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Show HN: A poem inside HTTP response headers

74 points| jacobevelyn | 4 years ago |ja.cob.land | reply

21 comments

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[+] jesushax|4 years ago|reply
When I come to HN, this is what I'm always hoping to see. Lots are here for startup news, FAANG, etc. Nope, I just want to see really, really cool fun things.

Great work.

[+] only4here|4 years ago|reply
Agreed. It really takes me back to the old days of the Internet, with fun little easter eggs like this!
[+] jacobevelyn|4 years ago|reply
Thank you for the kind words! I feel the same.
[+] ResNet|4 years ago|reply
This is really cool!

For posterity, below is the output when the command is run:

  $ curl --head https://ja.cob.land/http2-204
  HTTP/2 204 
  date: one of those frigid Saturdays in November
  age: just turned 27
  location: Messina's Trailer Park on Southside Drive
  trailer: 1967 Elcona single-wide (not as bad as it sounds)
  server: at the Neptune Diner until I can get published
  content-disposition: in the late autumn of my discontent
  accept-patch: if it contains nicotine
  tk: oh shit I should put something here
  expires: in my sleep I hope
[+] 1vuio0pswjnm7|4 years ago|reply
One project I have had in mind for many years is a direct two-way, user-to-user communication protocol or user convention that only uses HTTP request headers. One benefit would be easier-to-write clients and logging servers. There would be no need for the complexity of, and hence third party control over, a "web browser", nor the need to learn skills (HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc.) to develop and maintain a website. Users could communicate and transfer small data directly via sending and logging HTTP requests.

If one is a avid reader of HTTP server logs, one might conclude there is a susbtantial amount of text being transfered over the internet via HTTP headers. However, almost all of it is intended for use by persons other than users. To me, as a user, this seems like a waste.

Others have demonstrated how any bits can be transferred via a variety of methods, e.g., https://web.archive.org/web/20001207014600if_/http//decss.zo... That included NNTP or e-mail headers, but did not mention HTTP headers.

Poetry via HTTP response headers. It's a start!

[+] elek|4 years ago|reply
My older, but somewhat similar:

> docker pull elek/herbstag && docker history elek/herbstag

But it's just publishing an old (but good) poem, not as cool as writing a new one ;-)

[+] Agamus|4 years ago|reply
This is lovely! A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, much interesting content on the web was only found in source, but this is another level of elegance.
[+] davidcollantes|4 years ago|reply
Normally one will get the default headers, plus any other added. In this case, the default headers are all gone. How did you do it?
[+] jacobevelyn|4 years ago|reply
I guess it depends on what you consider a default header. (I’m not too familiar with standards here; there may be some IETF definition you’re referring to?)

It turns out if you have enough control over your server you can make it do a lot of things! (Which may or may not conform to a spec.)

[+] schroeding|4 years ago|reply
Very nice! By the way, I love that you explain everything, including how console commands can be run! :D
[+] jacobevelyn|4 years ago|reply
Thank you! My hope was to make it accessible to non-technical readers while still being fun for people who are familiar with HTTP innards.
[+] lxe|4 years ago|reply
This is prose!