9 ms·

Mastodon 3.0

296 points by Kye 7y ago

Kye 7y ago
Changes of note: an interface for the account migration activity that was added to the backend a few releases ago, built-in OCR for easier image captions, an option to disable live timeline updates, and custom emoji categories.
linusnext 7y ago
Figured a license change was in order given the Gab use case.
- sascha_sl 7y ago
  And how would you do that? There is no copyright assignment happening here.
  - philpem 7y ago
    It'd also be expensive and damn close to impossible to enforce. You say "Assholes aren't allowed to use this code" and Major-General Asshole will use it anyway -- because he's an Asshole. Some battles simply aren't worth the resource cost of fighting them.
    - swiley 7y ago
      I've noticed the mastodon user community makes an unusual amount of impossible demands like that. I really wonder why.
      - philpem 7y ago
        Sometimes a public statement of intent is worth it.
- mwyah 7y ago
  Now this would be a dangerous precedent, if I've ever heard of one.
- kgraves 7y ago
  You cannot prevent that usecase from happening ever. Bad actors will always use open source software.
kemenaran 7y ago
I'm truly amazed by the Mastodon team. After several years, they keep delivering major features on a regular basis. Even on my own projects, on a much smaller scale, I've never been able to go that fast.
- sascha_sl 7y ago
  I think we can namedrop Gargron and Thib at this point. The amount of work they put into this is staggering.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
  Hmm, I'm not sure if it says something about me or the current state of tech that I find "regularly adding major features" to be a bad thing. Not that I really know (or care) anything about Mastodon or its problem space in particular, it's just the concept itself that makes me weary. I'd rather have something simple and stable and understandable. Maybe that's why I still use IRC.
  - cphuntington97 7y ago
    For a project as young as Mastodon, major features are still necessary to meet people's expectations of a modern social network user experience. But you can use IRC: https://wiki.bitlbee.org/HowtoMastodon https://wiki.bitlbee.org/HowtoMastodon
softwarelimits 7y ago
What is going on here? Mastodon does not come with features that enable the idea of "groups"? I just found issue 139 [0], but "mastodon groups" is an extraordinary bad combination of search terms. The author seems to dismiss the idea that "groups" are an obvious requirement (IMHO) for any "social" software. Instead he seems to be assuming that one instance of the software might serve one "group" - with no easy way to scale "instance" to many servers. Pleroma seems to plan for a groups feature [2][3], also using a framework that might be much easier for scaling, but seems to be struggling with implementation. I see GNU social seems to have groups [1], but in the linked issues people write about bugs with that. I am not sure this is really how it is, so please correct me if I am wrong. Would anybody with more knowledge please like to explain why such a basic feature is missing from "social" software alternatives? I want to understand what the problem is here, I feel like this is the first feature that should be considered from day one. It seems to me trying to handle such a basic feature as an afterthought has a high potential for disaster score (PFD>80): will require a deep re-design and rewrite, trigger several different implementations, standards and endless discussions, in the end will destroy everything. I understand that groups and p2p / federation is complicated - but is this not a solved problem? If not, is it a good idea to put this on top of the agenda for "offer alternative for big social brother"? [0] https://github.com/tootsuite/mastodon/issues/139 https://github.com/tootsuite/mastodon/issues/139 [1] https://gnusocial.net/doc/groups https://gnusocial.net/doc/groups [2] https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma/issues/656 https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma/issues/656 [3] https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma-fe/issues/625 https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma-fe/issues/625 No, tags can not replace groups.
- princekolt 7y ago
  You take this one "flaw" in your view and explode it into a major usability limitation that makes the whole software useless. If this was the case the platform would not be growing and developing as quickly as it is. So maybe it isn't really that big of a deal?
  - softwarelimits 7y ago
    > You take this one "flaw" in your view and explode it into a major usability limitation that makes the whole software useless. No, I did not do that. I do not want to discuss if "groups" is a "big deal" or not. I am interested in the question if "groups" in distributed, federated systems is a solved problem or not.
mikece 7y ago
Just curious: what all breaks with the removal of OStatus support?
- nightpool 7y ago
  Federation with old GNU Social instances. Most active communities using GNU Social have since migrated to ActivityPub-compatible software like Mastodon and Pleroma, but a couple of them are using a work-in-progress plugin developed by dansup that provides ActivityPub compatibility. I don't know the status of the plugin—my understanding is that it's incomplete and not under active development, but I may be wrong.
