Interview with the Benamonster, part 2
February 16, 2004
This is part two of an interview with the Benamonster itself. Read part one if you like, before proceeding.
- OFJ: Ok i’ll back off from that [security issues]. Let’s talk about page generation. How does Decomposable Stovepipe present our entries? How does it work?
BM: There are template tags. You put that into your template. These tags will be replaced with the information that you place in the form where you compose your blog entry. Through the magic of perl, individual HTML files are generated and stored on the server. Everytime you edit your entry, or when you get a comment, or when you get a trackback, depending on your settings, this page will run through the server CPU and be regenerated in a process called “rebuilding.”
OFJ: It sounds awfully time consuming.
BM: Patience is a virtue, young man.
OFJ:If you say so.
- OFJ: With the generation of static files, archives are stored on the server as an individual file, depending on your settings, right?
BM: Right.
OFJ: So let’s see. The data that is used to generate the HTML file that is sitting on the server is also stored in the database, right?
BM: Right.
OFJ: So you have double the data, one in the HTML file and one in the DB, and the HTML itself for each file generated, sitting pretty on server storage. Let’s say that the total “cruft” space that could be saved by just having the data sit in the DB until needed is twice the size as the data itself. Right?
BM: Right.
OFJ: And some archives are never linked to or revisited right?
BM: Right.
OFJ: So what do they do there in the server?
BM: They prevent 404 errors. That and if the data sat in the DB until needed, it wouldn’t be the same product.
OFJ: Like the way a dynamic CMS would do?
BM: Don’t you dare say that word again.
OFJ: Sorry.
- OFJ: Let’s return to your position and share in the blogosphere market of CMSes. What do you think makes your product popular
BM: We’re back to this topic again?
OFJ: Yes.
BM: Fine. We’ll admit it. When you say “blogware,” two things come to mind: Irrevocable Hype, and Blogspot/Blogger.
OFJ: There are others.
BM: That isn’t blogware, and if you use it, you’re not really “blogging.”
OFJ: Is that how you intended to sell your product?
BM: It just kind of happened, but we took advatage of it and set up a five-star hosting company called Smitepad for those who’d want to try. Five star superior features for five star superior prices.
OFJ: That’s quite very business-minded of you.
BM: Thank you.
- OFJ: Speaking of business-mindedness, would you say that the free market forces of the internet have catapulted Irrevocable Hype as a commercial success?
BM: Very capitalistic, isn’t it?
OFJ: Agreed. Which brings me to an important question. There are lefties and communists who use your software. Are you afraid that one day they would want to annex you and break your company apart in, say, six pieces?
BM: They use my blogware right?
OFJ: Yes.
BM: I suppose my superior product transcends ideological purity. Besides, if they broke me into pieces that they wouldn’t be “blogging” anymore.
OFJ: Yeah, that makes sense.
BM: They’re really capitalists at heart. See?
OFJ: You know, I never saw that angle before.
BM: I’m not only pretty and a megalomaniac, I’m insightful and smart too.
- OFJ: My last set of questions for this interview…
BM: You took your time, didn’t you?
OFJ: [laughs] Yeah I did. So, how do you see Irrevocable Hype five years from now? What are your goals?
BM: We will own the worldwide web. News sites will use my creation and allow trackbacks from other news sites for a fee. That will do away with the advertising that no one really notices. Personal sites are already using Irrevocable Hype for their journals, for keeping track of all sorts of subject matter. We will liberate the web while at the same time tie the definition of personal writing — blogging — to to our product.
OFJ: Well, that’s about it, thank you so much…
BM: If you keep sitting pretty there I will bite your head off. I know you don’t use my creation
OFJ: …for your time, but now I need to cut and run before you pin me underneath your juggernaut wheels. I hope I never see you again, Benamonster.
BM: Likewise.
5 Comments to Interview with the Benamonster, part 2
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Quite entertaining, make that very entertaining.
I’m curious how many *dozen* CPUs would be required to handle InstaPundit’s traffic on a fully dynamic CMS. Caching to HTML ain’t half as bad as you seem to imply, and anyway Slash (the Slashdot CMS) did it first.