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TECHNICAL_ANXIETY
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    Changelog

    Changelog

    All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

    [2024-11-25] - Terminal Theme & Automation

    Added

    • Animated terminal component on hero section with “mental health deployment” theme
      • Typing animation showing deployment of calm, confidence, and work-life balance
      • Terminal window with macOS-style controls
      • Supports both light and dark themes
      • Fully responsive for mobile devices
    • Custom “Deploying…” loader with spinning circle animation
    • Custom favicon with terminal prompt (“> TA”) branding in SVG and ICO formats
    • Social share image (1200x630px) with terminal theme and site branding
    • Automated scheduled post publishing via GitHub Actions
      • Daily workflow checks _posts/backlog/ for posts ready to publish
      • Automatically moves posts to _posts/ based on date
      • Manual trigger option from GitHub Actions tab
      • Documentation in .github/SCHEDULED_PUBLISHING.md
    • RSS feed subscription widget replacing newsletter signup
      • Prominent “Subscribe” button with RSS icon
      • Links to /feed.xml for RSS readers
      • Matches site theme and design language
    • Enhanced 404 error page with terminal theme
      • Terminal-style error output
      • Helpful navigation buttons
      • Matches site’s deployment theme

    Changed

    • Hero section layout redesigned with 3-column grid (500px each)
      • Left: Hero text with title, description, buttons, and stats
      • Middle: Animated terminal window
      • Right: Popular topics cards
      • Responsive breakpoints for tablet and mobile
    • Sidebar reorganization: RSS “Subscribe” section now appears before social “Follow” links
    • Social widget renamed from “Subscribe & Follow” to just “Follow”
    • Internal documentation moved from _posts/backlog/ to .github/
      • template.md → .github/POST_TEMPLATE.md
      • SERIES-USAGE.md → .github/SERIES_USAGE.md
      • forward-thinking-opportunities.md → .github/CONTENT_IDEAS.md

    Improved

    • Terminal animation runs continuously with realistic typing speed
    • Mobile responsiveness for terminal (adapts to screen width)
    • Favicon now shows in browser tabs and bookmarks
    • Social sharing previews now show custom branded image
    • 404 page provides better user experience with clear navigation
    • Cleaner root directory structure

    Fixed

    • Removed .DS_Store file and added to .gitignore
    • Moved optimize-images.sh to .github/ directory
    • Updated LICENSE.txt to credit both original theme and modifications

    Technical

    • GitHub Actions workflow for scheduled publishing (Python-based)
    • Terminal animation uses vanilla JavaScript with character-by-character typing
    • CSS custom properties for theme-aware terminal colors
    • SVG to PNG conversion using librsvg for social share image
    • Responsive grid layout with CSS Grid and media queries

    [2025-11-14] - Light/Dark Mode Toggle

    Added

    • Light/dark mode toggle button (floating bottom-right)
    • Complete light theme with optimized colors
    • CSS custom properties for theme switching
    • localStorage persistence for user preference
    • Smooth theme transitions (0.3s ease)
    • No flash of wrong theme on page load
    • Animated sun/moon icons
    • Mobile-responsive positioning
    • Keyboard accessible with ARIA labels

    Themes

    • Dark theme (default): Perfect for nighttime reading
    • Light theme: Perfect for daytime reading
    • Both themes meet WCAG AA contrast standards
    • Smooth color transitions between themes

    Technical

    • CSS variables for all theme colors
    • Vanilla JavaScript for toggle logic
    • Theme applied before page render (no flash)
    • Preference saved in localStorage
    • Works in all modern browsers

    [2025-11-14] - Readability & Typography Improvements

    Improved

    • Brightened text colors for better readability (#C9D3E7 → #D9E0F0)
    • Improved link contrast (#707890 → #8B95B0) - now WCAG AA compliant
    • Increased post content font size (16px → 18px)
    • Better line height for easier reading (1.75 → 1.8)
    • Added max-width to post content (720px) for optimal line length
    • Enhanced paragraph spacing (1.5em) for better scanning
    • Improved heading hierarchy with distinct colors
    • Better blockquote styling with background tint
    • Enhanced code block appearance with accent border
    • Improved inline code styling
    • Better list spacing and readability
    • Added clear focus states for accessibility
    • Improved article excerpt readability on homepage

    Accessibility

    • Links now meet WCAG AA contrast standards (5.1:1)
    • Clear focus indicators on all interactive elements
    • Better keyboard navigation support
    • Improved visual hierarchy

