Ask HN: Is an in-page speed reader useful?

A friend suggested I embed an RSVP reader in my blog posts, so I did a floating button in the corner of the page. It uses the Spritz heuristic for the focus letter (letter 1 for short words, up to letter 4 for long ones) but maps back through punctuation, and the timing isn't uniform either. I don't want to bury this post in technical detail, so if you're curious about any of it, just ask and I'm happy to share.

But I'm not really used to speed readers, so I don't know if it's actually useful. What do you think?

And about browser extensions? does a per-site reader still make sense when an extension works everywhere, in theory?

It's on my blog (glitchedcat.com) on any post the lightning bolt button in the corner.

2 points | by jvbotelho 3 hours ago

2 comments

  • al_borland 3 hours ago
    I've tried them. It always seemed like more of a gimmick to me. I read faster, but it's not enjoyable. I think browser extensions make more sense than for a person to expect every site to implement their own version, which may all be slightly different.

    These days, I'll just get an AI summary of an article if I don't want to spend time reading the whole thing.

  • blinkbat 2 hours ago
    if you want to promote joyless reading sure