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To explain a little more behind this project: this started out as a simple, privacy-focused blogging platform called Write.as. We've been running a Mastodon in

To explain a little more behind this project: this started out as a simple, privacy-focused blogging platform called Write.as. We've been running a Mastodon instance for a while and keeping up with the fediverse, so over the summer as it got much easier to implement, we added support for ActivityPub (the protocol behind Mastodon, PixelFed, Funkwhale, etc.) The fediverse has a strong FOSS culture, so after releasing AP support, I got to work on opening up the source for Write.as, and this is that final result. Write.as has existed for 4 years, so the application code is very stable. But right now I'm getting the code to a place that works great in any configuration, installs easily, etc.

ahreflink 8y ago
I've noticed you write 'we' everywhere, but as far as I can tell you've done everything by yourself? Seriously impressive work by the way, and I'm really happy to see such a well-developed project use Go+ActivityPub.
- freehunter 8y ago
  That's pretty common when talking about the actions or product of a non-sentient structure. It helps to differentiate the product from the person. If you say "I released a new version", the end result is tied to the individual. If you say "we released a new version", even if it's just one person, it makes it clear that the new version is the output of the company/organization/collective/structure/etc, even if that company/organization/collective/structure/etc is just one person. It's kind of like a single-owner LLC. The structure limits the liability by detaching responsibility from the owner and attaching it to the corporation, even though the corporation is in reality just the one person. It's a very abstract concept that just implies a product can be separate from the individual who created it.
- thebaer 8y ago
  The editorial "we" I suppose :) As for the code, yep I built everything myself (and wrote about it here [0]). But I've also had the help of people translating the app, giving feedback, and making suggestions along the way. Listening to people and filtering ideas through my own vision has really made the product what it is today. Thanks, though! I'm just excited to keep pushing the AP ecosystem forward and making the platforms on it more usable. [0] https://write.as/matt/how-i-built-a-multi-platform-app https://write.as/matt/how-i-built-a-multi-platform-app
ryacko 8y ago
It looks like the fediverse is very close to becoming an interactive usenet. All that’s needed next is feed aggregators as a subscription service, then content creators won’t have to worry about bandwidth costs.
- velcrovan 8y ago
  Just have to say. I've been writing and publishing on the web for more than 20 years now. I've had a couple of high-traffic posts, been slashdotted (once), and was once featured in a blog post on The Atlantic. I had a podcast for four years with a moderate number of subscribers. All of this was self-hosted. I have NEVER had to worry about bandwidth costs. The bandwidth included with the hosting/VPS plans I've used over the years has always been more than sufficient.
  - TrevorJ 8y ago
    This makes me think that bandwidth 'insurance' plans should be a thing. Pay a nominal cost each month to ensure that if something on your site becomes a massive viral hit you get a few weeks of bandwidth cost defrayment to weather the storm and allow you to find a longer term solution if needed.
    - cphoover 8y ago
      Not a bad business idea.
      - mcbits 8y ago
        Not a bad idea in general, but very risky as an independent business because web hosts can just offer it as a freebie or add-on the moment it starts catching steam with customers. They often already do, although they don't say so or commit to it.
        ryacko 8y ago
        Yes, it would only be viable for local businesses that can compete because they use budget peering or bandwidth. Not very “next YouTube” in nature.
andrey-p 8y ago
Awesome, that's really good to hear! Happy user here - I was recently on the lookout for a simple hosted blogging platform for a personal project, and write.as fit the bill perfectly. Will PRs for WriteFreely generally make it into Write.as?
- thebaer 8y ago
  Yep! This is the core software behind it all, so bug fixes and new features will make it into Write.as too. It's also kept up-to-date with changes as soon as they're finished, so you'll see everything live there first. Really glad you're liking it though :)
all2 8y ago
I've been poking around for a good blog platform (my website currently is generated statically with Hugo). There are certain features that I've been looking for: mathjax/latex, data visualization (though, this could be using pre-generated images), jupyter notebook compatibility, image facilities... I know that goes beyond the slick simplicity you've got here, but for the work I do, I want to be able to speak in more than one way. Is there an opportunity for contributing these features?
- thebaer 8y ago
  Absolutely. We do support MathJax already (you can enable it in blog settings), but I'm happy to talk about adding these into upstream, or maybe starting to support plugins for these sort of things. If you want to join the forums [0] we can start talking about what that might look like! [0] https://discuss.write.as/c/writefreely https://discuss.write.as/c/writefreely
rhizome 8y ago
>Mastodon, PixelFed, Funkwhale OT, but how did "Mastodon" turn out to be the best name anybody could come up with?
- komali2 8y ago
  Mastodon metal AF what's wrong with that?
  - rhizome 8y ago
    It's not that "mastodon" is bad, it's that the others are so much worse.
  - chipotle_coyote 8y ago
    While I know this isn't a particularly serious little side-thread, it's actually interesting to many how many folks I've talked to who are not committed to something like Mastodon for philosophical reasons who are put off by the naming choices. It's not Mastodon itself that's the problem: it's insisting on calling posts "toots."
    - komali2 8y ago
      >it's insisting on calling posts "toots." I didn't know they did that. That is decidedly not-metal.
    - foxylad 8y ago
      I started a Mastodon instance (mastodon.nz - go Kiwis!) and the feedback I get is that people are put off by how close the name is to "masturbate". And certainly in NZ, "toots" is a great alternative to "tweets". Is tooting synonymous with farting or something in your culture?
  - tomcam 8y ago
    Word. Also, it was the name Van Halen used before they became Van Halen.
anotheryou 8y ago
You must be knowledgeable of the subscription protocols. I wrote a concept for an aggregator, but it would need a custom value with each post. Do you know if there is room for that? It's a simple rating by the posting user (e.g. 7 out of 10, you could even just post it with the text like so: [7/10] But that's a little confusing.) The one other question: If I had this rating, could I sort all posts from the last year by rating? Or is the efficient look-up of posts tied to time and it's hard to scan for ratings through a year worth of posts?

