News layout
Sidebar width on News and the Reader, Reader buttons on News cards, and clearer light-skin text.
- A sidebar-width slider was added to News and the Reader, News cards got the Reader buttons, and light skins got better text contrast.
What's New
A dated log of what has shipped on The Ultimate Survival Library. Newest first.
October 2026
News reader
A News reader, a text-size control, and Videos split into USL Originals and YouTube.
- The News reader launched, and Videos split into USL Originals and YouTube.
- A site-wide text-size control was added.
- An Update Available button was added, topic sites open in a new tab, and the News pill matches each skin.
PDF downloads
Signed-in zip bundles, and PDFs served from Cloudflare.
- Signed-in users can download PDF zip bundles.
- PDFs are now served from Cloudflare, and hidden or unknown files return not found.
Essentials
Topic tiles at the top of the Library, plus an Essentials page.
- Library topic tiles moved to the top, and an Essentials page was added.
Library shelves
Browse the Library by topic and series, with a Start Here shelf.
- The Library can be browsed by topic and series, with a Start Here shelf.
PDF Library
Full-text search and an in-browser PDF viewer.
- The PDF Library launched, with full-text search and an in-browser viewer.
Color skins
Twenty-two color skins and a swatch picker.
- 22 color skins were added, with a swatch picker.
September 2026
Real topic pages
Topic pages and the Situation archive are real addresses, and dark-mode Store photos sit cleanly.
- In dark mode, Store photos no longer sit on white boxes.
- Situation summaries are now broken into paragraphs.
- Topic pages and the Situation archive became real pages you can browse to, and the trailing-slash redirect loop was fixed.
Videos and the brief archive
Published times, a brief archive, and a Videos page.
- The Situation strip shows when each brief was published.
- A Situation brief archive was added.
- The Videos page opened, then four long EMP films were added.
- The logo moved under the title and got bigger.
Situation briefs
A Situation brief strip on the homepage.
- The homepage Situation brief strip went up.
Signed-in email
The nav shows the email you signed in with.
- The nav shows your signed-in email.
Reader
A survival RSS reader with a catalog, folders, and a reading pane.
- The Reader launched, with a survival RSS catalog, folders and a reading pane.
- The Reader got a refreshed feed catalog, an endless unread stream, deeper WordPress feed history and clearer Add Feed search.
Accounts
Register, confirm email, log in, and reset a password.
- Accounts launched: register, confirm email, log in and reset password.
Light theme and Saved sites
The site opens in light theme, and Saved sites are on the homepage.
- The site now opens in light theme, and Saved sites appeared on the homepage.
- The nav pills were unified, and Saved became a bookmark icon.
- Turning on Saved sites clears the other filters.
Search, theme, and the Store pill
Full Store search, a remembered light/dark choice, and a homepage product strip.
- Store search covers every product, and the hero title links home.
- The Store got a teal nav pill, and a featured-products strip went on the homepage.
- A light/dark toggle was added, and your choice is remembered.
- The Store page got its banner title.
Suggest in the nav
Suggest a Site sits in the sticky nav, with a centered hero.
- Suggest a Site moved into the sticky nav, and the homepage got the centered hero lockup.
Store photos and reports
Photo zoom, wrapping category pills, and listing reports.
- You can zoom in on Store photos.
- Store category pills wrap onto new lines instead of scrolling sideways.
- Visitors can report a directory listing.
Old links redirect
Retired purchase and USL AI addresses no longer 404.
- Old /purchase and /usl_ai links now redirect instead of showing a 404.
Store opens
A curated Amazon Store, with search, filters, and photos.
- The curated Amazon Store opened, with search, category filters and product photos.
August 2026
Disclosure and new filters
Disclosure, Film & TV, and new book and knife filters.
- An affiliate disclosure was added to the homepage, plus its own disclosure page.
- A Film & TV category was added.
- Knives and Books & Libraries filters were added, and Book became a content type.
Directory redesign
The survival directory was rebuilt as the site you see now.
- The redesigned survival directory launched, with dark theme, topic browsing, search and Suggest a Site. The old purchase and licensing pages were removed.