Still Thinking About It

The World Wide Web was built to share information. From the beginning, it was designed as a network of decentralised servers and clients communicating with each other. However, over the past 25 years, it seems to me that the web has become much more centralised.

Initially, I also embraced the new, exciting and fascinating world of social media. However, the more time I spent on it, the less I enjoyed using it. I never posted much on social media. Over the years, I have used many of them and have seen them come and go. I still remember when Diaspora was launched, and the hacker scene — of which I was a part at the time — thought it would be revolutionary. In my opinion, it didn't really take root until Mastodon joined the field, and even then, it only really took off after the Twitter meltdown.

Do you really need to comment?

One of the things that bothers me most about the modern web is that it makes everyone feel like they have to publish their opinion on everything. I remember listening to a Big Think interview with Stephen Fry, in which he also touched on this issue:

It’s such a pity and that’s one of the reasons I love the online world is that although that exists in abundance you can choose absolutely which part of the online world you want to live in. You can make your own kingdom in that sense, so things like Twitter or whatever I’m sure there are all kinds of Twitter you know clusters of people who have politics that I would find horrific and really just views that I would preposterous and impertinent, but I just don’t have to follow them and I can block them and I will never know they exist and that’s glorious.

And similarly as long as you don’t lower your eyes when reading a blog, as long as you don’t go down to the comment section where the trolls lurk, where the viciousness is because that’s… I mean there really is just suppurating, boiling seas of acid where if you just so much as dip a toe you’ve lost your limbs you know, just vileness abounding.

Source: Stephen Fry, How Oscar Wilde Helped Stephen Fry Confront His Sexuality, 8 December 2009, ~13:30

In his later blog post, "No Comment...", he writes:

I don’t know about you, but my eyes are already trained only to read the top half of a web page these days. Rather as a Victorian would not look below the waist, I do not let my eyes have even a second’s contact with the revolting Have Your Say or Comments section of a BBC site, a YouTube page or any blog or tech forum. The lower half of web pages is very like the lower half of the body — full of all kinds of noxious evil smelling poison.

Source: Stephen Fry, No comment..., 28 May 2010

This influenced me so much that, since then, I have tried not to read the comment sections on websites. However, sometimes I still find myself reading them. This is also one of the reasons why I don't have any comment functionality on my blog. There are, of course, some technical reasons why I do not offer it, but the biggest reason is that I do not want the legal responsibility that comes with hosting content created by others.

This doesn't mean that I don't want people to respond to what I write. On the contrary, I still believe that the web is for sharing. And this might make me seem hypocritical after the paragraphs above, but let me explain my reasons.

My main goal is to be in control of what I read and consume. I want people to publish their own stories and opinions, to link to interesting content and to respond when they have something to add. What I don't want is for all of those things to be pushed into the same space where everybody is expected to read and participate in the resulting conversation. I want independent spaces for people where they are in control of their inputs and outputs.

So, how can people share their stories or opinions with me while I remain in control of what I read?

The Independent Web

In recent years, and especially since the beginning of this year, I have noticed a resurgence in the movement to build an independent web. The idea behind it is that people own their content by hosting and publishing it themselves. Recently, Adam Newbold blogged about how anyone can do it and how inexpensive it can be. For those who are not technically inclined, I can recommend this blog post by Brennan Kenneth Brown.

One fundamental problem with the independent web is discoverability. How can we find other people on the independent web? Services like Bubbles, Ye Olde Blogroll and Kagi Small Web are definitely good starting points, but they still feel somewhat centralised. I would like to use more decentralised methods.

In 2017, the W3C published the Webmention protocol. They describe it as:

Webmention is a simple way to notify any URL when you mention it on your site. From the receiver's perspective, it's a way to request notifications when other sites mention it.

Source: W3C, Webmention, 12 January 2017

Even though Webmention is not directly meant to solve the discoverability problem, it can still help make the people and websites that form the independent web more visible. When one site mentions another and sends a Webmention, it creates a connection between the two. Following these connections can lead readers from one independent website to another and, in that way, help them discover people and sites they might otherwise never have encountered.

I wrote my own implementation of this protocol, which you can find here (more about open source projects later). My blog also supports it, and you can send me webmentions. I have not yet implemented the extensions Vouch or Private-Webmention. As I will not support comments on my blog, I will probably never implement the extension Salmention.