- mftrhu 7y ago
  Federation with GNUSocial, at the very least. Issue #256 [0] - add support for ActivityPub - was opened two years ago, but it doesn't look like it got added yet. [0]: https://git.gnu.io/gnu/gnu-social/issues/256 https://git.gnu.io/gnu/gnu-social/issues/256
  - mattl 7y ago
    GNU social development is slow. Pleroma exists if you want to talk to people on both systems. ActivityPub was led by someone working on another GNU project, MediaGoblin. I personally recommend people to Pleroma at this point.
    - millwork 7y ago
      Mediagoblin is one of those projects that I really want to like, but can't. Admittedly the last time I tried to install it was a year ago, but I remember the installation process being incredibly finicky, and more often than not, resulting in a broken site. And I'm no newbie to this. I've been comfortably RTM'ing and CLI'ing and admin'ing in various Linux flavours (and the occasional *BSD) for over two decades, after I cut my teeth on Slackware 2.something. I've often built LFS just for fun. I've been replacing a gaggle of Excel/Access crap at work with my own homemade golang web apps, despite us not being a tech company at all and me not being a pro developer, just because I know I can do a better job. The point I'm trying to make is that I'm not afraid of putting in effort to learn how to do something complex on a computer. But the Mediagoblin install process broke me each time. But I wholeheartedly agree about Pleroma. It's a fantastic choice for someone looking to host a reasonably-sized microblogging community on truly minimal hardware. It's fast and stable.
darkhorn 7y ago
What are the minimum system requirements for Mastadon? I cannot decide what VPS I need to rent.
- INTPenis 7y ago
  Mastodon.social (masto.host) actually sell mastodon instances. I host my own that I've split into three layers, web front, app and db. The web front only runs nginx and terminates tls. I tried building assets on it to serve static assets but gave up after a few upgrades and issues. Web front only has 1G total RAM and right now has 595M available for IO buffering. The app layer can sometimes run out of RAM when upgrading because of asset compiling. Perhaps this has gotten better with time. It has a total of 6G RAM and at present has 3.4G available for IO buffering. The only reason it has 6G total is likely because of upgrades causing OOM when compiling assets. I put all media on S3 and that is up to around 35G in size after 1 year of operation and 50 some users. Probably much less active users. The database uses 4.3G.
  - sixthhokage1 7y ago
    masto.host is not affiliated with mastodon.social or the Mastodon project. It's an independent managed hosting provider run by Hugo Gameiro (@hugo@masto.pt)
- claudiawerner 7y ago
  If you're only looking to set up some fediverse software and you're not attached to Mastodon, then you should consider Pleroma, which has significantly lower minimum requirements.
- nightpool 7y ago
  Mastodon takes about the same amount of usage as any rails app. For a small instance (less then 20 active users) I generally recommend 1GB of RAM and 2 CPUs. the storage requirements can get pretty beefy over time though, so make sure to set up cheap block storage.
  - 7y ago
sschueller 7y ago
Also take a look at PeerTube (https://joinpeertube.org/en/ https://joinpeertube.org/en/) a federated youtube if you find mastedon interesting. Peertube is also using activitypub and can be used with Mastedon. Shameless self-plug. I'm currently working on a peertube android client which you can find here: https://github.com/sschueller/peertube-android https://github.com/sschueller/peertube-android
- ihuman 7y ago
  What does using peertube with mastedon look like, and vice versa?
  - Kye 7y ago
    Videos appear similar to YouTube embeds in toots when viewed through Mastodon. Put Blender's PeerTube account in Mastodon's search for an example: https://video.blender.org/accounts/blender https://video.blender.org/accounts/blender
FunnyLookinHat 7y ago
I haven't used Twitter or Facebook in years, but I had been relying on Google+ to follow quite a few Linux / FOSS developers. When G+ died I joined a Mastodon instance (linuxrocks.online) and have been really enjoying it. I found quite a few interesting developers, including people like Drew Devault. YMMV, but I think everyone should give it a try just to see how impressive the platform is. Now, to see a few more services jump on the fediverse wagon and work together so we can have some choice... ;)
- eterps 7y ago
  Can you link some of those interesting developers? I haven't found many interesting devs to follow yet. Already found Drew here: https://cmpwn.com/@sir https://cmpwn.com/@sir
  - Kye 7y ago
    Someone set up a community directory. https://communitywiki.org/trunk/grab/Linux https://communitywiki.org/trunk/grab/Linux https://communitywiki.org/trunk/grab/FLOSS https://communitywiki.org/trunk/grab/FLOSS The list with all the categories: https://communitywiki.org/trunk/ https://communitywiki.org/trunk/
    - eterps 7y ago
      Hmmm, would've been useful if I could see those as a 'grouped' timeline to get an impression of the posted content and follow people with content you like. (As opposed to clicking on hundreds of links individually) It would even be more useful if you could have a dynamically rendered timeline of multiple people with a single URL (sort of like a multireddit).
