@arnelson@fosstodon.org
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

arnelson

@arnelson@fosstodon.org

Mad computer scientist, unfinished project collector, meme enjoyer. Posts mostly tech and memes and tech memes.

Current project: Ludwig, a Lemmy clone in C++ - https://github.com/ar-nelson/ludwig

Backlog project: Tapir, a single-user Fediverse server - https://tapir.social

#WebDev · #IndieGames · #IndieDev · #PixelArt · #Scala · #Typescript · #Scheme · #C · #Cpp · #CompSci · #Linux · #Nintendo (#Pokemon, #Mario, #Zelda) · #MechWarrior / #BattleTech · #SciFi · #INTP · #Christian

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arnelson, to bluesky
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

The is great from the Fediverse side, but the side is still missing a lot. Posts longer than the limit just get truncated; wouldn't a Read More link be better? And self-replies don't seem to get bridged at all, so threads don't work.

ayo, to random
@ayo@ayco.io avatar

Is it possible to participate in a lemmy discussion from a mastodon account? This one, for example, how can I view it from my mastodon? #askmasto #askfedi #lemmy https://lemmy.ml/post/59536

arnelson,
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

@ayo Top-level Lemmy posts are ActivityPub Page objects, but Mastodon only understands Note and Article objects. It's a strange decision, because it means Mastodon can see and reply to Lemmy comments, but not the top-level posts.

arnelson, to fediverse
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

Java is an interesting language for a Fediverse project because it's the one language with several mature implementations of Semantic Web tech (RDF, SPARQL, etc). JSON-LD just works, out of the box. It was kind of shocking to see Apache Jena do in a few minutes of work what took me weeks in Deno!

And I learned about a piece of the Semantic Web ecosystem I wasn't familiar with before. Have you heard the good word of OWL?

arnelson,
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

OWL is a class hierarchy definition language for RDF. (And RDF, in case you're not up to speed, is the data model underneath JSON-LD, which ActivityPub is based on). Have you read the AP spec and wondered "OK, it defines all of these types, but where does that type hierarchy ever appear in code? What if I wanted to add a new subtype to one of them?" OWL is how you'd define that. At least in theory.

arnelson,
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

@ayo Yes, in theory. But nothing else would understand it yet. There's already an Event type, and you could just use that; it'll show up on software that understands it (Mobilizon, probably? Is there any other Fedi event software?) and be ignored by everything else.

In theory it would be correct JSON-LD to define an object as "type": ["Note", "Event"] and let it be interpreted as either by software that understands one or the other. But I can almost guarantee this would just be ignored.

arnelson, to node
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

I've been thinking about restarting work on #Tapir. Development stopped because I hit a wall with the database system. Writing Tapir in #Deno was a long sequence of yak-shaving without much payoff; most of my dev time was spent implementing JSON-LD, Web Signatures, and a database layer that should have been a library if Deno had better Node compatibility at the time.

arnelson,
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

It's been a while, and the Deno ecosystem has improved a lot. Drizzle looks promising as an ORM layer (better than my hacked-together one), and more Fediverse projects in Deno are popping up ( looks really cool!). But I'm rethinking Deno.

There were 3 things that drew me to Deno initially:

  • Ease of install (just run the app from a URL)
  • Cloud platforms (Deno Deploy w/ Deno KV)
  • JavaScript (I know the language, and it has a big ecosystem)

But all 3 didn't work out the way I planned.

wjmaggos, (edited ) to random
@wjmaggos@liberal.city avatar

The natural end state of hashtags is to eventually serve as subreddits for the #SocialWeb. but here they would overlap, allowing us to visit any space in the Venn diagram of all the tagged posts we're interested in.

arnelson,
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

@wjmaggos They could only serve as subreddits if combined with some form of moderation, like ATProto's third-party moderation system.

arnelson,
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

@wjmaggos - Using hashtags like groups would likely involve pulling in more of the social graph than a single server sees through follows alone; this goes beyond the scale a server admin could easily moderate.

  • What about single-user servers? Probably you'd need relays or other servers' feeds to get enough data to populate hashtags, and a lot of spam could come with that.
  • Collapsing tagged replies into threads, and viewing hashtags like a forum board, is a good idea though (Tapir feature? 🤔)
julian, to random
@julian@community.nodebb.org avatar

Please see below for minutes from today's Forum and Threaded Discussions Task Force monthly meeting.