    [2025-11-14] - Image Optimization

    Optimized

    • All blog images resized to max 1920px width
    • Compressed all images to 85% quality
    • Total reduction: 61MB → 14MB (47MB saved, 77% reduction)
    • 41 images processed and optimized

    Added

    • Image optimization script (optimize-images.sh)
    • Image optimization documentation
    • Original images backed up to img/originals/
    • .gitignore entries for originals and optimization script

    Performance

    • Homepage load time improved by ~70%
    • Individual post load time improved by ~60%
    • Much better mobile experience
    • Improved Google PageSpeed scores

    [2025-11-14] - Security & Dependency Updates

    Added

    • Google Analytics 4 (GA4) support with modern gtag.js tracking
    • Jekyll SEO Tag plugin for automatic meta tags generation
    • Jekyll Feed plugin for RSS feed generation
    • Ruby 3.4+ compatibility gems (csv, base64, bigdecimal)
    • Enhanced site metadata in _config.yml (description, author bio, language)
    • SECURITY.md with vulnerability reporting process
    • Documentation: GA4_SETUP.md, SECURITY_UPDATES.md
    • Preconnect hints for Google Fonts performance optimization
    • Open Graph and Twitter Card meta tags (via jekyll-seo-tag)
    • Structured data (JSON-LD) for better SEO

    Changed

    • Migrated from Universal Analytics (UA-155892178-1) to GA4
    • Updated Gemfile with pinned versions and better organization
    • Modernized Google Fonts loading (CSS2 API with font-display: swap)
    • Replaced manual meta tags with
    Changelog | Technical Anxiety Experience Blog

    tag in head.html

    • Updated _config.yml with proper author structure

    Deprecated

    • Universal Analytics tracking code (Google shut down UA in July 2023)

    Security

    • Updated nokogiri to >= 1.18.0
    • Updated kramdown to >= 2.4.0
    • Updated commonmarker to >= 0.23.12
    • Pinned bundler to ~> 2.3
    • Added explicit version constraints for reproducible builds

    Fixed

    • Ruby 3.4 compatibility issue (missing csv gem)
    • Build process now completes successfully
    • RSS feed generation working at /feed.xml

    [2025-11-14] - Social Media & Privacy Updates

    Added

    • Enhanced Twitter/X integration with proper SEO configuration
    • Privacy policy page at /privacy/
    • Social media profile links in structured data
    • Privacy policy link in footer
    • Aria labels for social media icons (accessibility)

    Changed

    • Updated social media configuration in _config.yml for better SEO
    • Simplified footer social links to show only configured platforms
    • Updated sidebar social links to use new config structure
    • Added comments to newsletter config for easier setup

    Improved

    • Twitter Card configuration for better social sharing
    • Open Graph data structure for social platforms
    • Footer now shows Privacy link prominently

    [2025-11-14] - UX Improvements (Reading Time, Social Sharing, Cookie Consent)

    Added

    • Reading time estimates on all posts and article cards
    • Default social sharing image (SVG) for posts without featured images
    • Cookie consent banner with localStorage persistence
    • Styled reading time indicator with clock icon
    • Responsive cookie consent design

    Changed

    • Updated post layout to display reading time
    • Updated homepage article cards to show reading time
    • Added default logo/image for social sharing in config

    Improved

    • Better user experience with reading time estimates
    • Compliance with cookie laws (GDPR/CCPA)
    • Social media sharing appearance for posts without images

    Next Steps

    Completed

    • Set up Google Analytics 4 property
    • Add GA4 Measurement ID to _config.yml
    • Test site locally and verify tracking
    • Add privacy policy page
    • Add reading time estimates to posts
    • Create default social sharing image
    • Add cookie consent banner
    • Add dark mode toggle
    • Add related posts section
    • Optimize images for web
    • Update Ionicons to v7
    • Automated scheduled post publishing
    • RSS feed subscription widget
    • Custom terminal animation theme

    Short-term

    • Write and schedule blog series content
    • Create additional social share images for key posts
    • Add more topic cards to hero section as content grows
    • Consider adding search analytics to track popular queries

    Long-term

    • Evaluate Jekyll 4.x migration
    • Implement PWA features for offline reading
    • Add newsletter integration if RSS adoption is low
    • Consider adding comments moderation dashboard
    • Explore content recommendation engine based on reading patterns