Top all-time · #2122
I’d Rather Be Writing Blog and API doc course
Personal blog · idratherbewriting.com/blogwritingcareerai
I’d Rather Be Writing Blog and API doc course is a personal blog at idratherbewriting.com about writing, career and ai. Since 2007, 35 different Hacker News readers have linked it 42 times, most often “Documenting APIs”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-11-01, and you can follow it by feed.
Too few sampled comments (8) to say how often HN recommends it.?
Why HN links it
HN readers link this blog for its API documentation tutorial and writing on documentation structure, such as Diataxis and writing small docs, plus a post on smartphones and attention.
- Recommended for · 1 comments
- One commenter calls the API documentation tutorial "a good tutorial".
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 8 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
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Most-linked posts?
- /blog/returning-to-smartphones/2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2022-06-25
- Documenting APIs2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2022-01-08
- What is Diátaxis and should you be using it with your documentation?2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2024-03-06
What Hacker News says?
Heh, that’s exactly what he did here - https://idratherbewriting.com/blog/returning-to-smartphones/ .
Comment linking /blog/returning-to-smartphones/
on “My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span”Submitted My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span as a story · 552 points
HN discussionWorth noting that Tom has since returned to smartphone usage (with some interesting tweaks): https://idratherbewriting.com/blog/returning-to-smartphones/
Comment linking /blog/returning-to-smartphones/
on “My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span”Submitted How to avoid being a secretary for engineers (2018) as a story · 106 points
HN discussionDiataxis gets often linked around here. It's simple, but by no means the solution to great docs. For more info, see https://idratherbewriting.com/blog/what-is-diataxis-document...
Comment linking /blog/what-is-diataxis-documentation-framework
on “Rules for writing software tutorials”Submitted Documenting APIs as a story · 54 points
HN discussionThe landing page for the announcement has a little more detail: https://www.flickr.com/lookingahead/ > Free members with more than 1,000 photos or videos uploaded to Flickr have until Tuesday, January 8, 2019, to upgrade to Pro or download content over the limit. After January 8, 2019, members over the limit will no longer be able to upload new photos to Flickr. After February 5, 2019, free accounts that contain ove…
Comment linking /learnapidoc/docapis_flickr_example.html
on “Why we’re changing Flickr free accounts”Submitted Walking and Chatting with ChatGPT as a story · 4 points
HN discussionThere's a concept called "Every Page Is Page One": https://idratherbewriting.com/trends/trends-to-follow-or-for... An attempt to meet the needs of people following search engine links right into the middle of documentation. This is where I wonder if an A.I. could provide missing introductory context, based on the conversation that got you to the doc.
Comment linking /trends/trends-to-follow-or-forget-every-page-is-page-one.html
on “Writing small docs is a game changer”Submitted Introduction to Influence on the Web as a story · 4 points
HN discussionI have used MkDocs to do this in the past. 1. https://idratherbewriting.com/learnapidoc/pubapis_static_sit...
Comment linking /learnapidoc/pubapis_static_site_generators.html
on “Next.js 15 Markdown Boilerplate”Submitted The Social Web is Changing Documentation as a story · 4 points
HN discussionIt reminds me of Snap ( https://idratherbewriting.com/2007/01/17/preview-images-of-l... ). Aren't embedded <iframe>s blocked by X-Frame-Options or CSP?
Comment linking /2007/01/17/preview-images-of-link-destinations-with-snap/
on “Show HN: A browser extension to preview links on your current page”Submitted Do developers need code samples in API documentation? as a story · 3 points
HN discussionHere's a good tutorial: https://idratherbewriting.com/learnapidoc/
Comment linking /learnapidoc/
on “Ask HN: How to Document APIs”Submitted Automate links in your release notes using AI as a story · 3 points
HN discussionSubmitted Making documentation pages agent friendly as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Changing the AI narrative from liberation to acceleration as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Speaking Up and Calling Out BS When You See It as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Task decomposition and complex tree diagrams (prompt engineering) as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Driving without GPS – the desire to be free and in controls as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Processes for External Documentation Contributors as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted The problem with adopting “bleeding-edge” tools as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted (Another) 20 usability tips for your blog as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Judging beautiful docs, AI fatigue, and tool slop as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted Cyborg Technical Writers – Augmented, Not Replaced, by AI as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted How to use AI with expressive writing without generating AI slop as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted What is Diátaxis and should you be using it with your documentation? as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted A writer's experience creating human-sounding articles using Claude AI as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted Markprompt Q&A with Michael Fester as a story · 1 points
HN discussion