Apologies in advance if I misrepresented anybody or missed any crucial bits of information

Participants

in order of appearance

  • Dmitri invited participants to the regular SWICG call tomorrow; best place to be informed of upcoming events: SocialCG calendar — "please come by, it is free for everyone to join or listen in"
  • Angus provided an update to the working group's inclusion under the banner of the Social Web Incubator Community Group (SWICG), revised name would be the Forums and Threaded Discussions Task Force, or "ForumWG" for short.
  • Julian provided an update on this past month's usage of the fediverse to hold asynchronous discussion, a number of threads have been started on the respective forum categories (both of which federate out) for the working group pertaining to discussions re: agenda items, and have been fairly well received.
  • Angus and Julian will update the respective handles of their categories to reflect the new working group name

"Lay of the Land" survey reports

  • Angus: The general spirit of these surveys is 'these are the existing X approaches, the plurality may indicate the need to converge'
  • Nomenclature
    • Rimu: Document continues to be expanded upon
    • Evan re-iterates that it is unlikely any implementors will change their nomenclature to match
    • Angus asks whether participants find utility in the list
    • Evan indicates that whatever is decided upon is best used "on-the-wire", Julian agrees and notes that the agreed-upon terminology would be used in the "Definitions" portion of any report written by ForumWG; suggests the list may be best kept as a living reference
    • Rimu indicates that as the list grows, alternative ways to represent the data may be required
    • Round of applause for Rimu for taking the initiative to start (and now maintain) the list
  • Object Type (Article vs. Note vs. Page)
    • Impetus for topic: WordPress sending out as:Note when as:Article would be more suitable
      • @jupiter_rowland (in topic, paraphrased): Mastodon values microblogging UX and locked down their allowed html to satisfy this constraint, despite Hubzilla's pleas
      • @mikedev (in topic, paraphrased): Raised issue in 2017 to address issues with inline images being removed. Suggested a compromise: treat Article and Note differently (Note, text only with attachments; Article, full HTML) — Eugen 7 months later closed issue with change to further hamper treatment of Article, by showing only title and link back to source.
      • @pfefferle (in topic): "You can choose 'Note' if you want to have the best compatibility"
    • Evan: Whether a note or article is federated, it shouldn't hamper implementation; but as:Page should not be used
    • Mattias: Choice is given to user as to how WP maps the native Post object to ActivityPub. Historically sent out Article but received a lot of pushback from early adopters. Difficult to reconcile UX with technical limitations
    • Evan: "An as:Note is a Tweet (we just couldn't call it that), an as:Article is a blog post"
    • Emelia: "Should software publish different objects based on content length, even if using the same mechanism?"
    • a: Big picture view — it doesn't seem complicated, but it is, because the line between them is completely arbitrary.
    • Mattias: We try to autodetect (no headers, content length, etc.), would prefer different content types based on what users write, but the advantage is being able to read content natively on the user's platform of choice
    • Dmitri: "I think we've got several questions in parallel:
      1. What SHOULD these things (Note & Article) be used for.
      2. What to do about Mastodon who only seems to consume Notes."
    • Emelia: Don't Articles usually have titles?
      • Everyone else: crickets (made us think!)
    • a: https://wiki.trwnh.com/tech/spec/activitypub/confusion/note-vs-article/ (also indicates using title to discriminate Article vs. Post isn't 100%)
    • a: The reason we're talking about this is because of various differring implementations - for example, in one implementor's mental model, you have a thread with a title and that is separate from the posts contained within; posts that may also have titles of their own. How do we reconcile this?
    • Julian and Rimu note that @renchap replied in-topic: "... we would like to improve how non-Note objects are processed/displayed in Mastodon."
    • Julian mentions a compromise put forth by @mikedev where Notes are smaller pieces of content with limited markup and attachments, and Articles are (sometimes) larger pieces with formatting, inline images. Additional survey/spreadsheet to be created, but we could as a group (Mastodon included) converge on a path forward and a report to the SocialCG could be authored. To be continued next month.
  • Group Actor characteristics
    • 1b12 - announcing the activities of their actors, this is what Discourse and NodeBB do, other implementations have taken this approach
    • @nutomic (paraphrased): "intent of 1b12 is to describe the existing status quo"
    • 400e - Pubicly appendable collections; Picked up by a few other folks, also potentially Mastodon (with their new groups implementation)
    • How do we treat group actors in forum/threaded implementations?
      • a: 400e - Groups send Add activities, 1b12 - Groups send Announce activities, otherwise, a Group could even send regular Creates (editor's note: this is a dramatic simplication of the actual post here)
      • Evan: announce style makes the most sense, understanding that folks use both - suggestion: document both but let consumers know they'll see one or both
      • Rimu: Implementors can make opinionated decisions on how it should work, and adjust based on the reality of how the major players adopt
      • Angus will continue collating responses into a spreadsheet re: group implementations
  • Open item: feedback on desired UX (@trwnh)
    • Can a group be multiple different things? e.g. a context/thread has some recipients, a context could be an actor. How forums choose to (or could) represent these relationships via ActivityPub is what is currently being solicited
    • a: Boils down to "Collections, please use them", but best to start foundationally: Notes in Collections, first.
    • Due to lack of time discussion of this will take place asynchronously on the fediverse: https://community.nodebb.org/post/99491 (if this does not open in your client, paste it into the search box)
    • Julian provided one user story: "If you want to share a context to others, one should share the higher-ordered collection, and not what we do today, which is to share the url/object uri for OP."
      • A suitable implementation could see that and backfill the entire context locally, and redirect the user to the first object.
    • Angus noted that Discourse already has some support for Collections, will provide details async on forum topic (linked above)

