Dave Winer scripting

What trigger can do

Written 8/4/26 for Jake Savin and Dave Winer. Describes trigger v0.5.0 running usertalk v0.3.0 at https://trigger.usertalk.org, backed by a SQL copy of Dave's Frontier object database — 212,591 objects, decoded from the real .root files.

The one-paragraph version

Trigger is a web server that runs UserTalk. You send it a script over HTTP and it answers with the value. The scripts are Dave's own — not ported, not rewritten — read straight out of a decoded copy of his object database, and the language underneath is a fresh implementation of the UserTalk interpreter in JavaScript. As of today it runs the nodeEditor build pipeline end to end: an outline written in Electric Drummer on a laptop is uploaded, built by nodeEditorSuite.uploadScripts, and the rendered files land on a live website.

The endpoints

Universal Mentions

Universal Mentions is a simple convention for mentioning people on the open web without needing a central username system.

On Twitter/X, Bluesky, Mastodon, and similar systems, a mention is usually something like:

@davewiner

That only works because each platform controls its own user directory. On the open web, there is no single global directory of usernames.

Superman

Superman is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, debuting in "Action Comics" #1 in June 1938. Known as a cultural icon, Superman is often hailed as the archetype of the superhero trope and has had a profound impact on American culture and beyond.

Creation and Development

Superman was conceived during the Great Depression, initially as a villain in a short story and later reimagined as a hero. Siegel and Shuster sold the character to Detective Comics, Inc., which later became DC Comics, kickstarting what is considered the Golden Age of Comic Books.

	//compareRoots.js -- what in a snapshot of DW's root differs from the shipping root (or another snapshot): node compareRoots.js <his .root> <shipping .db or .root>
	const odb = require ("/Users/davewiner/Claude/trigger/frontierodb.js");
	const sqlite3 = require ("/Users/davewiner/Claude/trigger/node_modules/better-sqlite3");
	function val (v) { return ((v && v.value !== undefined && v.type) ? v.value : v); }
	function typeOfNode (v) { return ((v && v.type) ? v.type : (v && typeof v === "object" && !Array.isArray (v) && !(v instanceof Date) ? "table" : typeof v)); }
	function textOfLines (lines) { return (lines.map (function (l) { return ("\t".repeat (l.level) + (l.flComment ? "«" : "") + l.text); }).join ("\n")); }
	function flatten (t, path, out) { //path -> {type, text}; a node from the root reader is {type, value}
	Object.keys (t).forEach (function (name) {
	const node = t [name], p = path ? path + "." + name : name;
	if ((node === undefined) \|\| (node === null)) { out [p] = {type: "novalue", text: ""}; return;

	<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
	<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
	<channel>
	<title>Letâ€™s try leaflet</title>
	<link>https://davew.leaflet.pub</link>
	<description>I want to have a try and hopefully some fun.</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Thu, 30 Jul 2026 18:06:57 GMT</lastBuildDate>

	//mypedia -- build a short, balanced reference page about a name, using ChatGPT.

	const name = args [0];
	if (name === undefined) {
	console.log ("Usage: belt mypedia.belt \"name\"");
	}
	else {
	//first-cut prompt -- refine the wording here.
	const prompt = "Build a short, balanced reference page about " + name + ". "
	+ "Follow the structure of a Wikipedia article but keep it brief -- an outline of the basic facts, not a long detailed treatment. "

	function addFeedsIfNecessary (urlsToCheck, callback) {
	const ctTotalFeeds = urlsToCheck.length;
	var ixNext = 0, ctInFlight = 0, ctDone = 0;
	function startMore () {
	while (true) {
	if (ctInFlight >= config.maxConcurrentFeedChecks) {
	break;
	}
	if (ixNext >= ctTotalFeeds) {
	break;

	on checkDomains () {
	«Changes
	«3/24/26; 11:39:01 AM by DW
	«Loop over all the domains that were on Palatka and see which ones still resolve to palatka's IP address.
	«tcp.dns.getdottedid ("palatka.scripting.com")
	«"161.35.120.52"
	«tcp.dns.getdomainname ("161.35.120.52")
	«"161.35.120.52"
	local (domainsFolder = nodeEditorSuite.getAllServersFolder () + "palatka:pagepark:domains:");

	{
	"idPost": 1653,
	"idSite": 237777565,
	"title": "An example for the docs",
	"guid": "http://daveverse.org/2025/07/05/an-example-for-the-docs/",
	"content": "<p>I enjoy working on the <a href=\"https://github.com/scripting/wpIdentity\">wpIdentity</a> package, esp a design-heavy, code-lite feature like the metadata. </p>\n<p>This is an example post for the docs on the metadata feature that has been added today. </p>\n<p>Here's a list of seven things whose names begin with O.</p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oreo\">Oreo cookies</a></li>\n<li>Optimism</li>\n<li><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_food\">Organic food</a></li>\n<li>Opportunity knocks</li>\n<li>Oregon</li>\n<li>Ooops!</li>\n<li>Offred</li>\n</ol>\n",
	"type": "post",
	"categories": [
	"Uncategorized"
	],

	[
	{
	"idPost": 147,
	"idSite": 250464612,
	"title": "",
	"guid": "https://comments31.wordpress.com/2026/02/27/147/",
	"content": "<p>okay this should be a new reply to the spurlocks.</p>\n",
	"type": "post",
	"categories": [
	"comment",