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There are two big priorities underlying the design of *The Local Yarn*.
The first is that it will live in two places: on a web server, and on bookshelves. The web server, because it’s a fun, fast way to publish writing and code to the whole world (you knew that already); but also on bookshelves, because <i>[a web server is like a projector][1]</i>, and I want to be able to turn it off someday and still have something to show for all my work.
[1]: https://thelocalyarn.com/excursus/secretary/posts/web-books.html
The other priority is simply that, in both media, the product should have a “functional attractiveness”, as embodied in this quote from [Samuel Rogers][2] that I’ve had on my site for twenty years:
>“Yet modest ornament with use combined
Attracts the eye to exercise the mind.”
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Rogers
## Information model
The Local Yarn is mostly comprised of *Articles* (individual writings) which may contain *Notes* (addenda by the author or others) and may also be grouped into *Series*. These are similar to a typical blog’s *posts, comments* and *categories*, but there are important differences (see [Differences from blogs](/wiki/Differences from blogs)).
### Articles
Articles have the following properties:
* A *publish date* and an optional *last updated date*.
* An **optional** *title*
* An *author* (optional)
* A *series* (optional) to which the article belongs, which also indirectly determines the article’s *singular noun*.
* A *document body*. The structure and features of the body text follow from [Pollen Markup](/wiki/Pollen Markup).
* A *conceal directive* (optional) that can be used to prevent display of the article in series listings, in print editions, or in the RSS feed. The template used for new/draft articles will include a directive to conceal from all of these by default.
* Optionally, one or more follow-up *Notes* — any of which may also indirectly determine the article’s *disposition verb* (e.g. “disavowed”) and *disposition date* (which is the date of the Note). If more than one note in an article specifies a disposition verb, the most recent one takes precedence.
An article can start out very small — just a date and a few sentences — and later grow in any of several directions. Notes can be added, or a title, or cross-references to later articles; or it may be added to a series. Or it may just remain the way it started.
### Series
A Series is like an article in that it has its own body, but it has the additional effect of grouping individual articles together into a particular order. It has the following properties:
* A *name*
* A *creation date*
* An *order* for its member articles, which can be one of:
1. Reverse chronological, or *Blog order*
2. Ascending chronological, or *Journal order*
3. Arranged by subject matter (as with chapters in a book), or *Pagetree order*
* A *plural noun* which applies to all its member articles as a group (e.g. “Speculations”)
* A *singular noun* with an indefinite article “a” or ”an”, which applies to each of its member articles individually (e.g. “a speculation”).
* A *document body* which appears on the series’s main page, and whose markup also dictates whether/how the listing of its member articles will be presented.
## Visual Design
Coming at some point:
* HTML markup structure
* Typographic conventions
* Print design notes
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