Action Items

  • @angus and @julian will update the respective handles of their categories to reflect the new working group name
  • @julian to collate responses to Article vs. Name among implementors, supply recommendation at next meeting.
  • @angus to collate responses re: Group federation among implementors, continue discussion next meeting
  • @trwnh to solicit feedback asynchronously via the fediverse
arnelson,
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

@julian @dmitri @angus @rimu @evan @pfefferle @thisismissem @trwnh @jupiter_rowland @mikedev @renchap @nutomic I keep missing these! The first one I had something come up that conflicted with it, but this one I must have just forgotten to put on my calendar. Maybe I'll catch the next one.

arnelson, to bluesky
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

bridging is finally happening! Only opt-in, though, so make sure to follow @bsky.brid.gy if you want your posts to show up there.

@snarfed.org@snarfed.org, any chance you'd consider implementing FEP-fffd (https://codeberg.org/fediverse/fep/src/branch/main/fep/fffd/fep-fffd.md) on brid.gy? This was one of the primary use cases for it.

arnelson, to random
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

Just got the Ploopy trackball I ordered. I liked the idea of build-it-yourself hardware, but I didn't realize just how DIY it was: not only does it require assembly, it requires soldering chips onto its circuit board. And I don't even have a soldering iron. 😐

At least I'll be moving to a house with more space soon, I was planning to try working with electronics again once I can set up a workshop. The last time I soldered anything I was probably 10 years old, learning electronics from my dad.

darth, to JRPG
@darth@silversword.online avatar

I want to give the genre a try. I have been thinking about this for more than a year and I eventually settled on as the perfect JRPG (probably). And now there is that second dilemma: Should I play the first one or skip to the second one? The Internet claims the games are unrelated and the second one is simply better.

arnelson,
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

@darth I'd still recommend the first. I've talked several people into trying Octopath, always with the first one, and they've always loved it. Afterward, if you want more, the second one will feel like an upgrade; if you start with the second, playing the first will feel frustrating.

drewdevault, to random
@drewdevault@fosstodon.org avatar

Are any of the Linux GUI file managers good and if so which ones

arnelson,
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

@drewdevault Most of them are decent in my experience. I usually use the more full-featured ones (Nemo or Dolphin) because only they can remember settings like "sort my Downloads folder by date but everything else by name". If you don't care about those kinds of features, PcManFM and Thunar are good too, though Thunar is probably the worst of the default file managers by a small margin (still has random crashes and bugs).

RL_Dane, to random
@RL_Dane@fosstodon.org avatar

I realized recently that my phone typing accuracy goes way up if I hold the phone lower down, giving my thumbs more space to hit the space bar accurately (because nothing I've used so far is particularly good at recognizing something like "goingbhome" as "going home").

