What should we write about on our blog?

Question

We're currently waiting on a solid consensus on how to host a blog, but while we wait, we should collect ideas for what blog posts should discuss. Suggest your ideas here.

Below, submit one topic per answer. Each answer should also contain the list of users (potentially just one) who are willing to write the blog post. The topic should be something they can write at least 1000 words, and should be related to the site in some obvious way. The topic description can be anything from 1 sentence to an entire draft of the blog post.

Users should suggest ways to improve the topic of the post, as well as suggesting other related content that could be included in the post. If users agree that a specific topic should be a blog post, upvote the proposal. If not, downvote.

Every 2 weeks, starting from a date to be decided, the top voted answer will be turned into the latest blog post, edited down to a link to the post and deleted.

Discussion about these topics can be done on the CGCC Blog Chat.

Answer 1

Under-appreciated / low-visibility high-quality answers

We could include a recurring section including some answers from the past period of time that have a lot of work put into them but haven't gotten the visibility or the upvotes they deserve.

Answer 2

Language design and development

This is more relevant recently due to the surge in language creation. Sub-topics include:

• Posts by language creators about their languages; design, development, implementation, unique features, etc.
• Comparison of and/or expositions on language styles (stack-based/procedural/tacit, prefix/postfix/infix, etc.)
• In-depth explorations of the pros and cons of golfing languages vs. non-golfing languages (succinctness, readability, typing speed, execution speed, etc.)

I think this could be an especially rich field that PPCG members could contribute to due to the plethora of language creators and users of languages made by PPCGers.

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Users who could write about this

• Wezl (knowledge about language design and development, but not much specifically about golfing/esolangs)
• Lyxal
• Redwolf Programs
• caird coinheringaahing
• hyper-neutrino (knows a bit about some of the low-level implementation details about language design)
• Seggan (built a JVM compiler for a Vyxal derivative)
• You! (add yourself here)

Answer 3

Making your esolang tryable online without Dennis: creating esolang usability yourself

A post explaining how to make an online interpreter out of an already existing offline interpreter as getting languages added to TIO is currently an impractical solution.

Writing candidates

• Lyxal
• Redwolf Programs
• Wasif
• add you

Answer 4

History of golfing languages

An outline of how we went from practical languages to somewhat readable programs in golfscript/pyth/cjam to Unicode gibberish winning every challenge.

Users who could write

• Lyxal
• caird coinheringaahing
• add yourself here

Answer 5

Introduction to rarely used but interesting esolangs

This is meant to be a recurring topic, maybe once in a couple months. While LotM includes general-purpose languages and has an emphasis on general usability across challenges, this blog post will exclusively introduce esolangs and highlight certain aspects of it (along with a few specific challenges/answers).

Languages and users to write about each language

• Flurry: Bubbler
• Labyrinth: Razetime
• Brain-Flak:
• (Hexagony?)
• (Stack Cats?)
• P'': 4D4850
• BitCycle: DLosc
• Forte: DLosc (and/or someone else who knows the language better)

Answer 6

How to write a good explanation

Perhaps a post could be made that gave advice on writing good explanations that are accessible even to users who don't know a language or algorithm particularly well.

Users who could write this:

• caird coinheringaahing
• hyper-neutrino
• DLosc
• Razetime
• your name here!

Answer 7

How to get started learning a stack based golfing language

A post þat teaches þe basics of using any stack based language (stack mechanics, common operators and ways of control flow)

Writing Candidates

• Lyxal
• Wezl
• Razetime
• add yourself here

Answer 8

How to write a KotH

Tips all about KotHs. How to do design them, how to write a good specification, how to make a controller, etc.

Users who could write this:

• Redwolf Programs
• [others]

Answer 9

History of Code Golf and/or CGCC

As a slightly more general addition to hyper-neutrino's suggestion, this could cover things like Code Golf on Stack Overflow, abandoned challenge types like underhanded, the addition of things like "every language is its own sub-challenge", and so on. Could be a smaller section of every post, or its own standalone one.

Users who could write this:

• Redwolf Programs
• caird coinheringaahing
• [others]

Answer 10

How to make a golfing language

A more specific post than the other language development one, covering things like tacit vs. stack based, custom code pages, and so on. Could go with my other golfing language related suggestion, or not.

People who could write this:

• Redwolf Programs
• Lyxal
• [others]

Answer 11

The pros and cons of challenge types other than code-golf

The post would discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of writing challenges that use scoring criteria other than code-golf, for example king-of-the-hill, cops-and-robbers, answer-chaining and more.

Some pros off the top of my head:

• They're often novel challenge ideas, more so than code-golf, and so people are more likely to upvote and remember them
• They can be a fun "distraction" or "break" in the code-golf monotony on the site

Some cons:

• They require more work to find a good and objective winning criteria
• They often require more effort and engagement to write and successfully pull off, especially on the author's part

Writers

• caird coinheringaahing
• Redwolf Programs
• add yourself

Answer 12

Are golfing languages good for the site?

^{Accepted and written about in PPCG Blog #1 by Redwolf and caird.}

Answer 13

Things new users should know

A post outlining information about the code golf site that new users might not necessarily know from the welcome posts (e.g. SBCS, TIO links, etc)

Writing Candidates

• Lyxal
• add yourself here

Answer 14

TNB Highlights / TNB History

(Just a random idea. Maybe it's a really terrible one.)

We could include a section on each / some of the posts with some highlights from the past few weeks of chat. Not everything that's on the starboard, but specifically very funny (and still funny, not just in the moment) or very interesting discussions / messages (remember that you can bookmark a conversation and then link to it).

Alternatively, as a topic for one post, we could write about the history of TNB over the years (thanks to Lyxal for this suggestion).

Just throwing this idea out there.

Answer 15

User spotlight

This could be a part of a bigger post. It would focus on a certain user each time and outline things like preferred golfing languages, best challenges, most iconic TNB quote etc.

People to write about

• Redwolf (for being notable, outstanding at making KotHs)

Writing Candidates

• Lyxal

Answer 16

Preliminary opinions on the Blog

It would be about what people think about the new blog. Would have a section on in-depth opinions, as well as general reception. If and when done for real, would have a post made before it as an upvote/downvote poll, using upvotes and downvotes for voting.

Writers: 4D4850
Add your name here, if you helped write

Opinions: 4D4850: I think the blog is great, because it provides a community-based source of news. However, I'm a little worried it'll be a flop because I'm not sure many people would particularly care about what's happening on Meta.

Add username and opinions here, using the opinion I wrote above as an example of formatting