Recently, there was some discussion on the independent web about the privacy implications of Webmention, which you can read about here, here and here. My implementation does not import or display any content from external sites. The only thing it does, following the spec, when receiving a new webmention is to check whether the source really links to my blog. It does not modify my blog post to include a reference back to the source. If you find one, that means I added it manually.

Webmention is probably the most technical way to make your reply known to me, but it is an open protocol in which everyone can participate. In addition, I believe that one should have different ways to achieve the same goal and not be forced to use one specific method.

While reading about how to provide reply options for my readers, I came across the blog post "Please let me interact with your blog post!" by Michael Harley, where he also proposes email as a viable option. That post is why I implemented this option as well, but to reduce possible spam I used some of these email address obfuscation methods.

Reflecting on this, I came to a similar conclusion for open source software.

Maintaining Open Source Software

Years ago, when I came into contact with the local hacker scene, I was introduced by a friend to the concept of free and open source software. At that time, I had already taken my first steps into programming, and while learning a new language, I began to publish my little tools as open source. I also contributed, although rarely, to some projects. But there was a thought that lingered in the back of my mind for a long time.

We have seen maintainer burnout in the past and probably will see more in the future. I have also experienced hostile behaviour from a maintainer in response to a feature request. All this makes me mindful of my own well-being in this matter.

The same principles that influence how I handle comments on my blog also influence how I publish my software. I want to share my source code, but sharing it does not mean that I want to open another channel through which anyone can demand my attention. Open source does not mean open access to the maintainer.

This led to making my software not available anymore on centralised hosting platforms, but hosting it myself. This means that contributions to my software are now deliberately gated. There is no issue tracker anymore; there are no feature requests and there are no pull requests. If you want to contribute to my software, you can send a patch via email. I may read your email, I may reply to you, and I may apply the patch or not.

Sharing on my own terms

In the end, I still believe that the web is for sharing. I want to share what I write and the software I create, and I want other people to be able to respond or contribute. But sharing something does not mean giving up control over my own space or making my time and attention freely available to everyone.

Whether it is through Webmention, email or Mastodon, I prefer methods that let people reach me without placing me under an obligation to read, reply to or act on everything I receive. I can decide what I consume, what I respond to and what I accept.

For me, that is what an independent web should offer: the freedom to share, but also the freedom to choose how we interact with each other.

After my first hike ignited my wanderlust, I searched for another trail. This time, I wanted a shorter one as I was planning to do it as an after-work excursion in the late evening. It should be close to home, easy, and feasible in about an hour. The choice was quickly made. I decided to do a trail in the small town of Lasauvage called "Sentier de la Crosnière".

From a wild woman to herons

Lasauvage, known as "Zowaasch" in Luxembourgish, is a small town in the south-west of Luxembourg. It is one of the few French-speaking towns in southern Luxembourg, many of which have a long history with the local steel industry. The local ironworks in Lasauvage were the first in the country to use minette ore, for which Luxembourg is renowned and on which much of its wealth was built.

There is an oral tradition (German: "Sage") that explains the town's name. I have copied it here verbatim, including the old spelling with the long s (ſ) and "eszett" (ß).

120. Die wilde Frau zu La Sauvage

Vor Errichtung des Hüttenwerkes zu La Sauvage, zu Ende des erſten Viertels des XVII. Jahrhunderts, war dieſes romantiſche Thal unbewohnt und führte des Namen Val de la sauvage femme. Dieſen Namen hatte es erhalten von einer wilden Frau, die ihre Wohnung in einer der Höhlungen des Felſens La Cronnière hatte. Nach der Ueberliferung nähre ſich die wilde Frau von rohem Fleiſche; ein dichtes Haupthaar, das ſie umhüllte und bis zu den Füßen herabhing, diente ihr ſtatt aller Kleidung. Ihre rot umränderten Augen, dicht an der Wurzel des Haupthaares, ſchienen glühende Kohlen zu ſein; ihre Stimme tönte wie unheimliches Eulengeſchrei, und ihre Finger waren mit ſcharfen Krallen bewaffnet, womit ſie das im Laufe erjagte Wild oder die auf den Feldern erbeuteten Schafe zerriß.

