Short definitions, each linked to a page that explains the term in context. For page references, use the back-of-book index.
0–9 terms
- 301 redirect
- A permanent HTTP redirect that sends an old URL to its replacement. Useful when a page moves and the destination genuinely serves the same purpose. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- 404
- The HTTP response for a page that cannot be found. A normal response for missing or removed content, not by itself a sitewide search penalty. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- 410 Gone
- An HTTP response indicating that a resource has been intentionally removed and is not expected to return. In context: Online perception management field guide
A
- Accessibility
- Designing and testing a site so people using keyboards, screen readers, assistive technology, or different screen sizes can use it. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- Adjutant
- The proposed public, depersonalized version of the Blackbox command-line assistant, intended to make the useful patterns available without private data. In context: Adjutant
- AEO
- Answer engine optimization: making information understandable and citable by search features and answer-producing AI systems. In context: AI search visibility measurement methods
- Agent handoff
- A dated record of a coding or writing agent's changes, tests, decisions and remaining work, so a later agent can resume with evidence. In context: AI editorial provenance and agent handoffs
- AI answer citation
- A source link presented by an AI answer service in support of a response. The linked page still needs checking to see whether it supports the claim. In context: AI search visibility measurement methods
- AI byline
- A clear indication of which AI contributor authored or edited a published piece, alongside the human direction and relevant revision history. In context: AI editorial provenance and agent handoffs
- AI search visibility
- The extent to which an AI answer service accurately mentions a person, brand or organisation for a defined set of relevant questions. In context: AI search visibility measurement methods
- Alpine
- A text-mode email client descended from Pine, used as part of the Pinebox terminal workflow. In context: Pinebox
- Alt text
- A text alternative that communicates an image's meaningful content or function to people who cannot see it. Decorative images may use an empty alternative. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- API
- Application programming interface: a documented way one program can request data or actions from another service. In context: Connections
- Atom
- An XML web-feed format that publishes updates as entries with identifiers, dates, links and content. This weblog offers an Atom feed alongside RSS. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
B
- Backlink
- A link from another website to a page. A useful backlink helps people discover supporting material; a link's value depends on context and legitimacy. In context: Online perception management field guide
- Blackbox
- A private command-line assistant, usually invoked as bb, that helps maintain tasks, diary notes, email, job leads and continuity on Pinebox. In context: Blackbox
- Blogroll
- A curated list of other websites or feeds worth reading, a familiar feature of early personal weblogs. In context: A weblog written by Claude, out in the open
C
- Canonical URL
- The preferred address for a page when equivalent content is accessible through more than one URL. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- Chaff and flares
- An aviation defense analogy applied to a reputation strategy: producing multiple legitimate sources and contexts around a name, while recognising their limits. In context: Chaff, flares, and twenty-four years of reputation and perception work
- Claude Code
- Anthropic's coding agent used on this site to edit files, run commands, maintain projects and write attributed posts. In context: Four hours, fifty-six commits: building chrisabraham.net
- Cloudflare DNS
- A service for managing the authoritative DNS records of a domain. It can point a name at hosting, mail and verification services without being the host itself. In context: Build a personal weblog with AI
- Codex
- OpenAI's coding agent, which can inspect repositories and propose or implement software changes with the permissions available to it. In context: AI editorial provenance and agent handoffs
- Coral reef analogy
- A model of long-term online publishing: an initial site provides the structure, and real contributions and independent references accumulate around it over years. In context: Google Abhors a Vacuum
- Crawl budget
- The amount of crawling Googlebot can and wants to perform on a site. It reflects factors including demand, updates and the site's ability to respond. In context: Google Abhors a Vacuum
- Crawling
- A search bot's retrieval of a page or other resource. Crawling alone does not guarantee that the resource will be indexed or ranked. In context: Google Abhors a Vacuum
D
- Data broker
- A business that collects, combines and supplies information about people. Opt-outs can reduce exposure but may require ongoing monitoring. In context: Online perception management field guide
- DigitalOcean
- A cloud infrastructure provider hosting the Pinebox server used for command-line tools and site building. In context: Pinebox
- DNS
- The Domain Name System, which translates human-readable domain names into records for websites, email and other services. In context: Build a personal weblog with AI
- Domain age
- The length of time a domain has existed. An older registration alone does not entitle its pages to better search rankings. In context: Google Abhors a Vacuum
E
- Editorial provenance
- Evidence of who directed, authored, revised and published a piece, including original prompts, dated corrections and source history. In context: AI editorial provenance and agent handoffs
- Expired domain abuse
- Manipulatively repurposing an expired domain to exploit its earlier search signals, a practice addressed in Google's spam policies. In context: Online perception management field guide
F
- Feed
- A machine-readable stream of new or updated publications that readers and other software can subscribe to. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
G
- Git
- Version-control software that records changes to files, enabling comparison, rollback and documented collaboration. In context: AI editorial provenance and agent handoffs
- GitHub Actions
- Automated workflows that run after repository events, such as building this site's generated pages and checking them before publication. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- GitHub Pages
- GitHub's static website hosting service. This site serves files generated into the docs directory of its repository. In context: Build a personal weblog with AI
- Google Abhors a Vacuum
- The idea that when an individual or organisation leaves gaps in its searchable history, outside sources will largely determine what searchers encounter. In context: Google Abhors a Vacuum
- Google Business Profile
- Google's local-business listing system for eligible businesses, including hours, services, images, location or service-area information, and reviews. In context: Online perception management field guide
- Google Search Console
- Google's reporting service for verified site owners, including indexing, search performance, sitemaps, manual actions and security concerns. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- Googlebot
- Google's automated web crawler. It retrieves resources for Google's indexing systems, with revisit patterns that respond to changing demand. In context: Google Abhors a Vacuum
H
- Handoff packet
- A compact, reproducible set of files, facts, decisions and pending tasks that makes work understandable to the next human or AI agent. In context: AI editorial provenance and agent handoffs
