Important post regarding the future of diaspora * (writ large) - original post, following the demise of Framasphère
#diaspora #diaspora-dev #diaspora0800 #framasphere #community #logiciellibre #internetlibre #socialmedia #Fediverse
#### Here is an important post regarding the future of diaspora*, in the wake of the loss of Framasphère, with a look at the history of diaspora*, achievements and disappointments, some tragedies, and much good will along the way. And the question again, of "where do we go?" and should we?
Merci, @fla@diaspora-fr.org. I hope this English version helps get some attention too.
~~
This is as important a post as can be to diasporans (is that a word?)
I’ll post a translation at the end of this. First, a mini-synopsis:
In English: there is an anguished conversation about the possibility of “ending the project” known as diaspora*. This post and thread is growing fast, and has chunks of commentary now in English too. But much is in French, and in response to the loss of a very popular (France-based) pod, Framasphère.
Seems like many original developers and users are pitching in with thoughts, memories, suggestions, hopes… Some focus on the stresses of the project (including a suicide) and the history of “spinoffs” and debates within the core communities over time. And the ultimate realization that there is a critical turning (or re-commitment) point where some are wondering if things are salvageable, or a failure. Coincidentally, a new app development allowing portability of content to a new pod. All coinciding… And at the same time “here”, (diasp.org) a new direction/model for supporting the financial cost…
OK, Voilà:
~
Good evening everyone, diaspora friends *
I am speaking in particular to Framasphère users who see their pod closed, but not only because we are all concerned here. This is the future of the diaspora *.
Framasoft had planned from the start of its “disgusting internet” campaign not to maintain the services offered ad vitam æternam, but, we must be honest, the very slow dynamics of the diaspora* project did not help to want to keep Framasphère open.
The software is stable, it works well, and it is used by thousands of people every day. But only a handful of people really get involved in it and as a result, it moves extremely slowly.
We are at a crucial time for the project, just like roughly 9 years ago, on August 27, 2012, when the founders of Diaspora* announced that they would stop working on the project and left it in the hands of the community. Diaspora* could have disappeared at that time, but its users believed in it and took over brilliantly.
I remember how we released diaspora 0.1.0.0 less than a year later, which for the first time allowed you to preview your posts before posting:
[Graphics]
What roads we travelled ever since!
But free software only lives on its community. So, if you enjoy diaspora , if you want this project to continue to exist, **get involved*.
You will tell me that you do not know how to code. I would tell you that there are dozens of other ways to contribute. (Page in English) The very first, and most important, is to believe in it and show it off! (Get excited, our American friends would say.).
@ramil_rodaje@joindiaspora.com has been the perfect example for years, always posting little creations like these:
[Graphics, “thank you diaspora*”, devos, etc ]
These are the kinds of messages that motivate developers and podmins to continue to be involved at length in making the network possible.
With the closure of Framasphère, we are back at a pivotal moment for the project. We can let it die, or we can realize how essential a trading space that is not controlled by a multinational corporation is.
Tomorrow, I will tell you more about what you can do concretely. Help is needed to test the migration, for the release of version 0.8, for the new foundation website, and to maintain #diaspora-fr, among others.
#diaspora #diaspora-dev #diaspora0800 #framasphere #community #logiciellibre #internetlibre #socialmedia #Fediverse
Bonsoir à tous, ami(e)s de diaspora*
Je m'adresse en particulier aux utilisateurs de Framasphère qui voient leur pod fermer, mais pas seulement car nous sommes tous concernés ici. Il s'agit du futur de diaspora*.
Framasoft avait prévu dès le début de sa campagne dégooglisons internet de ne pas maintenir ad vitam æternam les services proposés, mais, il faut être honnête, la dynamique très ralenti du projet diaspora* n'a pas aidé à vouloir garder ouvert Framasphère.
Le logiciel est stable, il fonctionne bien et il est utilisé par des milliers de personnes chaque jour. Mais seule une poignée de personnes s'implique réellement dedans et en conséquence, il évolue extrêmement lentement.
Nous sommes à un moment crucial pour le projet, tout comme il y a à peu près 9 ans, le 27 août 2012, quand les fondateurs de diaspora* ont annoncé arrêter de travailler sur le projet et l'ont laissé aux mains de la communauté. Diaspora* aurait pu disparaître à ce moment là, mais ses utilisateurs y croyaient et ont pris le relai avec brio.
Je me souviens comment nous avons sorti diaspora 0.1.0.0 moins d'un an après, qui permettait pour la première fois de prévisualiser ses messages avant de les poster :
Ou encore de publier des photos depuis la version mobile :
Oui, l'interface ressemblait réellement à ça il y a 8 ans.
Que de chemin parcouru depuis !
Mais un logiciel libre ne vit que par sa communauté. Alors, si vous appréciez diaspora*, si vous voulez que ce projet continue d'exister, impliquez-vous.
Vous me répondrez que vous ne savez pas coder. Je vous répondrais qu'il y a des dizaines d'autres façons de contribuer (page en anglais). La toute première, et la plus importante, c'est d'y croire et de l'afficher ! (Get excited diraient nos amis américains)
@ramil_rodaje@diasp.org a été le parfait exemple depuis des années, postant toujours des petites créations comme celles-ci :
Ce sont ce genre de messages qui motivent les développeurs et les podmins à continuer de s'impliquer longuement pour permettre au réseau d'exister.
Avec la fermeture de Framasphère, nous revoici à un moment charnière pour le projet. Nous pouvons le laisser mourir, ou nous pouvons réaliser à quel point un espace d'échange qui n'est pas contrôlé par une multinationale est essentiel.
Demain, je vous en dis plus sur ce que vous pouvez faire concrètement. Il y a besoin d'aide pour tester la migration, pour la sortie de la version 0.8, pour le nouveau site web de la fondation, et pour maintenir #diaspora-fr, entre autres.
#diaspora #diaspora-dev #diaspora0800 #framasphere #communauté #logiciellibre #internetlibre
Among the changes planed for the next major version of diaspora* (0.8.0.0), there is the cleaning of the federation protocol. A huge work has been done by @supertux@nerdpol.ch to improve the protocol during the past years. As always when you are changing things which allow software to communicate, and when those software are already used live on the internet, you need to go step by step. So, in diaspora* 0.6.0.0, the federation was able to understand both the old and the new type of messages, but was still sending the old one, as the pods which were running 0.5.x were not able to understand new messages. One year later, podmins all upgraded to 0.6.x and with 0.7.0.0, diaspora* started to send the new messages, but was still able to understand old messages (because that's what is sent by 0.6.x, remember). Now, with 0.8.0.0, no pods are still on 0.6.x so we can remove the handling of the old messages. That took time, but this is the finale step of that deep migration!
If you are curious, you can see the last commits merged on diaspora_federation, the ruby gem handling the federation protocol. It just reached exactly 1.000 commits since its creation!
Once again, a huge thank you to Benjamin, and everyone involved.