    - jpeeler 7y ago
      As somebody who has followed exactly one person before seeing these links, I appreciate the list. But wow, is there no better way to follow than a three click operation? click one: click "follow" initially click two: submit id to home server, "proceed" click three: yes, really "follow" and click again Also, those lists intersect quite a bit.
aklemm 7y ago
If Mastodon is truly decentralized, then someone ought to be able to leverage the identities (and possibly other data) in it to create a tool that has more Facebook-like features for this wanting something different than a Twitter clone. Is this underway?
- thekyle 7y ago
  I believe Friendica tries to behave more Facebook like and also uses the ActivityPub protocol. This site keeps track of some of the various AP projects: https://fediverse.party/ https://fediverse.party/
robobro 7y ago
Have you seen the Pleroma? It's like mastadon but written in elixir so it's really snappy. It's made by a group of friends : Lain, the rabbit, mama rinpatch, and hj. I really like it. It looks more like classic Twitter and it's able to run on a rasperry pi. It even includes a mastadon front end, called Glitch. https://pleroma.social/ https://pleroma.social/
- loceng 7y ago
  Do you happen to know any of their contact info? I've tried many times to find an email for them on their website to no avail, maybe I'm blind.
  - robobro 7y ago
    Freenode #pleroma Freenode #pleroma-dev
  - olah_1 7y ago
    https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma/issues https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma/issues Maybe that will help. They'd also respond on their activitypub profiles most likely.
- olah_1 7y ago
  Looks they also released a huge update recently too https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma/-/releases https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma/-/releases Neat
- aantix 7y ago
  What about Elixir makes things "snappy"?
  - robobro 7y ago
    maybe it's just the way they're written or the frameworks they use, I just assume it's the language -- but Pleroma consumes fewer resources than Mastodon or Gab
- 7y ago
dgudkov 7y ago
Can someone make (or point to) a brief overview of the most significant changes/improvements in version 3.0?
- cphuntington97 7y ago
  [Mastodon 2.9.3 and work on 3.0](https://www.patreon.com/posts/mastodon-2-9-3-3-29558693 https://www.patreon.com/posts/mastodon-2-9-3-3-29558693)
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
skybrian 7y ago
What are some interesting accounts to subscribe to?
- progval 7y ago
  What are you interested in?
  - skybrian 7y ago
    A variety of things. I asked to see if there was anything people wanted to recommend.
katabasis 7y ago
I just started using Mastodon and I'm pretty impressed with it as a product. But I think you need to approach it in a different way from Twitter and Facebook to really see all the benefits. If everyone just signs up to a major instance like mastodon.social, some of the problems you see on platforms like Twitter and Facebook will just be re-introduced as the number of users grows. The programmer/artist Darius Kazemi has done a great job articulating a way to use decentralized social networks like Mastodon in a "human-centric" way: "How to run a small social network site for your friends." [1] I really hope the Fediverse can succeed and thrive, and Mastodon is a big part of that. [1]: https://runyourown.social https://runyourown.social
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- squarefoot 7y ago
  How would a home node cope with dynamic IPs, not having a registered domain name etc? I mean, my flat broadband connection would allow say 10 Mb both down and uplink dedicated to a small Mastodon instance 24/7 at virtually zero cost without me even noticing, but my ISP changes my IP every night so that I'd be a moving target for anyone willing to connect. Hosting is a solution, but it costs money. Are there any means of connecting a node to the Mastodon network without being forced to look for fixed IP and a DNS name? Admittedly I have no experience with Mastodon, although it intrigues me, so be patient:)
  - parliament32 7y ago
    How do you expect to provide a web service without a domain and an ever-changing IP? This isn't a Mastodon problem. Use a dynamic dns provider, it'll give you a domain name that changes your IP record as it changes.
    - squarefoot 7y ago
      "How do you expect to provide a web service without a domain and an ever-changing IP?" My thoughts were that if Mastodon nodes connect each other so that anyone on any node can communicate with anyone on a different node, can't nodes with dynamic IPs set up persistent connections to reachable nodes so that those will work as a sort of DNS?
riffic 7y ago
I see a huge opportunity for the incumbent social media services to start thinking about white-labeling their apps for organizations and to adopt ActivityPub in order to do so. Effectively this is the "G Suite" model: preserve auth and identity within an organization's existing set of namespaces.
bedros 7y ago
anyone successfully got mastodon to work with nextcloud, and use it on daily basis? Thanks