Als die wilde Frau zum Sterben kam, ſoll ſie in der Hölle keine Aufnahme gefunden haben, da man ſie für das Weibchen eines wilden Tieres hielt. So war ſie wieder zur Erde heraufzuſteigen genötigt, zum Entſetzen der ganzen Umgegend, die ſie nächtlich als ſchreckliches Geſpenſt durchſtreifte, bis endlich ein frommer Einſiedler aus dem Walde Selomon den Geiſt der wilden Frau jenſeits des Meeres bannte. Er that es unter Anrufung des hl. Donatus und Unſerer Lieben Frau zu Luxemburg, deren heilige Bilder zum Andenken an die wunderbare Befreiung in dem Felſen La Cronnière aufgeſtellt wurden.

Source: Nicolas Gredt, Sagenschatz des Luxemburger Landes (Luxemburg: V. Bück, 1883), pp. 71–72. Digitised by the National Library of Luxembourg.

The passage above recounts the legend from which Lasauvage is said to have taken its name. Before the ironworks were constructed in the early seventeenth century, the valley was supposedly uninhabited except for a wild woman who lived in a cave in the "La Cronnière" rock formation. According to the story, she ate raw meat, wore only her long hair and had glowing eyes, an owl-like voice and sharp claws. After her death, when she was denied entrance to Hell, her ghost reportedly haunted the area until a hermit banished it by invoking "Saint Donatus" and "Our Lady of Luxembourg".

The passage refers to the valley as the "Val de la Sauvage Femme", meaning "Valley of the Wild Woman". This name was eventually shortened and transformed into "Lasauvage". The Luxembourgish name "Zowaasch" is actually just a phonetic borrowing of the French name. If you say the French word "sauvage" and write it down as you hear it in Luxembourgish, you will probably end up with something very close to "Zowaasch".

A small stream flows through the town. Its official French name is the "Ruisseau de la Côte Rouge", but it is also sometimes called the "Crosnière". It is this stream that gives the trail its name. I find the coincidence with the name of the cave remarkable. In fact, the two names are sometimes interchanged, as can be seen in this news article from 1973. In Luxembourgish, this stream is called "Réierbaach". "Baach" is simply Luxembourgish for "stream", and "Réier" is Luxembourgish for "Heron".

Trail details

Distance:		Time:		Overall pace:
Maximum elevation:		Minimum elevation:		Average elevation:
Ascent:		Descent:
Average speed:		Maximum speed:

Download the GPX track

The little town of Lasauvage

To reach the parking spot, I drove from my hometown along some country roads and through a few winding turns down into the valley. Then, after crossing a small tunnel bridge, I entered the small, peaceful and somewhat secluded town of Lasauvage.

The trail starts near the "Auberge an der Schoul", a hostel where you can book a stay, which is located in Lasauvage's primary school. The school still houses the "Lasauvage School", the "Nature School" and a "puppet theatre".

From there, I passed the first information panel on the trail, which you can see below. It discusses how the stream was used as a source of energy for the first blast furnace in Lasauvage by damming it at various points. However, sometimes there was not enough water, and on those days, the workers were sent home without pay. In the 1870s, the steelworks in Lasauvage were closed, as the hydropower could not compete with the newly emerging types of energy, such as electricity and steam. However, the mines continued to operate and the ore was smelted in Rodange or Differdange.

The heron, the bat, the stag, the boar and some ducks and geese

There is also a map of the trail beside the information board. The trail actually has different paths that can be followed, each marked with a different type of animal. I chose to follow a mixture of them, starting with the heron-marked one (orange on the map) and then following the bat-marked one (black on the map). From there, I followed the stag-marked trail (green on the map) until point F, then the boar-marked trail (yellow on the map) until point G, and then again the stag-marked trail.

From there, the trail leads through the park and over the border into France. It continues onto a wooden pier which is built around the pond known as "Kiercheweier", meaning "church pond" in Luxembourgish. This is explained by its location near the church named "Église Saint-Barbe". The church itself was desacralised in 2018 but is now used as an event venue by the Aalt Stadhaus, Differdange's cultural centre, where my previous trail started.

There is also an information board which is not actually an official part of the trail, but I took a photo anyway. It discusses the flora of the pond, the plants you will find here, and their importance to the surrounding fauna.

As I walked along the pier, I noticed some ducks and geese, which I, of course, photographed. We will encounter the geese again later.

A few steps later, I came to a second information board, which is part of the trail, discussing the stream and its fauna. The stream's source is 400 metres west of a place called "Baache Jang"; from there, it flows into the Chiers — you may remember this from my previous hiking log. Apparently, before 2005, Lasauvage's wastewater entered the Crosnière unfiltered.

