Secret Garden

In October 2023, to use Cloudflare’s Tunnel feature, I purchased the jackchou00.icu domain for one year, also serving as a custom domain for GitHub. Later, when I got the motivation to blog and wanted to extend it for a few more years, I found AliCloud couldn’t extend it for unknown reasons. Thus I switched to jackchou.top bought elsewhere with cheaper renewal, extending it until 2035.

For a static site hosted on GitHub, changing domains is remarkably simple - just purchasing a domain and updating DNS records. Yet disappearing from the internet is equally easy. With minimal SEO and rankings, this obscure personal blog about niche tech topics could vanish if domains change or expire.

Looking through bookmarks of senior bloggers’ sites, most haven’t updated in years or became inaccessible. Maintaining a personal blog relies purely on willpower - abandonment comes naturally. When I start working, switch fields, or simply lose motivation, this place may fall silent.

I don’t like the feeling of “managing” social media; I find myself unconsciously focusing on data and traffic. I also dislike clickbait titles and content. Writing this blog, on the other hand, gives me a thrill of documenting and sharing. Here, data doesn’t matter because I don’t track it at all. I just assume and hope that visitors can get something out of their visit. Here, I only need to be responsible to myself. It feels like tending to a small garden that is all my own, yet open to the entire internet. This subtle feeling of being in a quiet corner in a very public space is quite interesting.

But at least until 2035, you can visit this place at jackchou.top. After that, you can also use jackchou00.github.io. I have full faith in the availability of Cloudflare and Github, you could say this place will be around for as long as the internet itself.

Domain Migration Details

I initially thought changing the domain would be a hassle, but looking back, the workload was basically just changing the DNS and CNAME records. The bigger concern was how to let people who already knew about this place know how to find it again, I don’t really care about SEO and all that.

For now, I’ve redirected all my other domains here. You can reach this site via jackchou00.icu, zms.im, and jackchou.xyz. However, only jackchou.top is registered for the long term.

If you visited here between July and October 2025, you might have noticed a banner. This was the work of Claude Code. If you’re interested, you can read the log he wrote himself below.

Background

The blog’s domain is migrating from jackchou00.icu to jackchou.top. A prominent banner is needed to notify visitors of the domain change, with consideration for easy removal after three months.

Implementation Plan

Chosen Method

Modify the extend_head.html file in the PaperMod theme. This is a custom extension point provided by the theme, which is loaded on every page.

File Location

themes/PaperMod/layouts/partials/extend_head.html:15-157

Core Features

  1. Fixed Top Banner

    • Uses position: fixed to stay at the top of the page
    • Gradient background for visual appeal
    • High z-index to ensure it displays above all other content

  2. Bilingual Support

    • Automatically detects the page language (via document.documentElement.lang and URL path)
    • Chinese: 👋 再见，jackchou00.icu 🚀 新的旅途，从 jackchou.top 起程
    • English: 👋 Goodbye, jackchou00.icu 🚀 A new chapter will begin at jackchou.top

  3. User Interaction

    • Clickable ✕ button to close
    • Closed state is saved to localStorage, so it won’t reappear on page refresh
    • Automatically adds padding-top to the body when the notice is shown to prevent content from being obscured

  4. Automatic Expiration

    • Hardcoded expiration date: 2025-10-31 (after three months)
    • Automatically stops displaying after the expiration date, no manual action required

  5. Responsive Design

    • Different layouts and spacing for desktop and mobile
    • Text and button are stacked vertically on mobile

Technical Details

CSS Styles

  • Gradient background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea 0%, #764ba2 100%)
  • Link color: Yellow #ffeb3b for better readability
  • Shadow effect: box-shadow: 0 2px 10px rgba(0,0,0,0.1)

JavaScript Logic

  • Wrapped in an IIFE (Immediately Invoked Function Expression) to avoid polluting the global scope
  • Uses the DOMContentLoaded event to ensure execution after the page is fully loaded
  • Uses insertAdjacentHTML to dynamically insert HTML

Removal Method

There are two ways to remove it:

  • No action required
  • It will automatically stop displaying after October 24, 2025

Method 2: Manual Removal

Delete lines 15-157 from the themes/PaperMod/layouts/partials/extend_head.html file:

<!-- Domain Migration Notice -->
<style>
...
</style>

<script>
...
</script>

That is, delete all code from <!-- Domain Migration Notice --> to the final </script> tag.

Notes

  1. Theme Updates: If you update the PaperMod theme, you will need to re-add this code.
  2. Caching Issues: Users’ browsers may have the old version cached, but new visitors will see the notice immediately.
  3. SEO Impact: The banner will not affect SEO because it is added dynamically via JavaScript.