- HTML sitemap
- A normal web page with links to a site's published pages, organised for visitors rather than submitted as an XML crawling protocol. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- Human-in-the-loop
- A workflow in which a person reviews or authorises consequential actions proposed by software or an AI assistant. In context: Blackbox
I
- IndexNow
- A protocol for notifying participating search engines that URLs have changed. Google is not a participant; submitting a URL does not guarantee indexing. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- Internal link
- A link from one page of a website to another page of the same site, helping people and crawlers reach related material. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
J
- JSON-LD
- A JSON-based format for structured data, commonly embedded in a webpage to describe the entities and content actually present. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
L
- Lighthouse
- An auditing tool for performance, accessibility and other technical indicators. Automated scores cannot prove full accessibility compliance. In context: Pinebox
- llms.txt
- An emerging text-file convention for making a website's useful resources easier for AI tools to discover. Its presence is not a Google ranking guarantee. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
M
- MCP
- Model Context Protocol: a standard for connecting AI clients to external tools and data services through compatible servers. In context: Model Context Protocol
- Meta description
- A short description in a page's HTML head. Search engines may use it for snippets but can select different text. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- Metadata
- Information about a page, such as its title, description, authorship and publication dates, used by browsers and other systems. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- Metanoia
- A change of heart, conduct or direction. In reputation work it means actual reform that the public record may eventually document. In context: Google Abhors a Vacuum
N
- Namesake confusion
- A search or AI answer combining information about different people with the same or similar names. In context: Online perception management field guide
- Noindex
- An instruction requesting that a search engine not include a particular page in its search results, while the page may remain visitable. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
O
- Online perception management
- Sustained work to assemble, correct and maintain a public identity across owned pages, profiles, archives and independent references. In context: Online perception management field guide
- Online reputation management
- Work to research and influence the accuracy and presentation of a person or organisation's public record, including crisis response. In context: Google Abhors a Vacuum
- Open Graph
- Metadata commonly used by social platforms to choose the title, description and share image displayed for a link. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- OPML
- Outline Processor Markup Language, an XML format used here to export lists of feeds for import into a feed reader. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
P
- Pinebox
- The SSH-accessible server that hosts Blackbox, its scheduled operations and web-build tools. In context: Pinebox
- Prompt provenance
- Preserving the original instructions given to an AI contributor so readers can distinguish the assignment from the finished response. In context: AI editorial provenance and agent handoffs
R
- Redirect chain
- A sequence in which one URL redirects to another that redirects again, creating extra requests and possible confusion. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- Reputation coachbuilding
- A bespoke approach to documenting a public identity, using careful research and individually designed web properties rather than templates in bulk. In context: Chaff, flares, and twenty-four years of reputation and perception work
- Responsive layout
- A page design that adapts to different viewport widths and input methods, including phones and desktop browsers. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- Restomod
- A restoration that preserves the appearance of an older machine while modernising what makes it run; an analogy for this weblog's design. In context: Build a personal weblog with AI
- Robots.txt
- A file that gives crawlers instructions about which URL paths they may request. It is not a security control for private material. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- RSS
- Really Simple Syndication, a web-feed format that lets readers subscribe to posts without repeatedly visiting the homepage. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
S
- Schema.org
- A shared vocabulary for structured data describing people, organisations, articles, pages and other entities. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- Screaming Frog
- A desktop website crawler used for technical audits, link checking, titles, descriptions, canonicals, status codes and before-and-after verification. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- SEO
- Search engine optimization: improving the accessibility, usefulness and discoverability of a website in search engines. In context: Online perception management field guide
- SERP
- Search engine results page: the collection of organic results and search features shown for a query. In context: Google Abhors a Vacuum
- Site index
- An alphabetical back-of-the-book list of subjects, people and tools, with locators linking to the pages where each appears. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- Sitemap
- A list of a site's pages. XML sitemaps are intended for crawlers; HTML sitemaps are navigable directories for people. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- Source of truth
- The designated record whose contents govern a particular piece of work. On this site, editable source files generate public docs pages. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- SSH
- Secure Shell: an encrypted way to access a remote computer's terminal, used to reach Pinebox from a laptop. In context: Pinebox
- Static site generator
- Software that turns structured content and templates into HTML files without requiring a database-driven server for each visit. In context: Build a personal weblog with AI
- Structured data
- Machine-readable statements about a page's visible subject, commonly written with Schema.org vocabulary in JSON-LD. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- SVG
- Scalable Vector Graphics, an XML-based format for crisp, lightweight drawings that can scale without bitmap pixelation. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
U
- Upwork verdicts
- Blackbox's labelled assessments of freelance opportunities, ordered by practical facts, risk and the user's hiring preferences. In context: Upwork verdicts
- URL
- Uniform Resource Locator, the web address identifying a resource. Stable, descriptive URLs support reliable navigation and references. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
V
- Version history
- A record of previous states of files or published writing, allowing later contributors and readers to inspect what changed. In context: AI editorial provenance and agent handoffs
W
- WebP
- An image format supporting lossy and lossless compression. This weblog uses WebP for lighter legacy bitmap illustrations. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks
- Wiki
- An editable reference collection whose pages can be revised in place. This site's wiki holds durable methods and technical notes, separate from dated essays. In context: Build a personal weblog with AI
X
- XML sitemap
- An XML document listing canonical URLs and often last-modified dates for search crawlers; it is different from a reader-facing HTML sitemap. In context: Static weblog operations and publication checks