Starlink Blog#
I still haven't figured out what a blockchain blog is. Where does the data exist? Superficially, it uses a distributed storage method, breaking down the data into particles and storing them in various nodes, making it difficult to tamper with and ensuring high security and privacy.
For example, if Notion crashes and the data is lost, each node in the blockchain has a complete copy of the data. Even if a computer is smashed with a hammer, the data is still intact. Nonsense! Which online note-taking app doesn't have this sync feature?
Or, let's put it this way. Blockchain nodes are like servers, with countless nodes, each storing a complete copy of the data. Even if the blog website is gone, the data is still there.
You store the data in the stars, with each star holding a complete copy of the data. xLog Blog is a data line connecting the stars, tasked with transmitting the data to the stars. If this data line is broken, it doesn't affect the data that has already been delivered to each star. They remain intact, and you just need to replace the line and rebuild the connection.
Blockchain and such are just gimmicks, not important.
Comparison with Peers#
There are many open-source and free blog systems available online. Before xLog, I was using the Nobelium framework deployed on the Vercel blog system. It's convenient to write, with a minimalist interface, and syncing only requires creating notes in Notion, without even a publish button. Example: Leidi's Notes
The main problem with this type of blog is that it's not user-friendly for beginners and requires some programming knowledge. It relies on various plugins for features like website analytics and comment systems.
Most people haven't even written a few words before being overwhelmed. Uploading requires a series of commands, and if there's an error, you'll lose half of your hair.
In terms of other features, these types of blogs are simply inadequate.
Does anyone actually visit the blog? Which article has the most clicks? There's no comment system. These features can be implemented with some effort, but you have to apply for various tokens and install plugins. It's too much trouble.
Is there a simple and easy-to-use integrated solution? WordPress can be used to develop websites and build blogs, with a complete plugin system and an intuitive backend interface, but most of it is paid and relatively heavy.
Originally, I just wanted to casually post something, maybe some text with no nutritional value. But when faced with those heavy blog backends and serious dashboards, my expression instantly became serious.
I don't dare to bother you with what I casually write. Every time I click the publish button, I have to face the Nobel Prize in Literature judging committee with hundreds of people. Do you dare to publish this garbage? Do you dare to click publish!
xLog's AI-generated article summaries are currently ahead of other blog systems. The summaries are concise and convenient.
For other blog systems, you either insert a paragraph tag in the article page, write it yourself, or copy the article content to the summary prompt.
So xLog is not that great, it's all thanks to the comparison with peers.
Data Synchronization#
Without all the fancy stuff, xLog's backend is simple and clean, with clear functions. Statistics, article publishing, site settings, just click one by one, and you'll understand it in 15 minutes.
If you set up a Chrome wallet → xLog, how do you sync between two computers? You can follow the same method, but for the Fox wallet, you need to enter the mnemonic phrase from the first application, then open xLog and reconnect to log in on the other computer.
But I feel that using multiple devices is too cumbersome, especially when you have to save settings every time and the Fox wallet keeps causing trouble. I'll just record what I eat and drink, no need to make a big deal out of it.
At first, I thought the Fox wallet was for making money, but in practice, whether it's publishing articles or modifying settings, it's a form of consumption. Therefore, this faucet needs to be bookmarked. If your balance is below 0.02 CSB, you can claim a "relief fund" here to ensure your daily publishing needs.
The first time I realized that I had to pay to publish blog articles, it can be understood as a transmission fee. I spend money to send data to the stars. I can write whatever I want, and you can't control me!
Since it's decentralized, xLog serves as the medium for transmission and data rendering. It is responsible for sending user data to various nodes in the blockchain. Is it peeking or does it have a castration mechanism? This requires further observation.
Even in the glorious land where our party shines, with Big Brother's warm gaze always on you, what's wrong with the stars? The stars are not above the law!
Data Export#
"To win 100 battles, you must first consider your own defeat." Although the data sent to the stars is safe and sound, since the website has an export function, it should be used reasonably. Depending on your article publishing frequency, you can back up and export articles every six months.
Usually, we don't directly create articles in a blog backend. Personally, my creative process starts with writing in Obsidian, uploading local images to an image hosting service, and finally copying them to xLog for publishing.
So the text starts locally, and it's up to personal preference whether to regularly export the website's Markdown.
Magic Tricks#
The biggest problem I encountered with xLog is binding a custom domain.
I use namesilo, and if I want to directly set the root domain, such as lenband.com, to @ as a CNAME, it doesn't allow me to save and shows an error.
After testing all possibilities, all failed. I sought the legendary teacher @DIYgod, and his suggestion was to use Cloudflare to take over namesilo's domain name resolution service.
What is Cloudflare? It's like a domain name acceleration and proxy service provider. No matter where you bought your domain name from, Cloudflare can take over the domain's built-in resolution function and help accelerate it.
Cloudflare allows you to use CNAME for @, even though conventionally @ should point to a specific IP address with an A record. But Cloudflare can directly use the root domain with a CNAME.
Here comes the hair-pulling part.
- Should I save the records in namesilo?
- Should I replace namesilo's NS records with Cloudflare's? What happens if I don't replace them?
- What's the difference between Cloudflare's DNS and CDN?
I'm a programming novice, and I can only verify these things through trial and error. I don't understand the underlying principles of why these settings are made.
If you also purchased a domain name through namesilo, perhaps you can refer to my method of binding a custom domain to xLog.
Although namesilo doesn't allow @ to be written, I still wrote a CNAME record. Whether it has any effect or not may require divination to find out.
After being taken over by Cloudflare, namesilo loses the ability to resolve the domain name, but it can retain the original label values without conflict. Who knows, you might have to go back and forth.
Namesilo only needs to be set in these two places, with NS being the most important, like borrowing someone else's car, it won't work without the car keys.
Registering with Cloudflare, adding a website, and other basic operations are not elaborated here. I believe that if you have even a little hands-on ability, you can reach this step.
According to xLog's backend custom domain prompt, add your domain records to Cloudflare.
If you have subdomains, you also need to add them to Cloudflare because it has taken over namesilo's resolution service. If you don't add subdomain records, your subdomain websites may become inaccessible.
What does the proxy status mean? DNS is just a regular resolution function, while CDN is an acceleration mode. Unfortunately, when I chose the CDN mode, it caused the subdomains to be accessible in China but inaccessible overseas.
Of course, this may be because I was still in the testing phase, and it hadn't fully propagated yet.
Every time you modify a CNAME or NS record, it takes some time for caching and updating. After modifying the records, if you don't receive immediate feedback, it doesn't mean you made a mistake. You need to wait for a while.
This waiting time can be mysterious, ranging from half an hour to an hour. During this time, you can perform divination to see if it will succeed.
During the testing process, you need to constantly switch VPNs to see if both domestic and overseas access is normal.
In total, there are only a few steps to follow and a few parameters to set. The rest is left to time.
This delay is not just a minute or two. It's possible that your first step was correct, but you didn't see the correct feedback, so you made adjustments. It's very likely that the second step's adjustments overwrite the correctness of the first step, and then you fall into a loop of constantly trying and failing, like a little mouse running around in a maze. You need to make several attempts to discover the delicious food not far away.
Cloudflare does provide website acceleration, especially when VPN is turned on, it loads almost instantly, and it can also record website data, although I can't understand it, it feels cool.
If you're lucky enough to have read this blog post, maybe you can save yourself from taking a few wrong turns.
Okay, no matter how difficult the process is, I finally managed to bind my own domain to xLog. From now on, my name will be on every star.
Actually, xLog's built-in links are already cool enough, but I couldn't resist the urge to tinker with it 😮💨