Sometimes this is done with complex cryptography and involves key-signing ceremonies. Other times it involves byzantine XML RDF. Or you can use the baroque XHTML Friends Network.

None of those have been widely adopted. Perhaps it's because PGP is a usability nightmare, XML is out of fashion, or because these relationships mostly live in silos like Facebook and LinkedIn, or just that people value their privacy and don't want to expose their social graph any more than they have to.

Enter a new contender into the ring - human.json - it describes itself as:

a lightweight protocol for humans to assert authorship of their site content and vouch for the humanity of others. It uses URL ownership as identity, and trust propagates through a crawlable web of vouches between sites.

It looks like this:

{
  "version": "0.1.1",
  "url": "https://shkspr.mobi/blog/",
  "vouches": [
    {
      "url": "https://neilzone.co.uk/",
      "vouched_at": "2026-03-20"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://ohhelloana.blog/",
      "vouched_at": "2026-03-20"
    }
  ]
}

That says that I assert my own blog is written by a human, and that I vouch that my friends Neil and Ana write their own content.

Now, obviously there's no way that I can prove my blog posts are written by an organic, vegan-fed, human. And, while I know and trust the friends I've met AFK, I don't have any special insight into their creative processes. If I suspect them of being synthetic clankers, I can disavow their sites by removing them from my human.json file.

Adding to WordPress

There's an easy way and a hard way. The easy way it to just hand-write a JSON file and upload it to your website. BORING!

To start with, you'll need to add some code to your HTML's head. Stick this in your index.php

<link rel=human-json href=https://example.com/json/human.json>

Next, add this to your functions.php or wherever you set your weird options:

//  Add rewrite rule for /json and /json/{something}
add_action( "init", function () {
    add_rewrite_rule(
        '^json(?:/([^/]+))?/?$',    //  Matches /json and /json/{something}
        'index.php?pagename=json&json_param=$matches[1]',
        "top"
    );
});

//  Register custom query variable
add_filter( "query_vars" , function ($vars) {
    $vars[] = "json_param";
    return $vars;
});

That creates a rewrite so that /json/whatever will be intercepted. For now, this only deals with human.json - but there may be more weird JSON things you want to support later. Hurrah for over-engineering!

Next, add this:

add_action( "template_redirect", function() {
    if ( get_query_var( "json_param" ) && "human.json" == get_query_var( "json_param" ) ) {
        $data = [
            "version" => "0.1.1",
                "url" => esc_url( home_url() ),
            "vouches" => [
                [
                           "url" => "https://friend.example.com",
                    "vouched_at" => "2026-03-20"
                ],
                [
                           "url" => "https://whatever.example",
                    "vouched_at" => "2026-03-20"
                ],

            ]
        ];
        //  Headers to make sure it all works.
        header( "Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *" );
        wp_send_json( $data, 200 );
    }
} );

That intercepts the request, generates some JSON, then serves it with the correct content type and CORS headers.

You may need to refresh your redirects. Easiest way is to go to your blog's admin page and choose Settings → Permalinks, then hit Save

Over over engineering

This takes a list of your human friends, deduplicates them, sorts them alphabetically, and changes the vouch date to that of when you last updated the files.

add_action( "template_redirect", function() {
    if ( get_query_var( "json_param" ) ) {
        // https://codeberg.org/robida/human.json
        if ( strcasecmp( "human.json", get_query_var( "json_param" ) ) == 0 ) {

            //  People who I know to be human.
            $humans = array_unique([
                "https://neilzone.co.uk/",
                "https://ohhelloana.blog/",
                "https://example.com/",
            ]);

            sort( $humans );

            //  When was this file updated?
            //  RFC 3339 date format.
            $modified = date( "Y-m-d", filemtime( __FILE__ ) );

            foreach ( $humans as $human ) {
                $vouches[] = [ "url" => $human, "vouched_at" => $modified ];
            }

            $data = [
                "version" => "0.1.1",
                    "url" => esc_url( home_url() ),
                "vouches" => $vouches
            ];

            //  Headers to make sure it all works.
            header( "Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *" );
            wp_send_json( $data, 200, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT );
        } else {
            //  No valid parameter
            wp_send_json( null,  404, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT );
        }
    }
} );

Is it worth it?

I don't know.

Perhaps no one will use this. Or perhaps all my friends will turn out to be poorly constructed Turing machines. Or maybe a better standard will come along.

Either way, I think it is nifty and am happy to support it.

You can read more about human.json on CodeBerg.

But, when given the choice, we often ditch humans for something better.

Some random examples…

• Radio DJs
  • Does anyone actually miss witless chatter between records? Use of Spotify suggests a large number of us don't need a Human to introduce the next record. Or hold a phone-in. Or read out dates of a gig.
  • We might prefer a human to curate the music we listen to. But is AI any worse than Payola?
• TV continuity announcers
  • Anyone in the Netflix / TiVo era miss them?
  • Autoplaying trailers may be annoying, but they don't need a presenter.
• Supermarket checkouts
  • I know some people miss a natter with the person working the tills. But those of us behind them don't miss waiting!
    • (Yes, there ought to be better facilities for lonely people. No, the Tesco isn't best placed to serve that need.)
  • They often need a human when things go wrong.
• Meter reading
  • I don't miss a stranger poking through my house to read my gas meter. I'm more comfortable with corporate surveillance than relying on a Criminal Background Check for a fleet of individuals.
• In the workplace
  • I don't need a PA to type up my memos. Or a Human pushing a tea cart.
  • I let a robot check my spelling, but I often ask a human to check whether my documents are clear & readable.
• At home
  • I don't employ a maid to wash my dishes, or to sweep the floors. Robots have quietly and successfully replaced them.
  • OK, a microwave dinner isn't as good as a home-cooked meal. But it's a hell of a lot quicker and convenient.