ahreflink 8y ago

I've noticed you write 'we' everywhere, but as far as I can tell you've done everything by yourself? Seriously impressive work by the way, and I'm really happy to see such a well-developed project use Go+ActivityPub.

freehunter 8y ago
That's pretty common when talking about the actions or product of a non-sentient structure. It helps to differentiate the product from the person. If you say "I released a new version", the end result is tied to the individual. If you say "we released a new version", even if it's just one person, it makes it clear that the new version is the output of the company/organization/collective/structure/etc, even if that company/organization/collective/structure/etc is just one person. It's kind of like a single-owner LLC. The structure limits the liability by detaching responsibility from the owner and attaching it to the corporation, even though the corporation is in reality just the one person. It's a very abstract concept that just implies a product can be separate from the individual who created it.
thebaer 8y ago
The editorial "we" I suppose :) As for the code, yep I built everything myself (and wrote about it here [0]). But I've also had the help of people translating the app, giving feedback, and making suggestions along the way. Listening to people and filtering ideas through my own vision has really made the product what it is today. Thanks, though! I'm just excited to keep pushing the AP ecosystem forward and making the platforms on it more usable. [0] https://write.as/matt/how-i-built-a-multi-platform-app https://write.as/matt/how-i-built-a-multi-platform-app

ryacko 8y ago

It looks like the fediverse is very close to becoming an interactive usenet. All that’s needed next is feed aggregators as a subscription service, then content creators won’t have to worry about bandwidth costs.

velcrovan 8y ago
Just have to say. I've been writing and publishing on the web for more than 20 years now. I've had a couple of high-traffic posts, been slashdotted (once), and was once featured in a blog post on The Atlantic. I had a podcast for four years with a moderate number of subscribers. All of this was self-hosted. I have NEVER had to worry about bandwidth costs. The bandwidth included with the hosting/VPS plans I've used over the years has always been more than sufficient.
- TrevorJ 8y ago
  This makes me think that bandwidth 'insurance' plans should be a thing. Pay a nominal cost each month to ensure that if something on your site becomes a massive viral hit you get a few weeks of bandwidth cost defrayment to weather the storm and allow you to find a longer term solution if needed.
  - cphoover 8y ago
    Not a bad business idea.
    - mcbits 8y ago
      Not a bad idea in general, but very risky as an independent business because web hosts can just offer it as a freebie or add-on the moment it starts catching steam with customers. They often already do, although they don't say so or commit to it.
      - ryacko 8y ago
        Yes, it would only be viable for local businesses that can compete because they use budget peering or bandwidth. Not very “next YouTube” in nature.

andrey-p 8y ago

Awesome, that's really good to hear! Happy user here - I was recently on the lookout for a simple hosted blogging platform for a personal project, and write.as fit the bill perfectly. Will PRs for WriteFreely generally make it into Write.as?

thebaer 8y ago
Yep! This is the core software behind it all, so bug fixes and new features will make it into Write.as too. It's also kept up-to-date with changes as soon as they're finished, so you'll see everything live there first. Really glad you're liking it though :)

all2 8y ago

I've been poking around for a good blog platform (my website currently is generated statically with Hugo). There are certain features that I've been looking for: mathjax/latex, data visualization (though, this could be using pre-generated images), jupyter notebook compatibility, image facilities... I know that goes beyond the slick simplicity you've got here, but for the work I do, I want to be able to speak in more than one way. Is there an opportunity for contributing these features?

thebaer 8y ago
Absolutely. We do support MathJax already (you can enable it in blog settings), but I'm happy to talk about adding these into upstream, or maybe starting to support plugins for these sort of things. If you want to join the forums [0] we can start talking about what that might look like! [0] https://discuss.write.as/c/writefreely https://discuss.write.as/c/writefreely

rhizome 8y ago

>Mastodon, PixelFed, Funkwhale OT, but how did "Mastodon" turn out to be the best name anybody could come up with?

komali2 8y ago
Mastodon metal AF what's wrong with that?
- rhizome 8y ago
  It's not that "mastodon" is bad, it's that the others are so much worse.
- chipotle_coyote 8y ago
  While I know this isn't a particularly serious little side-thread, it's actually interesting to many how many folks I've talked to who are not committed to something like Mastodon for philosophical reasons who are put off by the naming choices. It's not Mastodon itself that's the problem: it's insisting on calling posts "toots."
  - komali2 8y ago
    >it's insisting on calling posts "toots." I didn't know they did that. That is decidedly not-metal.
  - foxylad 8y ago
    I started a Mastodon instance (mastodon.nz - go Kiwis!) and the feedback I get is that people are put off by how close the name is to "masturbate". And certainly in NZ, "toots" is a great alternative to "tweets". Is tooting synonymous with farting or something in your culture?
- tomcam 8y ago
  Word. Also, it was the name Van Halen used before they became Van Halen.

anotheryou 8y ago

You must be knowledgeable of the subscription protocols. I wrote a concept for an aggregator, but it would need a custom value with each post. Do you know if there is room for that? It's a simple rating by the posting user (e.g. 7 out of 10, you could even just post it with the text like so: [7/10] But that's a little confusing.) The one other question: If I had this rating, could I sort all posts from the last year by rating? Or is the efficient look-up of posts tied to time and it's hard to scan for ratings through a year worth of posts?