Entering the forest

The trail follows the stream until it reaches the entrance to the forest, which is marked by a sign indicating that it is a designated nature reserve named "Kiemerchen - Scheiergronn - Groussebësch". As soon as I entered the forest, I loved the cooling sensation on my skin and the refreshing air.

The path then leads past an information board about floodplain forests. As the Crosnière is very narrow, only a small part of the surrounding forest is considered a floodplain forest. The board also discusses the types of trees that can be seen here and describes how the basket willow has been shaped by human cultivation.

The trail then leads past a ruin. From the outside, it is impossible to tell what the building was originally used for, but according to OpenStreetMap, it used to be a power station. Not far away, I also saw the entrance to the old Lasauvage mine.

Taking a wrong turn and obstacles in the way

After passing the mine, the trail began to ascend, which I could also tell from my increasing heart rate. At the point marked F on the map, I remembered that the VisitLuxembourg website said to follow the stag sign. However, when I looked at my GPS, I realised that I had gone off the trail. Fortunately, I hadn't gone too far, so I backtracked to point F and then followed the trail as marked on my GPS.

Looking at it again, I notice that the official trail on the website is a mixture of the paths I described earlier rather than following a single animal marker.

Upon reaching the summit of the trail, I continued along it, which led to some obstacles. There was a fallen tree on the trail, so I stopped for a few seconds to analyse the situation and decide on the best way to tackle it without hurting myself. At this point, I wished I had already bought some hiking shoes, as this would have made the adventure a little less risky.

As luck would have it, a few dozen metres after the first fallen tree, I came to a second one, which was smaller and easier to get over. I have, of course, already informed the local forester, and I hope that the fallen trees have been cleared away and the trail made safe again.

The return of the geese

I then started the descent of the trail very carefully, despite not wearing hiking shoes. I passed a small pond again and continued along the same path out of the forest. When I arrived at the "Kiercheweier", my friends the geese had made their way into the park. They did not seem to be afraid of me, so I took some photos of them as they came quite close before heading back into the pond.

Looking back at the trail

I found this trail well suited to an evening walk, except for the unforeseen obstacles in the way. I especially liked the section around the "Kiercheweier".

Would I recommend coming to Lasauvage just to do this trail? No, but if you're in the Lasauvage area, for example visiting the Eugène Pesch Museum or near the Minett Park Fond-de-Gras, you could fit it in. Or, if you're staying in the Kabaisercher: La Sauvage and want to go for an evening walk, then yes, you should do it.

All in all, my Wanderlust was sated for the evening. But knowing Wanderlust, probably not for long.

I recently started hiking some local trails. It all started with the recent heatwave. To cool down a bit, I started going outside in the evening. I had my old GPS handheld lying around, so I thought I'd use it again to track my walks. As luck would have it, the rubber on the power button deteriorated after a few days of use, making the device impossible to power on or off and thus unusable. I tried to find a replacement, but none were available. This prompted me to buy a new device: the Garmin eTrex Touch.

After exploring my new town by going on some impromptu walks and getting to know my new device a little better, I thought: what better way to spend the day than doing some short local hikes? As I knew nothing about them, I asked myself where I could find some information.

Finding a trail without app lock-in

As I would like to be more digitally independent, one of my requirements is the ability to download a GPX or similar track. Secondly, I don't want to be bound to an app or service provider. I therefore wanted to avoid making a particular app or online service an essential part of finding and following a trail. Apps such as Komoot or Wikiloc are out of the question.

For geographical data in Luxembourg, my go-to place is the national geoportal of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, also known as "Geoportail". Yes, it has details on all hiking trails. The only disadvantage is that I cannot filter them by length or difficulty.

This prompted me to do some more research, which led me to Wanderweeër Lëtzebuerg (WWL), an independent project run by a Luxembourgish hiking enthusiast. Here, we can filter trails by keyword, category, distance and difficulty. I looked around to find an easy, short local hike and found the "Circuit Korspronk".

Trail details

Distance:		Time:		Overall pace:
Maximum elevation:		Minimum elevation:		Average elevation:
Ascent:		Descent:
Average speed:		Maximum speed:

Download the GPX track

Why I chose "Circuit Korspronk"

The Visit Luxembourg website presents "Circuit Korspronk" as a journey to the modest beginning of a much longer river. Starting near the centre of Differdange, the circular trail climbs through fields and shaded woodlands to the source of the Kor, the local name for the Chiers, which flows on through Belgium and France. The combination of nature, local history, and its manageable length made it seem like an ideal choice for my first local hike.

