Notices by Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange: (jwildeboer@social.wildeboer.net), page 5

I’ve said it a long time ago. The ActivityPub WG at W3C must spring into action NOW and prepare itself for the big corporations that will try to overtake the standard. The core members should make sure that transparency and openness is turned to 11. No backroom dealings. A very clear IP policy that requires royalty free etc.

New blog post: Client-side comments with #Mastodon on a static #Jekyll website at https://jan.wildeboer.net/2023/02/Jekyll-Mastodon-Comments/

Replies to this toot will show up as comments on my blog! It's magic! And this post explains how that works.

Not only are all the parts needed readily and freely available - there are tons of tutorials and support groups out there to help you along. And don't get too impressed by the arrogant geeks/nerds and their "I know things you'd never understand" attitude. We all started with zero knowledge.

If in #Munich, I will offer you my help with the three steps needed:

- Get your own domain (20€/yr max)
- Get a VPS (Virtual Private Server) with the power and network traffic needed (5€/mo, 60€/yr)
- Get a basic setup with an e-mail server and a web server for some static pages

If you already know your way around a Linux server, it'll just take a few hours and you are on your way to become a true #Netizen :)

I've put all parts in my blog already https://jan.wildeboer.net

And sure, please keep your existing gmail, outlook whatever e-mail address in parallel. There will be problems. You will make mistakes. But it's only through experience we learn. Maybe I can find others to offer the same to their neighbours and we can become a community of people that have added a bit of freedom to their digital and real life :) I am pragmatic, not fundamentalist. I *love* to share knowledge, the Open Source Way :)

FTR - I am running my e-mail server on a cheap VPS at OVH, with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (for free, with the individual developer subscription). It has 2 GB of RAM, 40 GB of storage and unlimited traffic at less than 5€/mo. More than enough for my users (family).

Get your own domain name! Run your own e-mail server! Run your own website! Yes, it needs a bit of work but it gives you freedom from the Megacorps. If we don't stand up and take the internet back, we will lose so much. Take your time, but make it a goal to learn this stuff! Not all of you, I get it. But every new e-mail server helps :)

We didn't create all of these #OpenStandards and #OpenSource operating systems and solutions just for y'all to get a gmail account ;)

Version 4.1.0 of #Mastodon is coming really any second now and YES! The code to remove/prune headers/avatars that block tons of storage is IN!

From the ChangeLog:

"Add --remove-headers, --prune-profiles and --include-follows flags to tootctl media remove (evanphilip)"

https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/tag/v4.1.0

Time to celebrate! cc @hugo @aral @evanphilip

@vruz Some people are so occupied with The Problem that every solution is seen as a threat. That’s BTW a general rule, not limited to the left.

Imagine calling yourself far or radical left but instead of owning the means of production by using #opensource you insist on using Microsoft Office and Gmail while you still stay on Twitter and organise your next action on Facebook ;)

The weird thing is - if you turn the whole concept of software standards upside down, it works actually far better and faster:

1. Write code (in the open, cooperatively)
2. Derive stable API from code
3. Translate API description/documentation to standard language

Using existing code to create/define a standard can be almost completely automated and delivers all three parts (standard, reference implementation, validator) more or less as a byproduct ;)

We have to be mindful of evolving the #ActivityPub standard regularly. Already now Mastodon (and other implementations) is "abusing" the subject field to implement CW. Implementing RT/QT without it being reflected in the standard only adds more distance to other implementations of ActivityPub. But also - the ActivityPub WG hasn't been really active on adapting the standard to real world use lately, IMHO. So. Work to do!

For many, many years I have tried to convince SSOs (Standard Setting Organisations) that there is a problem with Open Standards, when they do not offer at least three things maintained in parallel:

1. The Open Standard
2. An #OpenSource reference implementation
3. An Open Source and publicly available validator to check compliance

A lot of the problems with Open Standards (unclear interpretations leading to non-interoperable implementations) could be avoided by having all 3 things available.