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+title = "Blog Questions Challenge"
+date = "2025-01-14"
+description = "Truth be told, it’s not much of a challenge, more a couple of questions like an a-sync interview. But I’m always fascinated by the why behind things, so it’s fun nonetheless."
+
+[taxonomies]
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+
+Apparently this was started by [Brandon](https://brandons-journal.com/bear-blog-questions-challenge/), made a bit more generic by [Kev](https://kevquirk.com/blog/blog-questions-challenge), but I saw it first in a post by [Mijndert](https://mijndertstuij.nl/posts/blog-questions-challenge/). A blog questions challenge.
+
+Truth be told, it's not much of a challenge, more a couple of questions like an a-sync interview. But I'm always fascinated by the why behind things, so it's fun nonetheless.
+
+<!-- toc -->
+
+## Why did you start blogging in the first place?
+I've always enjoyed tinkering with web *stuff*. My first outlet was forums, as I was young and didn't know content management systems were a thing[^1]. I even managed to get something running on my own computer and dealt with port forwarding to make it public[^2]. I posted things there from time to time, and even got some friends and strangers to join in too. 
+
+True *blogging* started later. When I also set up a domain name, and got a proper host. On my very own website.
+
+My main drive has been that I enjoy having my own little piece of the internet. Sometimes I would feel the need to share, and where better to do that than on my own blog/website.
+
+## What platform are you using to manage your blog and why did you choose it?
+Currently, I'm using [Zola](https://www.getzola.org/). I picked it primarily because I just couldn't get used to the syntax for the previous site generator I had. Plus, it's written in Rust, which [is a meme](https://transitiontech.ca/random/RIIR).
+
+All the (techy) details can be found in [the colophon](/colophon/).
+
+## Have you blogged on other platforms before?
+Yes, many. I started with several forum software packages, mainly [phpBB](https://www.phpbb.com/) stuck for a while. Then it was mostly [WordPress](https://wordpress.com/), on several different websites. Later I transitioned to static website generators, [Jekyll](https://jekyllrb.com/), [Hexo](https://hexo.io/), [Hugo](https://gohugo.io/), and now Zola.
+
+## How do you write your posts? For example, in a local editing tool, or in a panel/dashboard that's part of your blog?
+Never really trusted the dashboard, and currently I don't even have one.
+
+I tend to write in [iA Writer](https://ia.net/writer), or *maybe* [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md/). Then, when it's ready for a preview, I'll move it into [VSCodium](https://vscodium.com/) to be part of the website, and run the local server to check if it all works and do some proofreading.
+
+## When do you feel most inspired to write?
+Often while reading, especially personal websites of others. 
+
+For example, this post is because I read Mijndert's post, which led me down the rabbit hole of others writing for this "challenge". So it found its way into my to-do list.
+
+Or when I feel like I achieved something. Like a lessons learned kind of thing.
+
+Rarely I actually document stuff beforehand, because I had planned to blog about it later. 
+
+## Do you publish immediately after writing, or do you let it simmer a bit as a draft?
+As soon as possible after writing, since now I'm still excited about it. The longer I would let it wait, the bigger chance of it never getting published at all.
+
+That being said, sometimes I do hold off on publishing for a day or so, just so I can check it once more after sleeping on it.
+
+## What's your favourite post on your blog?
+This is a new blog. Not much on here yet, other than a hello world. So *none*, for now.
+
+## Any future plans for your blog? Maybe a redesign, a move to another platform, or adding a new feature?
+A couple of things:
+- Adding related posts
+- Adding some way to subscribe
+- Migrating (and redirecting) my previous website to this one, maybe even translating some of it
+- Figuring out what to do with analytics (for vanity's sake only)
+
+Probably more as time goes on. A virtual home is similar to a physical home in the sense that it's never finished, always something to maintain or improve.
+
+[^1]: I'm not sure whether they even existed back in the day, but given the fact that forums existed, surely CMS's must also have existed.
+[^2]: No security, not even a domain name. You would have to know my IP address to find it, and if you did, you would be happy to know that I probably would not even have had a basic firewall in place.