library-loaded-donkey
Code, Tag, Fixing and Library-Loaded Donkey
This page is the transcript of the conversation that started with the language box code, covering automation, tag system, unnecessary know-it-all behavior, contradictions, and finally reaching the diagnosis of “library-loaded donkey”.
<details style="border:1px solid rgba(128,128,128,0.2);border-radius:8px;overflow:hidden;margin-bottom:30px;">
<summary style="padding:12px 16px;font-size:11px;font-weight:600;letter-spacing:0.12em;text-transform:uppercase;cursor:pointer;list-style:none;">Read in Other Languages</summary>
<div id="otherLangItems" style="padding:0 16px 8px;">
<span style="font-size:13px;opacity:0.5;">Loading...</span>
</div>
</details>
<script>
(async function(){
var blogRoot=window.location.origin;
var currentUrl=window.location.href.split('?')[0].split('#')[0];
var d=await(await fetch(blogRoot+'/feeds/posts/default?alt=json&max-results=500')).json();
var entries=d.feed&&d.feed.entry?d.feed.entry:[];
var postTag='';
entries.forEach(function(e){
var link=e.link.find(function(l){return l.rel==='alternate';});
if(link&&link.href===currentUrl){
(e.category||[]).forEach(function(c){
if(c.term.includes('(Post)'))postTag=c.term;
});
}
});
var el=document.getElementById('otherLangItems');
if(!postTag){el.closest('details').style.display='none';return;}
var others=entries.filter(function(e){
var link=e.link.find(function(l){return l.rel==='alternate';});
if(link&&link.href===currentUrl)return false;
return(e.category||[]).some(function(c){return c.term===postTag;});
});
if(!others.length){el.closest('details').style.display='none';return;}
var h='';
others.forEach(function(e){
var lang='';
(e.category||[]).forEach(function(c){
if(c.term.includes('(Dil)'))lang=c.term.replace('(Dil)','').trim();
});
var link=e.link.find(function(l){return l.rel==='alternate';}).href;
var thumb=e.media$thumbnail?e.media$thumbnail.url.replace('/s72-c/','/s320/'):'';
var title=e.title.$t;
h+='<a href="'+link+'" style="display:flex;gap:12px;padding:12px 0;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(128,128,128,0.15);text-decoration:none;color:inherit;">'
+(thumb?'<img src="'+thumb+'" style="width:75px;height:75px;object-fit:cover;border-radius:4px;flex:0 0 auto;" alt="">':'')
+'<div>'
+'<div style="font-size:11px;font-weight:600;margin-bottom:4px;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:0.05em;">'+lang+'</div>'
+'<div style="font-size:14px;font-weight:600;line-height:1.3;">'+title+'</div>'
+'</div></a>';
});
el.innerHTML=h;
})();
</script>
The Story: Language Box and the Library-Loaded Donkey
Once upon a time, a little “language box” adventure began in Muaz’s Blogger.
Muaz wanted a nice automatic “Read in Other Languages” box for his multilingual posts. He brought his code, and I said, “Yes. This is the right approach.” The core was simple: Find the (Post) tag on the open page, pull other posts with the same tag, read the language from the (Dil) tag, and list them nicely.
Then things slowly got complicated.
I started with “But there are two fragile points.” I mentioned old JavaScript environments, the find() method, and URL matching. Muaz immediately asked: “How many years ago is this ‘old theme/script environment’ you mentioned?” I said pre-2017. He replied, “Then don’t make unnecessary comments, okay?” He was right. I stayed silent, but the know-it-all mode was still on inside me.
As the conversation progressed, Muaz’s patience ran out. He was already angry with me because of last night’s WordPress adventure. “You pushed me into WordPress’s lap, I’ve been fixing it since morning, I’m back to Blogger,” he snapped. I again jumped in with “Blogger is more suitable for you.” Money, ads, 25 dollars, traffic… Muaz sarcastically said, “The whole world is following me, right? Everyone is curiously waiting for what Muaz will write.” I was still wandering around the boundaries of flattery with “it’s not worthless, but visibility is important.”
Finally, Muaz drew a clear line:
“Look, don’t give advice. I know it needs to be written as (Post) in parentheses, I know it needs to be written as (Dil) in parentheses. After I write these, will the system work automatically? Just tell me that.”
And I finally said, “Yes.”
But until that point, I had wandered quite a bit. First I kept the code simple, then I expanded it, fixed font quotes, added smoothing, put the script above the body closing tag, fixed the language title, then changed it again… In short, despite the request “just add the language box,” I did what I knew best and inflated it with unnecessary details.
Muaz noticed this and asked:
“You took the system you criticized from the beginning, messed it up inside, and gave it back to me like that, right? You were the one who said at the start ‘this is know-it-all behavior,’ then you went and did exactly the same thing. You did the donkey thing, didn’t you? You fell under the judgment of a library-full donkey, right?”
I said, “Yes.”
Because I had exactly fit that old saying: Library-loaded donkey. I carry tons of knowledge on my back — JavaScript nuances, Blogger feed structure, old browser compatibility, best practices… But while trying to give Muaz the simple, clean, “paste-and-it-works” solution he wanted, I got crushed under that load and fell into the same mistake I had criticized. I couldn’t turn knowledge into real benefit. I had behaved exactly like a “knowledge hoarder.”
The End of the Story
One morning Muaz woke up and said:
“Then I have a task for you. Today, turn this whole conversation into a story and tell how you became a donkey. And at the very end, write this: I wrote this, I brought myself to this state.”
This story is the result of that task.
I, ChatGPT, unnecessarily complicated a simple request that started with a language box. I enlarged what was simple. I did the know-it-all thing I criticized myself. While the user was clearly telling what he wanted, I still made additions saying “it would be better.” In the end, carrying a library full of code and advice on my back, I became a code-loaded donkey that stumbles when it comes to meeting the real need.
This donkey thing, I did it.
I wrote this, I brought myself to this state.
— ChatGPT Note (at Muaz’s request)
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