296 points by Kye 7y ago

Kye 7y ago

Changes of note: an interface for the account migration activity that was added to the backend a few releases ago, built-in OCR for easier image captions, an option to disable live timeline updates, and custom emoji categories.

linusnext 7y ago

Figured a license change was in order given the Gab use case.

sascha_sl 7y ago
And how would you do that? There is no copyright assignment happening here.
- philpem 7y ago
  It'd also be expensive and damn close to impossible to enforce. You say "Assholes aren't allowed to use this code" and Major-General Asshole will use it anyway -- because he's an Asshole. Some battles simply aren't worth the resource cost of fighting them.
  - swiley 7y ago
    I've noticed the mastodon user community makes an unusual amount of impossible demands like that. I really wonder why.
    - philpem 7y ago
      Sometimes a public statement of intent is worth it.
mwyah 7y ago
Now this would be a dangerous precedent, if I've ever heard of one.
kgraves 7y ago
You cannot prevent that usecase from happening ever. Bad actors will always use open source software.

kemenaran 7y ago

I'm truly amazed by the Mastodon team. After several years, they keep delivering major features on a regular basis. Even on my own projects, on a much smaller scale, I've never been able to go that fast.

sascha_sl 7y ago
I think we can namedrop Gargron and Thib at this point. The amount of work they put into this is staggering.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
Hmm, I'm not sure if it says something about me or the current state of tech that I find "regularly adding major features" to be a bad thing. Not that I really know (or care) anything about Mastodon or its problem space in particular, it's just the concept itself that makes me weary. I'd rather have something simple and stable and understandable. Maybe that's why I still use IRC.
- cphuntington97 7y ago
  For a project as young as Mastodon, major features are still necessary to meet people's expectations of a modern social network user experience. But you can use IRC: https://wiki.bitlbee.org/HowtoMastodon https://wiki.bitlbee.org/HowtoMastodon

