a web developer, aren't working on a fediverse platform today…well, you may very well be tomorrow.
And on my personal blog, I wrote about the strange fact that while you can find plenty of competition between multiple commercial and open source platforms when it comes to text, audio, and many other media formats—long-form (unscripted) video seems to have become the sole domain of YouTube. YouTube has utterly won, and now completely dominates this vast market. So what are we gunna do about it? That is the question which haunts me nearly every day now…
Where Web Components Shine
Dave Rupert of Dave Rupert fame (IYKYK) has written up an excellent link reference all about the good parts and, yes, some of the "bad" parts of web components. Lots of quality material here to peruse, and while some of the uber-nerds among you may be familiar with much of it, it's likely there are useful points and technical details which will spark your interest and educational journey. Despite the protestations of some (IYKYK), web components are here to stay! So let's make the most of them.
And would you look at that: my very own article for The Spicy Web about SSRing web components with Node is referenced. Thanks Dave!
Don't forget to head over to The Spicy Web Discord to discuss all of these topics and much more!
🚀 Support That HTML Blog with Intuitive+
OK, so I launched Intuitive+ last year primarily to support the work I did for my CSS course on The Spicy Web. Since then, Intuitive+ has pivoted slightly to become a platform to support my writing and podcasting on a variety of technical and educational topics…including That HTML Blog! So if you'd like not only to (a) get more issues all about web development news, but also (b) get exclusive issues simply for being an Intuitive+ member—well, that's exactly what's now possible!
So sign up for Intuitive+ today if you can. I'd appreciate it so-o-o much, and I'm jazzed to be continuing on this journey to build cool indie web stuff with y'all. 😁
Cheers, Jared
Things that make you think:
One thing I noticed this time around [regarding the 2023 State of CSS Survey] is the number of men I’m aware of doing this stuff has increased, while the proportion of women, non-binary, or non-gender conforming people has declined. Maybe I’m just not following the right people? Or has the ratio of men to others become more skewed? Perhaps all the women and NB folk are burnt out by work, life and the state of the world in general to care too much about CSS right now, or to spend time waxing lyrical about it? (I know I am.) …It could well be just my perception that’s changed. But it’s a far cry from 2019, when I spoke at a CSS conference that featured six out of seven female speakers. It feels a little like we’re going backwards.