The only problem is the center of gravity of the phone is mostly out of my hands at that point.

Phone cases really need "wings" like game controllers have. Foldable ones would be groovy.

arnelson,
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

@RL_Dane I still miss slide-out hardware keyboards. The Droid 4 was peak phone design, I used the keyboard until all of the paint chipped off the keys. I don't understand why no one makes hardware keyboards for phones anymore.

J12t, to fediverse
@J12t@social.coop avatar

Wild idea:

over .

Single-user instances for sure. Like hosted from your home on your own .

What could one do with that?

arnelson,
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

@J12t Doesn't this already exist? I thought I'd heard that .onion Fedi servers already exist but they're only visible from other servers connected to Tor, and not many are. I don't know what software supports it, though.

arnelson, to RaspberryPi
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

https://github.com/ar-nelson/uxnpi

Uxn on the GPi Case 2W is finally usable! I have Fourtette (https://github.com/nf/fourtette) working now, fully playable! Though only at 1:1 pixel ratio and with no audio.

This is running directly on the bare metal of the Pi Zero 2W, using Circle for graphics and USB gamepad drivers.

Video of Fourtette (Tetris for Uxn) running on the GPi Case 2W.

hui, to random
@hui@fedi.gang.st avatar

Today I turned 39, I bought this laptop almost 20 years ago, and it's still working fine with Gentoo on it.

arnelson,
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

@hui I have several of those, they're incredibly sturdy machines. I used them as web servers over 10 years ago.

arnelson, to PAX
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

It's good to be back.

arnelson, to fediverse
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

RE: https://discuss.online/post/5772572

I can imagine a kind of anti-spam federated reputation system that would work for the Fediverse, assuming anyone actually adopted it.

  • Users can "Vouch" for others. A new activity type, it means you know the subject well enough to say they're a real person and not an outright troll
  • For closed-registration servers, registration is a Vouch from an admin
  • You can filter posts by users that aren't vouched for by someone N degrees of separation from you

arnelson, to random
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

This is all caffeine ever does for me. 😕

And it's even worse because I love the taste of espresso and cold brew but they make me feel like I'm going to die. At least decaf is okay.

ayo, (edited ) to random
@ayo@ayco.io avatar

Cozy has graduated from the hobby plan. Pls give me some time to think how to proceed 🥲 https://cozy-reader.vercel.app/

arnelson,
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

@ayo A small cloud server is probably the cheapest way, though it would require manual administration. I was considering BuyVM for some of my own projects since they're the cheapest servers I've found in the US. Hetzner seems like what everyone uses for cheap servers in Europe.

arnelson,
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

@ayo I've used AWS for hosting my Fediverse projects and it has not been a good experience. Too complicated, too difficult to learn, and as soon as you start using any cloud-specific services instead of just ECS servers the price gets ridiculous. I'm going to move everything to a single Docker cluster on a single $10/mo cloud server soon.

cathodion, to random
@cathodion@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

“voyager started sending nonsense” would be a great writing prompt

https://www.npr.org/2024/03/06/1236033493/nasas-voyager-1-spacecraft-is-talking-nonsense-its-friends-on-earth-are-worried

arnelson,
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

@cathodion It's already the premise for one of the most bizarre, fascinating things I've read on the internet: a combination of weird existential sci-fi and football, with a style very clearly inspired by Homestuck. 17776. http://www.sbnation.com/a/17776-football

(OK, it's Pioneer 9, not Voyager, but it's the same idea.)

arnelson, to pokemon
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

Say hello to Ludwig von Squirtle! Picking Squirtle will make Brock easier, but then I can't use it for the rest of the game...

Here's the rules I'm using for this challenge:

  • Box entire team after each gym
  • Can only catch 1 of each Pokémon
  • Team size is max(3, gym leader's team size)
  • For Victory Road onward, build a team of the 6 MVPs from previous teams

I'm going to post a lot more than usual, so if it gets too spammy for you, just mute .

Pokémon FireRed screenshot: Squirtle vs. rival's Bulbasaur

arnelson,
@arnelson@fosstodon.org avatar

Here's the whole team for Brock. It's mostly garbagemons, since Ludwig von Squirtle can solo Brock without even trying. No point including anything on this team that I might want to use later. (Catching Weedle was a real pain, though.)

Time to go beat up Gary.

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