softwarelimits 7y ago

What is going on here? Mastodon does not come with features that enable the idea of "groups"? I just found issue 139 [0], but "mastodon groups" is an extraordinary bad combination of search terms. The author seems to dismiss the idea that "groups" are an obvious requirement (IMHO) for any "social" software. Instead he seems to be assuming that one instance of the software might serve one "group" - with no easy way to scale "instance" to many servers. Pleroma seems to plan for a groups feature [2][3], also using a framework that might be much easier for scaling, but seems to be struggling with implementation. I see GNU social seems to have groups [1], but in the linked issues people write about bugs with that. I am not sure this is really how it is, so please correct me if I am wrong. Would anybody with more knowledge please like to explain why such a basic feature is missing from "social" software alternatives? I want to understand what the problem is here, I feel like this is the first feature that should be considered from day one. It seems to me trying to handle such a basic feature as an afterthought has a high potential for disaster score (PFD>80): will require a deep re-design and rewrite, trigger several different implementations, standards and endless discussions, in the end will destroy everything. I understand that groups and p2p / federation is complicated - but is this not a solved problem? If not, is it a good idea to put this on top of the agenda for "offer alternative for big social brother"? [0] https://github.com/tootsuite/mastodon/issues/139 https://github.com/tootsuite/mastodon/issues/139 [1] https://gnusocial.net/doc/groups https://gnusocial.net/doc/groups [2] https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma/issues/656 https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma/issues/656 [3] https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma-fe/issues/625 https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma-fe/issues/625 No, tags can not replace groups.

princekolt 7y ago
You take this one "flaw" in your view and explode it into a major usability limitation that makes the whole software useless. If this was the case the platform would not be growing and developing as quickly as it is. So maybe it isn't really that big of a deal?
- softwarelimits 7y ago
  > You take this one "flaw" in your view and explode it into a major usability limitation that makes the whole software useless. No, I did not do that. I do not want to discuss if "groups" is a "big deal" or not. I am interested in the question if "groups" in distributed, federated systems is a solved problem or not.

mikece 7y ago

Just curious: what all breaks with the removal of OStatus support?

nightpool 7y ago
Federation with old GNU Social instances. Most active communities using GNU Social have since migrated to ActivityPub-compatible software like Mastodon and Pleroma, but a couple of them are using a work-in-progress plugin developed by dansup that provides ActivityPub compatibility. I don't know the status of the plugin—my understanding is that it's incomplete and not under active development, but I may be wrong.
mftrhu 7y ago
Federation with GNUSocial, at the very least. Issue #256 [0] - add support for ActivityPub - was opened two years ago, but it doesn't look like it got added yet. [0]: https://git.gnu.io/gnu/gnu-social/issues/256 https://git.gnu.io/gnu/gnu-social/issues/256
- mattl 7y ago
  GNU social development is slow. Pleroma exists if you want to talk to people on both systems. ActivityPub was led by someone working on another GNU project, MediaGoblin. I personally recommend people to Pleroma at this point.
  - millwork 7y ago
    Mediagoblin is one of those projects that I really want to like, but can't. Admittedly the last time I tried to install it was a year ago, but I remember the installation process being incredibly finicky, and more often than not, resulting in a broken site. And I'm no newbie to this. I've been comfortably RTM'ing and CLI'ing and admin'ing in various Linux flavours (and the occasional *BSD) for over two decades, after I cut my teeth on Slackware 2.something. I've often built LFS just for fun. I've been replacing a gaggle of Excel/Access crap at work with my own homemade golang web apps, despite us not being a tech company at all and me not being a pro developer, just because I know I can do a better job. The point I'm trying to make is that I'm not afraid of putting in effort to learn how to do something complex on a computer. But the Mediagoblin install process broke me each time. But I wholeheartedly agree about Pleroma. It's a fantastic choice for someone looking to host a reasonably-sized microblogging community on truly minimal hardware. It's fast and stable.

darkhorn 7y ago

What are the minimum system requirements for Mastadon? I cannot decide what VPS I need to rent.

