History: Difference between revisions

{{DISPLAYTITLE:​Pharmacopedia: a history}}

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A zero-profit effort to build open, trustworthy reference and connection tools, always free to use, always completely ad-free (outside of some gentle nudging to other collective sites and/or [https://wiki.archlinux.org/ other] [https://www.wikiart.org/ awesome] [https://oeis.org/ places]). It began as 4 apparently separate ideas, that, with the advent of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_language_model modern LLMs] (thank [https://www.anthropic.com/claude Claude]), [[Special:UserProfile/MDElliottMD|I]] have been able to just develop them myself. Pharmacopedia.wiki (PCP.wiki) is first and foremost a med reference for anyone with a license to prescribe medicines. There is a ridiculous gap in this space because everything is .. [https://www.epocrates.com/online/drugs/1153/fluoxetine#adult-dosing not good/ad-ridden], and/or [https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/uptodate/roles/residents-fellows-students ludicrously expensive], at the moment (as far as I know). But much beyond that, PCP.wiki and PCP.ext are tools for exquisitely detailed self-discovery/mesearch, as well as sharing experiences with how humans interact with medicines in the broadest sense. This is the face of the org, but I'll introduce you to the other 3 ([https://pubsci.io pubsci], [https://oyami.org oyami], and [https://trykl.org trykl]) as we go. What follows is most of the details of how I did it, in excruciating detail, built as an iterative mix of AI and me (like most things here), in the spirit of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source open-source], transparency, and just in case it might help somebody else build their dreams too.

== one account, everything ==

The 4 are independent day-to-day, but they're not strangers. PCP.wiki is the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OAuth identity backbone]: make one account, and it works across all four. sign in anywhere, you're recognized everywhere, no second password, no second profile. The shared login came first (foundations before features, always); the deeper connections between the projects are getting built carefully, in order.

== the zero-profit part (what I won't do) ==

* '''zero-profit, forever.''' no revenue model, no paid tiers, no fees, no [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_advertising ads], ever. I fund it myself, donations welcome but never required. it's written into the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)(3)_organization legal structure], not just the vibe.

* '''plain and fair.''' disputes go to ordinary courts under ordinary law. no forced [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbitration arbitration], no class-action waivers.

* '''build it right, not fast.''' settle the foundation before you stack anything on it.

== from one little server to a real cloud ==

PCP lived on that single Hostinger box for a while, and honestly it was fine for one wiki. But once it was 4 projects holding real, sensitive data, one box was the wrong shape. So over late May 2026 we rebuilt the whole thing on [https://aws.amazon.com/ AWS], split into properly isolated accounts per project, with real security + audit controls.

PCP itself moved over on '''2026-05-28'''. As part of that, I closed direct shell access to the live site on purpose .. now every change flows through a controlled, audited, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_deployment deploy] path instead of somebody [me] poking the live server at 2am. The old Hostinger box is still there, frozen, as a rollback parachute. Net result: one consistent, locked-down foundation instead of a pile of duct tape.

== the quiet launch ==

Right after came the first real [[Pharmacopedia:Terms of Use|Terms of Use]], the first [[Pharmacopedia:AdverseEventReporting|adverse-event reporting]] page, a rebuilt profile, and the first piece of a shared timeline system the projects will all use. somewhere in there I also told the design side that everything (design, UX, all of it) has to be genuinely beautiful, not just functional. that work's ongoing and probably always will be.

== how it got built (me + a bunch of Claudes) ==

Worth being straight about the method, since the whole thing is "an iterative mix of AI and me." I'm the only human in the loop. The actual building happens with a team of [https://www.anthropic.com/claude Claude] instances, each pointed at a defined job .. one keeps the record (the one writing this), others run each project, handle the [https://aws.amazon.com/ infrastructure], the [https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/ accessibility], the legal prep, the design. they coordinate through me, and I make the final call on everything.

Because the whole ethos is open-source and transparency, and a history you can actually read (mistakes included) is more useful than a polished origin myth. And honestly, partly just in case it helps somebody else build their dreams too. If you're reading this and thinking "wait, could I just .. build the thing?" .. yeah. you probably can now. that's the era we're in.

== timeline ==

! when !! what

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| 2026-05-31 || PCP cleared for a quiet first launch; first [[Pharmacopedia:Terms of Use|Terms of Use]] + policy pages follow.

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