Tip 50 - tip your server

Aug 12, 2024

We try to avoid sticky note docs, where new pieces of information feel bolted on and fight for our readers’ attention. Instead, we prefer to carefully weave new content into existing documentation whenever posible.

Sometimes, information is helpful and timely, though perhaps not particularly easy to integrate. “Asides” (note, tip, caution, danger…) exist for a reason! They have their uses, but they are not interchangeable. I choose to leave “caution” and “danger” for legitimate threats that may be difficult or impossible to recover from. Just doesn’t work? That’s probably a “note.”

In the spirit of finally “tipping out” today, I’ll share when I am particularly inclined to use a “tip!” Hint, the icon we use in Astro Docs/Starlight for our tip tells you most of what you need to know…

I use tips for actions, like the rocket launching into space! A tip is something to do, not know. It may be a shortcut, or a clever alternative. It may be an extra preparation step that will make the whole (officially documented) process go smoother.

A tip is also not required. It is an “aside.” It maybe loosely or entirely tangential. Your reader can choose whether to heed it, but it’s generally understood as a Good Idea™️.

It is intented to be helpful. It is shared from the trenches of experience, a cave of wisdom, a place of love.

And that, gentle reader, is where this series takes its leave!

Thank you for joining me on this journey. I have truly appreciated the interactions to the individual posts on Mastodon. I did not know what I was signing up for, what to expect, who would care… but I certainly never felt alone.

If nothing else, I’ve enjoyed revisiting some of my past work and really forcing myself to put into words some of Past Sarah’s decisions. This has provided me some clarity, and with any luck, it’s been clear outside observers.

Tomorrow, a new journey begins! Until we meet again!

See the whole list of tips!

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