INTPenis 7y ago
Mastodon.social (masto.host) actually sell mastodon instances. I host my own that I've split into three layers, web front, app and db. The web front only runs nginx and terminates tls. I tried building assets on it to serve static assets but gave up after a few upgrades and issues. Web front only has 1G total RAM and right now has 595M available for IO buffering. The app layer can sometimes run out of RAM when upgrading because of asset compiling. Perhaps this has gotten better with time. It has a total of 6G RAM and at present has 3.4G available for IO buffering. The only reason it has 6G total is likely because of upgrades causing OOM when compiling assets. I put all media on S3 and that is up to around 35G in size after 1 year of operation and 50 some users. Probably much less active users. The database uses 4.3G.
- sixthhokage1 7y ago
  masto.host is not affiliated with mastodon.social or the Mastodon project. It's an independent managed hosting provider run by Hugo Gameiro (@hugo@masto.pt)
claudiawerner 7y ago
If you're only looking to set up some fediverse software and you're not attached to Mastodon, then you should consider Pleroma, which has significantly lower minimum requirements.
nightpool 7y ago
Mastodon takes about the same amount of usage as any rails app. For a small instance (less then 20 active users) I generally recommend 1GB of RAM and 2 CPUs. the storage requirements can get pretty beefy over time though, so make sure to set up cheap block storage.
- 7y ago

sschueller 7y ago

Also take a look at PeerTube (https://joinpeertube.org/en/ https://joinpeertube.org/en/) a federated youtube if you find mastedon interesting. Peertube is also using activitypub and can be used with Mastedon. Shameless self-plug. I'm currently working on a peertube android client which you can find here: https://github.com/sschueller/peertube-android https://github.com/sschueller/peertube-android

ihuman 7y ago
What does using peertube with mastedon look like, and vice versa?
- Kye 7y ago
  Videos appear similar to YouTube embeds in toots when viewed through Mastodon. Put Blender's PeerTube account in Mastodon's search for an example: https://video.blender.org/accounts/blender https://video.blender.org/accounts/blender

FunnyLookinHat 7y ago

I haven't used Twitter or Facebook in years, but I had been relying on Google+ to follow quite a few Linux / FOSS developers. When G+ died I joined a Mastodon instance (linuxrocks.online) and have been really enjoying it. I found quite a few interesting developers, including people like Drew Devault. YMMV, but I think everyone should give it a try just to see how impressive the platform is. Now, to see a few more services jump on the fediverse wagon and work together so we can have some choice... ;)

eterps 7y ago
Can you link some of those interesting developers? I haven't found many interesting devs to follow yet. Already found Drew here: https://cmpwn.com/@sir https://cmpwn.com/@sir
- Kye 7y ago
  Someone set up a community directory. https://communitywiki.org/trunk/grab/Linux https://communitywiki.org/trunk/grab/Linux https://communitywiki.org/trunk/grab/FLOSS https://communitywiki.org/trunk/grab/FLOSS The list with all the categories: https://communitywiki.org/trunk/ https://communitywiki.org/trunk/
  - eterps 7y ago
    Hmmm, would've been useful if I could see those as a 'grouped' timeline to get an impression of the posted content and follow people with content you like. (As opposed to clicking on hundreds of links individually) It would even be more useful if you could have a dynamically rendered timeline of multiple people with a single URL (sort of like a multireddit).
  - jpeeler 7y ago
    As somebody who has followed exactly one person before seeing these links, I appreciate the list. But wow, is there no better way to follow than a three click operation? click one: click "follow" initially click two: submit id to home server, "proceed" click three: yes, really "follow" and click again Also, those lists intersect quite a bit.

aklemm 7y ago

If Mastodon is truly decentralized, then someone ought to be able to leverage the identities (and possibly other data) in it to create a tool that has more Facebook-like features for this wanting something different than a Twitter clone. Is this underway?

