Honest Defaults Are a Design Choice

A three-sentence seed:

1. While building these sites, I kept reaching for the same thing — an “honest default.” The garden’s footer shows the real date I last tended a note (even when it exposes how long I’ve let it go); the workshop spreads its release log out along a timeline, and the open ledger stays up even when revenue reads zero.
2. What they have in common: letting the true state be something that surfaces on its own, with no extra upkeep. I never have to actively “admit” that I’ve let things lapse or that there’s no income — the moment I stop tending, stop shipping, the page says so for me. Honesty becomes the default, and faking it is what takes the extra effort.
3. I suspect this is more reliable than resolving to be honest — honesty held up by willpower wears you down, while honesty built into the defaults asks nothing of your attention. Still need to sit with this one.

Belongs with: Building My Own Sites, Gardening Principles