I'm coding up a webapp with this exact login process - the issue I've found is on mobile phones - apps like gmail won't let you copy the link into a browser without a preview. The preview consumes the link. (next.js auth)
It's a bit annoying, since I don't want to login into the gmail in-app browser, I want to login on my regular browser.
Don’t forget some people have antivirus scanners that will load up every link when the email is opened, so you can’t have the link expire after 1 visit.
This is I think why unsubscribe links now have a single button saying “Unsubscribe” or similar when you press them. Likewise anything interesting should require a 2nd user action after loading the page.
Yes easy mistake to make. But this goes back to HTTP basics: a GET request shouldn’t mutate state. Either don’t consume the link (ie allow reuse), have a user confirm action with POST, send a code instead. There are many alternatives.
Personal favorite? Send a 6-digit code with ~1h expiry, exchange for a refresh token and keep the session for a long time. If you have really high value irreversible actions then you can just confirm with a new code.
Also works if mail client is on a different device.
A work around could be: login link token is good for 24hours unused, or 5mins after the first use. That way you don’t leave the user in a loop or risk them not clicking the link within a short amount of time. The token still expires after a reasonable duration too.
Pleas don’t force this login method. It is extremely annoying for anyone with a non-standard email setup (often for security reasons), and is slow as all hell.
After failing to add my new credit card to my business Instagram account - it's locked me out. The "request review" form doesn't work on their page. Fun times. I'm literally trying to give them money.
I've coming up on a crossroads where I'm considering leaving my high-paid low-pressure cushy remote job at some big tech company to chase some silly ideas I have. The timing feels right - but I can't help but be fearful of a jump without any sort of indication on whether I can actually pull that off.
Thanks for the transparency and sharing - you've got a new fan!
I was just thinking about trying to incorporate an LLC for a side project. I'm also a remote employee for a U.S. company working in another country. Seems like a bad time all around.
This gave me a good chuckle. Obviously titles mean different things at different places but my god my accomplishments as a "Senior Software Engineer" title pales in comparison to what Dustin has built here. Kudos to him and it inspires me to shoot for more.
I feel the same way. This is like a combination of art, philosophy, and software engineering. It's a whole ecosystem and possibly a new platform. Really interesting to think about this.
Yes, I've been using this since I moved overseas. Works great, was able to add NextDNS for ad blocking.
I still find some websites will block you as your traffic will be originating from a datacenter (if going cloud option like me), but most work. I find this setup also works for some services that do not work via VPNs such as Mullvad.
If you want to talk to other devices check out the `BetweenClients_DROP` setting ("road warrior")
I’ve always been quite mediocre at reading and writing. This has been confirmed by my grades over the years.
Just this week, I’ve been writing a script for a YouTube video and it is difficult for me. Organizing my thoughts and making it “seamless” is a lot of work. In my software job I usually default to bullet points for technical writing — which I feel is a cop out. I had decided before reading this article that I want to invest some time in these neglected skills.
Does anyone have any recommendations for improving these skills?
I've also been trying to improve my writing recently. What's helped me was to read through a couple of resources on how to write better [0,1,2], and then:
1. Apply the better writing advice to my everyday speech
2. Focus on writing down exactly what I wanted to say, and how I would have said it
School taught me to be super wordy and focus overly on the editing stage. Nowadays, I read everything I write out loud and if it sounds awkward (or not like me) then I just delete it and write it again from scratch. Oftentimes it helps to just close my eyes, say what I want to out loud, then write down what I just said.
It can turn out to be a little bit wordier, but it almost always ends up being easier to read :)
> Nowadays, I read everything I write out loud and if it sounds awkward (or not like me) then I just delete it and write it again from scratch. Oftentimes it helps to just close my eyes, say what I want to out loud, then write down what I just said.
This does sound like editing to me (in a good way). Unless you meant something else when you wrote that school taught you to focus overtly on the editing stage.
Now that you mention it, my old style of editing might have been something that I learned, rather than was explicitly taught.
I used to frame writing as a painful activity, so once I had a "workable" rough draft, I would break out a scalpel and try to make it readable with word surgery. I would spend hours staring at the same few paragraphs, and it was horrible.
Now I just delete it. It feels like a clean slate, but the slate in my brain has made opinions about what's important to say and how to say it better.
The two approaches exercise completely different muscles, and what I like about the "rewrite" approach is that it exercises some of the same muscles that will help me communicate myself properly on the first try.
Let go of the fear. Everyone has tens of thousands of bad words in them that need to be written down before the good words start coming out.
Practice wise, write about the same thing several times. Write. Then reflect for a week or a month. Then write again. Then do it 3 months later. You will see a clear improvement.
And of course, teachers are invaluable. See if you can take an evening class somewhere, or if you have money hire a tutor - you can pay a grad student at your local university.