Bearing this in mind, I loaded the trail and parking POI onto my GPS handheld, packed some water and fruit, and set off on a sunny Friday afternoon to complete my first local hike.

Elevation is not everything

The trail begins near the Aalt Stadhaus, the former city hall which is now a cultural centre. It also houses the local library and music school and functions as a local theatre. Very close by is the current city hall, which is being demolished due to construction defects and structural problems and will need to be rebuilt.

From there, the trail goes up "Rue Metzkimmert", which was quite an ordeal for an untrained hiker like me — I could really feel it in my heart rate! This showed me that elevation is not everything; the slope clearly plays a role too. After this steep ascent, the trail enters the shady woods, where the air felt noticeably cooler than the air in town. The change was immediately refreshing.

I followed the trail to an open area with a picnic table, then passed the shooting range in Oberkorn before returning to the woods. Continuing, I arrived at a set of wooden stairs and the main attraction and namesake of this trail: the source of the river Chiers, or in Luxembourgish "Kor".

What the information panels taught me

A nearby metal panel provides information about the "Kor". According to the information panel, the source lies 352 metres above sea level and the river is 122 kilometres long. From Differdange, the "Kor" flows through the "Kordall" valley before continuing through Belgium and France and eventually joining the Meuse in Sedan, a commune in France.

I actually learnt something new here! There are four towns that contain the river's Luxembourgish name: "Uewerkuer", "Niederkuer", "Nidderkäerjeng", and "Uewerkäerjeng". More information about the names can be found on a later information board. The board proposes that the name "Kor" derives from "Kar", a pre-Celtic word associated with water, streams or marshland. It also connects the later French name "Chiers" with "cher" and the Latin word "carus". I have not been able to verify this proposed etymology independently, but it is an intriguing example of how local place names can preserve older layers of language.

Interestingly, the spring is located halfway along the trail. It is surrounded by concrete, so I could only see where the water flows out. There is also a bench here. It's a nice place to relax. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a good photo.

Continuing along the trail, I left the woods behind me and walked alongside some fields, crossing a bridge over the train tracks. I then entered the town of "Uewerkuer", passing under the train station and some allotment gardens, before reaching the cemetery of Differdange and arriving back at the start of the trail.

A question about hiking gear

At the moment, I carry a water bottle in my backpack. Taking the backpack off every time I want a drink is inconvenient, especially when my back is already warm and sweaty. I am therefore considering either a hydration reservoir, such as the CamelBak Crux, or an adapter that adds a drinking tube to an ordinary bottle.

This is where you come in! I'd love to hear your opinions, suggestions or ideas on this. You can simply write to me on Mastodon or email me—you will find my email address in the footer of this blog.

The beginning of a new habit

In my opinion, this trail has its ups and downs. The beginning can be quite exhausting if one is not fit, but as soon as I entered the woods, I felt as though I had left urban life far behind me. The source of the river is a very pleasant place and definitely the highlight of the trail. The final section was less memorable; in particular, the walk through the town of "Uewerkuer" and past the cemetery of Differdange was not very interesting.

This trail really ignited my wanderlust. Since then, I have done several others, which I will document in the future. I already feel that hiking helps me to switch off for a few moments by simply taking in the fresh air and paying attention to the beautiful, intricate, and sometimes mysterious natural world around me.

Welcome back to my blog! Yes, it's time to get back to basics again. But why now? There are several reasons for this, which I may discuss in more detail in future posts. For now, let me recap on two things.

Firstly, the recent rise of the "Digital Independence Day" events in Germany, has inspired me to become even more digitally independent. Since joining the local Chaos Computer Club over 15 years ago, I have been on a mission to leave big tech behind. This has led me to self-host most of my digital tools and start blogging again.

The main reason, though, is that the web is fundamentally about sharing information, not just consuming it. At a time when content generated by LLMs seems to dominate the web, it's more important than ever to have content written by humans. This is my attempt to contribute to this. I may blog about my views on AI in the future.

What can you find here? As I write on the "About" page:

This blog is my place to capture my thoughts before they disappear. It'll most likely include little things from my day-to-day life, things I've been reading about and recurring ideas, as well as the occasional rabbit hole I've fallen down. There won't be a theme or a schedule, but it will be a space where I can collect all the things that I find interesting and share them with you.

Thank you for reading my blog, and I hope to see you again soon! You might want to subscribe to the Atom feed!