Wondered why a tool was removed: got lost immediately

Site Development
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I think it is a bit too challenging (especially for someone new) to find content on the site that was removed.

Possible solutions:

  • Add a link to this on the main site somewhere.
    Changelog - Privacy Guides Community

  • Have a page listing out previously recommended tools with some level of explanation as to why they were removed.

  • Maybe an article/blog post explaining why things were removed.

I know very little about website development. But I’ve seen and used many. I don’t want someone to go through what I just did (will explain in a reply). I don’t know how much time and effort it would take to do what I have in my head, but I would find such changes valuable and helpful. At the same time I can start to understand the importance of keeping the website lean and mean.

Linking to the changelog would be a good start. It’s not super detailed, but it would prevent someone going down the same rabbit hole I did. I’m not extremely well versed in forums and it took me a while to find the above link.

I would find a list of previously recommended tools helpful. I could form a better understanding of why I might want to choose a currently recommended tool over something else. Or I might conclude that such a tool is good enough if I have a lower threat profile.

If someone goes through the effort of crafting up content for the site then why not at least keep some form of archive of it for others to learn/enjoy the that effort. I understand that GitHub keeps history, but looking at this is not user friendly.

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My rabbit hole:

I started making a Matrix account to log into Element. I have to check a box agreeing to Matix’s TOS. Thought maybe I should actually try reading it. It’s short, but not short enough for someone used to immediate gratification.

I remembered that Element was listed under recommended Real-Time Communication and thought to go re-read what the good old people hear had to say about it.

“What?! I swore it was here!” my brain cried out. Was I hallucinating like an LLM? I started looking for it. Currently if you search for “element” in the bar at Privacy Guides: Independent Privacy & Security Resources
and scroll down past the first result you get taken back to the Real-Time Communication page. Not all traces have been wipe clean.

“So maybe it was removed,” I concluded. “Rats! Well maybe I can find what was there before.” I valued that info, sought it out, craved for it. “If PG removed it there must be a good reason. Maybe Matrix turned evil.” I highly doubt it’s evil, but I would rather get distracted and do all this instead of reading their TOS. I have yet to check that box.

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I wondered if there was a change-log for the sight. Did I find the one on the forum? No. I typed “change” into PG’s searchbar and found this page.

I clicked on the link in the 4th to last line and was taken to the GitHub.

sigh “I have to stumble around GitHub.” For you see, I do not code. I do not know my ways around the halls of GitHub. Have I stumbled through them before? Yes, but this time I still stumbled. I thought I succeeded when I found this.

It does indeed have the info I was looking for.
But how the hell do I expect someone else to do that? I want to share PG with anyone that will listen. I can’t convince my grandma to keep a password on her phone.

Is my experience very niche? Yes, but how hard can it be to link the the change-log from the main site.

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