I know some of you miss Humans Doing Things. But I really don't. I don't think the organic premium is worth paying for most things.

I'm not saying you're wrong for not feeling the same way as me, obviously.

There are lots of things Humans are good at. And some things for which they are uniquely suited. Similarly, Robots are experts in some areas. And, where they're not perfect, they're cheap and consistent.

Humans should know their place.

That is, any computer sending data to another, should stick closely to the specification for that communication channel. Any computer receiving data, should expect that the sender isn't following the principle, and interpret the data as best as possible.

This is what makes the modern net work. We expect errors in communication and only ask for clarification when strictly needed.

It also applies to humans too!

I recently received a comment from a reader. They seemed apoplectic with rage. Apparently, I'd used the word "normal" when I should have used "usual". I'd mixed up "who" and "whom". And, no doubt, committed more heinous grammatical atrocities. 😢

I also received a similar rant from another dear reader. They were upset that I said "everybody loves..." and "the majority of people accept..." Apparently I had to prove justification for every logical statement - otherwise they just assumed the rest of my argument was bullshit. 🙄

Here's the thing, human don't naturally write in Backus-Naur form. We use messy and imprecise language. It takes 300 pages to prove 1+1=2. So humans usually skip that preamble.

This blog is not a philosophical paper. I write quickly and humanely. I try to structure my arguments logically, and provide references where I can. I don't always succeed. In other words, I try to embody the first half of Postel's Law.

In return, readers are politely expected to embrace the second half. If I slip and misuse a homophone - please use the robustness principle to figure out what I actually meant. If you can't, feel free to ask for a clarification.

Similarly, if you spot that my writing isn't compliant with Pure Predicate Logic - feel free to go fuck yourself return this blog to the shop for a full refund.

In order to co-ordinate things better, we'd like to invite you to our exclusive Slack Channel!

A variety of rude words danced around my brain. I think this makes the, what, 9th? 10th? Slack that I'm part of.

Don't get me wrong, I like Slack as a service - but it only really works if you have One Slack Team To Rule Them All.

I've just got a new tablet - so I need to sign in to Slack TEN TIMES! How is that an acceptable user experience?

Oh, and then I have to do it all over again on my phone.

Terence Eden is on Mastodon

@edent

Replying to @edent@SlackHQ I've been invited to a new Slack. How do I automatically sign in on my laptop, phone, & tablet?

---

Slack

@SlackHQ

Replying to @edent@edent You'll have to sign in on each one Terence! Sorry for the trouble.

---

sigh fine. Whatever.

So I go to sign in. I have to give an email address - I can't use one of the half-dozen social sign-in providers I use. That also means I have to give my first and last name, and a preferred username. Tiresome.

I have to set a new avatar image - because it's not picking up from my Twitter, Skype, Facebook, etc.

And then, to add insult to injury, I have to change the default timezone - because not everyone lives in California.

This is a scaling issue. Each time I get a new device (a few times a year) I have to go through this time-consuming and annoying rigmarole. Each time I get invited to a new Slack (hey, I'm a popular guy!) I have to faff around setting it up, configuring it, and maintaining it.

Look, I get that some Slack Teams need 2FA and all sorts of custom stuff - but why should I as a user care about that?

I want:

• One Slack account - which has my avatar, timezone, username, preferences, teams, and so on.
• errr...
• ... nope, that'll do.

Sure, if my Top Secret Slack imposes extra security requirements on me - present them when I sign in to my account. Or let me have a separate password. Or mandate 2FA for everything. I don't care. I'm just tired of feeling dread whenever I think about joining a new Slack team or setting up a new device.

I'm only human.

There's a certain class of Internet user who troubles me. He - and it is usually a he - will strive to answer any technical question he sees asked, no matter his lack of expertise.

Here are the symptoms:

• Sometimes he responds with the first Google link for the question - as though I haven't thought of doing a basic search.
• Sharing a link even though it's dated from 2006 and specifically notes that it doesn't work any more.
• Saying "here's the manual." When you ask "have you tried it?" you'll get a "well... no... but...!"
• Asking a pointless clarifying question, like "is it related to the frotzbottle?" When asked if that's a common source of the problem, he'll reply "Well, I've never had the problem before but..."
• Literally repling "No, sorry, haven't a clue." WHAT'S THE FUCKING POINT IN THAT?! ★

Let me be clear, when I ask a technical question along the lines of "Does anyone know how/why/where/what...." the emphasis is firmly on the "know". I'm not asking for guesswork or detective work or divine inspiration - I'm putting out a plaintive call to those with knowledge.

But on and on and on it goes. Blokes who see a question mark on the Internet and assume it is directed solely at them. Even if they've zero knowledge of the subject at hand, they somehow feel that just by chipping in they're making a positive contribution.

It doesn't help. It's bloody annoying. And I'm also guilty of it. GAH!

★ The point is, of course, empathy. It's appropriate in some situations - but when I want to know how to reconfigure my wotsit so that it can refangle my thingumies, I don't really want to hear "that's rough - sorry you're having a hard time."

I know, I know. You can't decide how people should feel. And their feelings have intrinsic validity. But sometimes I want answers, not sympathy. Of course, sometimes I just want to know people are listening. Humans are messy and complicated.