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I'm using an unfederated node of Madtodon running on a Raspberry pi with Let's Encrypt certs as a private family social network. Works well and family response

I'm using an unfederated node of Madtodon running on a Raspberry pi with Let's Encrypt certs as a private family social network. Works well and family response has been massively positive. You can disconnect while staying connected on your own terms.

artursapek 9y ago
That's intriguing. You're just hosting it at your house? How hard was it to convince your family members to try using it?
- fluxsauce 9y ago
  Yup, it's just lurking next to the router. Convincing - tried it with just my partner first and smoothed out some rough edges. I then sent a group email to extended family that included a brief justification, some screen shots of it in action, a picture of the actual server, and an offer to create an account for them. Transparency, ease of use, and privacy were all important factors. Most live far away and have griped about various facets of Facebook but felt like it was a necessary evil. This has been a good alternative for daily communication, discussions about weather and children, and so forth. The closest to game support is sharing crossword solving times with a hashtag.
mfoy_ 9y ago
For me and mine, a big selling point of FB is the event management piece. Does Mastodon have anything similar?
- fluxsauce 9y ago
  Nope. It's more similar to Twitter (chronological timeline), but without promoted messages / "you may have missed" types of features. Event Invitations is one of the few uses of FB that I still have. I'm open to alternatives that simplify facilitate threaded discussions between those who were invited, but as with any system convenience is a factor. Google Calendar does work, yet somehow (and ironically) seems more intrusive than Facebook in that you're communicating directly with emails; the younger the participant, the greater the lack of enthusiasm for emails.
  - olodus 9y ago
    +1 on this. This is one of the things I also haven't been able to find replacement for outside of FB yet. I guess it might be because it it almost too simple of a problem, to easy so no one makes a solution all can come together on. All an event mostly is is a message thread to which you can pin some information about when and where, right? In that case I would almost say the functionality is probably already there. Just that we have to change how we do things.
ralph_twl 9y ago
well done for the DIY social network and getting your family onboard! I read the docs on how to get an instance up and running, but couldn't find details on how to "unfederate" it. Would you care to share some details?

artursapek 9y ago

That's intriguing. You're just hosting it at your house? How hard was it to convince your family members to try using it?

fluxsauce 9y ago
Yup, it's just lurking next to the router. Convincing - tried it with just my partner first and smoothed out some rough edges. I then sent a group email to extended family that included a brief justification, some screen shots of it in action, a picture of the actual server, and an offer to create an account for them. Transparency, ease of use, and privacy were all important factors. Most live far away and have griped about various facets of Facebook but felt like it was a necessary evil. This has been a good alternative for daily communication, discussions about weather and children, and so forth. The closest to game support is sharing crossword solving times with a hashtag.

mfoy_ 9y ago

For me and mine, a big selling point of FB is the event management piece. Does Mastodon have anything similar?

fluxsauce 9y ago
Nope. It's more similar to Twitter (chronological timeline), but without promoted messages / "you may have missed" types of features. Event Invitations is one of the few uses of FB that I still have. I'm open to alternatives that simplify facilitate threaded discussions between those who were invited, but as with any system convenience is a factor. Google Calendar does work, yet somehow (and ironically) seems more intrusive than Facebook in that you're communicating directly with emails; the younger the participant, the greater the lack of enthusiasm for emails.
- olodus 9y ago
  +1 on this. This is one of the things I also haven't been able to find replacement for outside of FB yet. I guess it might be because it it almost too simple of a problem, to easy so no one makes a solution all can come together on. All an event mostly is is a message thread to which you can pin some information about when and where, right? In that case I would almost say the functionality is probably already there. Just that we have to change how we do things.

ralph_twl 9y ago

well done for the DIY social network and getting your family onboard! I read the docs on how to get an instance up and running, but couldn't find details on how to "unfederate" it. Would you care to share some details?