Testing the OPML Editor
I've got the Mac version, now available from the download page at support.opml.org.
Turns out I hate the way that opml blogs work -- the anchor-based perma-links, the no separate entries, the weirdo "adding a link to a whole entry". I think the OPML editor should stick to what it does best -- working with OPML outlines. Actually, talking to Colin and others, we really just want to have Omni Outliner speak instant outlining.
But this begs the question, what are we building here? I think this could be done with Jabber, the Publish/Subscribe JEP, and passing back and forth OPML document fragments. With identity and presence built in, of course. Would Dave be open to swapping out the communications protocol with something more standards based?
It's the same reason I'd like to see SubEthaEdit's protocol opened -- there are many more things we could build if these were standards.
In any case, thanks Dave for giving us a new old thing to experiment with.Try subscribing to my Instant Outline. Not sure if this works yet.
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OPML editor
Hi, Boris!
I was very glad to notice that you took the OPML editor for a test drive (I'm a very happy Bryght customer).
I really love the way the OPML editor works -- the fact that I can get a new entry by hitting "return," for example. Like the jump from maintaining a web page with a text editor and FTP to doing the same thing with a blogging tool, it's a difference in number (speed) that makes a difference in kind.
A lot of the "output" of the OPML editor into an OPML blog is done on the server side, so there's no reason that another server-side app could be made to "catch" the output of the editor and render it in any way -- including in a page per post mode.
I'd love it if someone wired up the OPML editor to Wordpress or Drupal as an optional editing interface; I'd keep the browser based interface, too, because it feels more compatible to me with writing long entries (I realize that's kind of silly, it's all text, yes? But somehow it seems true to me.).
OPML into Drupal
Djun Kim has actually been working on OPML export from Drupal's "book" module (which creates hierarchical outlines). The next part is importing, and I've long maintained that OPML would be great for maintaining shared documentation.
I think the big change is the "type and it's live" feeling, which flows so much nicer than having to think in "post" mode. But I still don't think OPML is a necessary part of that, other than it's a standard format. It's the protocol to, as you say, wire it up to another server interface.
D'Archy's Radio comments
D'Archy:
You're wrong or misinformed about Radio UserLand user interface. Radio supports all of the things you mention: post title as a hyperlink, comments and trackbacks and posts on a single page (available via a third-party tool).
Are you confusing Radio with Dave Winer's OPML Editor application?
Steve Kirks
Product Manager
UserLand Software
It's not OPML, it's Radio that sucks.
OPML is a cool outline format. It's interchangeable, etc, so plays well with others.
What sucks is the UI in Radio. I mean, wow. Does that suck. Click the tiny little icon for a link, rather than making a whole title a hyperlink. Don't have comments built in. Forget about separate pages for each post - use silly anchors in the page (based on the timestamp of the post) so it's harder to share the URL directly to a post you want to talk about. Trackbacks? Forget it.
The single biggest reason why I freaking HATE the iPodder.org podcasting directory is the UI. The content is great. The intention is also good. But the freaking lame excuse for a UI makes it a huge PITA to actually use...
[/rant]