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The Web sucks

The first HTTP status code that everyone (not just programmers!) eventually encounters is “404”. Link rot is a frustrating user experience. It’s unlike every other interaction that people have with digital documents. I can’t remember the last time I lost a single file or photo, but I see 404s on a daily basis.

Sometimes it doesn’t work

Recently, I bought an item at a shop that provided a website to retrieve receipts electronically. Before attempting to return the item, I checked the receipt on my phone at home, and it worked. When I arrived at the shop, the retailer’s website didn’t work at all. The only explanation I got was an “Access Denied” message. Upon investigation I learned that my phone’s IP address is blocked by the retailer’s firewall. So, I connected through a VPN to solve the issue. This is a terrible, yet unfortunately very common experience for me and most other web users.

The root of this problem is that HTTP and web browsers were made for a time when people connected to the Web using a single browser. Nowadays, the average person regularly uses a handful of internet-connected devices regularly.

I have a solution

Web browsers are amazing pieces of software. Old documents from 20 years ago still render fine in modern browsers. This is a hard problem to solve securely and performantly across multiple operating systems and an unlimited number of hardware options.

I think the solution can be implemented within a browser as an extension. This has already been done several times (Instapaper, Pocket, Readwise Reader). Raindrop is the best app of them all.

I don’t think I’ll do a better job, but I know I’ll enjoy the effort.