The first week of the new year is almost over, and I’ve already put more work into the blog than I intended. I want to inform you about that—and also document it for myself. When I kept opening the site again and again over the past few days, I often thought that there was more that could be done. Especially quality-of-life changes, particularly for people who have difficulty reading long texts or who are neurodivergent and depressed.
Quality-of-life changes
Scroll progress bar
There is now a scroll bar at the top of the screen that shows how long the page is. The fuller it gets, the further you are in the text. When it is full or almost full, you’ve reached the end of the post. This is especially useful if you want or need to take a reading break and are already in the middle of a section.
Gloom level
There is now a status bar for the Gloom-Level in the info box of all posts from 2026 onward, as well as in AR–TMH posts. This level can go up to 100% and indicates how negatively associated the text is and how likely it is to emotionally pull in sensitive readers.
This is primarily useful for people who are easily affected by negativity and can spiral into a low mood. Before reading, everyone can decide for themselves whether their head can handle the content—or whether it’s better to leave the page immediately.
From a level of 80%, a non-dismissible warning appears stating that the text is very dark and that real caution is advised. From 95%, there is an additional warning that generally advises against reading the text if diagnosed depression or other psychological conditions are present that could lead to impulsive actions.
Exchange of sins and virtues
I already wrote in Nuntii #1 that I’m handling the virtues a bit more flexibly instead of strictly adhering to the original ones. After thorough consideration—last night—I decided to swap one sin and one virtue.
Acedia is replaced by Tristitia – Tristitia (melancholy) can indeed include Acedia (sloth), as it can arise from that inertia. However, Tristitia gives me more room to simply write sad and deep texts that otherwise wouldn’t have fit. Thus, a classic sin was replaced with one that better fits my concept.
Spes is replaced by Patientia – Spes (hope) was a virtue that I had adapted to suit myself. Somehow, though, I have the feeling that this would be a category I’d hardly use. Patientia (patience), on the other hand, will probably get more attention, as I am patient—or have to be patient—in many things.
Here, an adapted virtue is replaced by an actual traditional virtue.
Upcoming changes
I still plan to offer the entire blog (from 2026 onward) in easy-to-read language. However, this will be delayed for an indefinite period. Until then, I will store all newly written texts additionally in an easy-language version oriented toward DIN standards, so that I can add them once the time comes.
That’s it for the latest changes. I hope the QoL improvements in particular will be helpful to you.
Gerry