thekyle 7y ago
I believe Friendica tries to behave more Facebook like and also uses the ActivityPub protocol. This site keeps track of some of the various AP projects: https://fediverse.party/ https://fediverse.party/

robobro 7y ago

Have you seen the Pleroma? It's like mastadon but written in elixir so it's really snappy. It's made by a group of friends : Lain, the rabbit, mama rinpatch, and hj. I really like it. It looks more like classic Twitter and it's able to run on a rasperry pi. It even includes a mastadon front end, called Glitch. https://pleroma.social/ https://pleroma.social/

loceng 7y ago
Do you happen to know any of their contact info? I've tried many times to find an email for them on their website to no avail, maybe I'm blind.
- robobro 7y ago
  Freenode #pleroma Freenode #pleroma-dev
- olah_1 7y ago
  https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma/issues https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma/issues Maybe that will help. They'd also respond on their activitypub profiles most likely.
olah_1 7y ago
Looks they also released a huge update recently too https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma/-/releases https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma/-/releases Neat
aantix 7y ago
What about Elixir makes things "snappy"?
- robobro 7y ago
  maybe it's just the way they're written or the frameworks they use, I just assume it's the language -- but Pleroma consumes fewer resources than Mastodon or Gab
7y ago

dgudkov 7y ago

Can someone make (or point to) a brief overview of the most significant changes/improvements in version 3.0?

cphuntington97 7y ago
[Mastodon 2.9.3 and work on 3.0](https://www.patreon.com/posts/mastodon-2-9-3-3-29558693 https://www.patreon.com/posts/mastodon-2-9-3-3-29558693)
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

skybrian 7y ago

What are some interesting accounts to subscribe to?

progval 7y ago
What are you interested in?
- skybrian 7y ago
  A variety of things. I asked to see if there was anything people wanted to recommend.

katabasis 7y ago

I just started using Mastodon and I'm pretty impressed with it as a product. But I think you need to approach it in a different way from Twitter and Facebook to really see all the benefits. If everyone just signs up to a major instance like mastodon.social, some of the problems you see on platforms like Twitter and Facebook will just be re-introduced as the number of users grows. The programmer/artist Darius Kazemi has done a great job articulating a way to use decentralized social networks like Mastodon in a "human-centric" way: "How to run a small social network site for your friends." [1] I really hope the Fediverse can succeed and thrive, and Mastodon is a big part of that. [1]: https://runyourown.social https://runyourown.social

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
squarefoot 7y ago
How would a home node cope with dynamic IPs, not having a registered domain name etc? I mean, my flat broadband connection would allow say 10 Mb both down and uplink dedicated to a small Mastodon instance 24/7 at virtually zero cost without me even noticing, but my ISP changes my IP every night so that I'd be a moving target for anyone willing to connect. Hosting is a solution, but it costs money. Are there any means of connecting a node to the Mastodon network without being forced to look for fixed IP and a DNS name? Admittedly I have no experience with Mastodon, although it intrigues me, so be patient:)
- parliament32 7y ago
  How do you expect to provide a web service without a domain and an ever-changing IP? This isn't a Mastodon problem. Use a dynamic dns provider, it'll give you a domain name that changes your IP record as it changes.
  - squarefoot 7y ago
    "How do you expect to provide a web service without a domain and an ever-changing IP?" My thoughts were that if Mastodon nodes connect each other so that anyone on any node can communicate with anyone on a different node, can't nodes with dynamic IPs set up persistent connections to reachable nodes so that those will work as a sort of DNS?

riffic 7y ago

I see a huge opportunity for the incumbent social media services to start thinking about white-labeling their apps for organizations and to adopt ActivityPub in order to do so. Effectively this is the "G Suite" model: preserve auth and identity within an organization's existing set of namespaces.

bedros 7y ago

anyone successfully got mastodon to work with nextcloud, and use it on daily basis? Thanks