The importance of this can't be overstated. Servers with lots of users always eventually have problems where the interests of the users are not the same as the interests of the server administrator. If you are the server administrator, or if there are only a small squad-size group of people on the server, then it's a lot easier to resolve differences and everyone's interests are likely to be similar.
It's inevitable in any social network, but fortunately your options for dealing with it are better than they are in the giant proprietary monoliths. In the proprietary world Google or Facebook don't give a damn about the fate of individual users. On a server with a small number of users if you're getting griefed then the administrator is likely to care and be able to do something about it.
Especially if other servers are publishing content which may not be legal in your jurisdiction then don't be afraid to use domain or user blocking from the Administrator control panel. The same applies if users on other servers are trying to harass you. Blocking creates politics and drama but this is a feature not a bug. It allows you to craft your own distinct community and user experience while also existing in the wider federation. It's hard to do this on sites like Twitter or Facebook. Try to keep blocking to a minimum though and avoid doing it for insubstantial reasons. If you have other users on your server then publish the blocked domains list somewhere they can see. That avoids disappointment and enables you to have a discussion about the validity of blocking decisions.
Over time follows and blocking rules come to match the underlying social geography of affinity groups. Blocking will happen and users will move around or start new servers. Drama related to blocking will dissipate.
Keep the number of other users you're following and who are also active to under a couple of hundred. Any more than that and you'll just be overwhelmed by irrelevant stuff and whatever community you may have been part of will dissolve in a sea of entropy. There are no algorithmic timelines, and even if they're introduced then they create their own problems as an opaque form of censorship. Real community happens at tribal scale. It's something which people often don't like to admit because they get fixated upon bigger and bigger numbers, but it definitely seems to be true.
It may seem like a good idea and it may seem like you're doing a service to the community by allowing random strangers to register, but servers with thousands of users only cause problems - social, administrative, financial and possibly also legal. The financial strain of running a powerful server with high reliability may be enough to encourage the administrator to begin pushing advertising onto the system, or sell user content, and then before you know it you have identical problems to Twitter. Instead try to encourage people to set up their own servers. Follow this principle and a lot of arguments and stress will be more easily avoided.
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ It may seem like a good idea and it may seem like you're doing a service to the-This site can also be accessed via a Tor browser at http://2tp3f6vtvhkqpuc6.onion. This documentation is under the GNU Free Documentation License version 1.3 +This site can also be accessed via a Tor browser at http://pazyv7nkllp76hqr.onion. This documentation is under the GNU Free Documentation License version 1.3
sudo apt-get install git ++sudo apt-get install git git clone https://github.com/bashrc/freedombone cd freedombone sudo make install freedombone-image --setup debian freedombone-image -t i386 --onion yes -
@@ -269,13 +270,13 @@ Or on Arch/Parabola:
sudo pacman -S git ++sudo pacman -S git git clone https://github.com/bashrc/freedombone cd freedombone sudo make install freedombone-image --setup parabola freedombone-image -t i386 --onion yes -
@@ -283,8 +284,8 @@ Now prepare your local system to talk to the freedombone by running the followin
freedombone-client -+
freedombone-client
+ls /dev/sd* -+
ls /dev/sd*
+@@ -333,8 +334,8 @@ You can now copy the image to the USB thumb drive, replacing sdX with the
dd bs=1M if=myimagefile.img of=/dev/sdX conv=fdatasync -+
dd bs=1M if=myimagefile.img of=/dev/sdX conv=fdatasync
+@@ -346,9 +347,9 @@ As the system boots for the first time the login is:
username: fbone ++username: fbone password: freedombone -
@@ -356,8 +357,8 @@ If you're installing from a microSD card on a single board computer without a sc
ssh fbone@freedombone.local -p 2222 -+
ssh fbone@freedombone.local -p 2222
+@@ -377,8 +378,8 @@ When it's installed on your local system open a terminal and verify the ssh serv
freedombone-client --verify -+
freedombone-client --verify
+@@ -398,9 +399,9 @@ Open another terminal window then run:
freedombone-client ++freedombone-client ssh myusername@freedombone.local -p 2222 -
@@ -464,13 +465,13 @@ Of course, this is just one way in which you can install the Freedombone system.
man freedombone-image -+
man freedombone-image
+-This site can also be accessed via a Tor browser at http://2tp3f6vtvhkqpuc6.onion +This site can also be accessed via a Tor browser at http://pazyv7nkllp76hqr.onion
-This site can also be accessed via a Tor browser at http://2tp3f6vtvhkqpuc6.onion. This documentation is under the GNU Free Documentation License version 1.3 +This site can also be accessed via a Tor browser at http://pazyv7nkllp76hqr.onion. This documentation is under the GNU Free Documentation License version 1.3
Routers are intended to build network coverage for an area using small and low cost hardware. You can bolt them to walls or leave them on window ledges. They don't have any user interface and their only job is to haul network traffic across the mesh and to enable peers to find each other via running bootstrap nodes for Tox and IPFS. Copy the image to a microSD card and insert it into the router, plug in an Atheros wifi dongle and power on. That should be all you need to do.
It's better not to trust images downloaded from random places on the interwebs. Chances are that unless you are in the web of trust of the above GPG signatures then they don't mean very much to you. If you actually want something trustworthy then build the images from scratch. It will take some time. Here's how to do it.
@@ -503,9 +503,9 @@ The resulting image can be copied to a microSD card, inserted into a BeagleboneIf you want to make your own specially branded version, such as for a particular event, then to change the default desktop backgrounds edit the images within img/backgrounds and to change the available avatars and desktop icons edit the images within img/avatars. Re-create disk images using the instructions shown previously.
@@ -515,9 +515,9 @@ If you need particular dconf commands to alter desktop appearance or behaWhen you first boot from the USB drive the system will create some encryption keys, assign a unique network address to the system and then reboot itself. When that's done you should see a prompt asking for a username. This username just makes it easy for others to initially find you on the mesh and will appear in the list of users.
@@ -527,9 +527,9 @@ After a minute or two if you are within wifi range and there is at least one othOn the ordinary internet the date and time of your system would be set automatically via NTP. But this is not the internet and so you will need to manually ensure that your date and time settings are correct. You might need to periodically do this if your clock drifts. It's not essential that the time on your system be highly accurate, but if it drifts too far or goes back to epoch then things could become a little confusing in regard to the order of blog posts.
@@ -539,9 +539,9 @@ On the ordinary internet the date and time of your system would be set automaticUnlike with ordinary wifi, on the mesh you don't get a signal strength icon and so it's not simple to see if you have a good connection.
@@ -565,9 +565,9 @@ When you are finished close the window and then select the Network RestartEnsure that you're within wifi range of at least one other mesh peer (could be a router or client) and then you should see that the Chat and Other Users icons appear. Select the users icon and you should see a list of users on the mesh. Select the Chat icon and once you are connected you should see the status light turn green. If after a few minutes you don't get the green status light then try closing and re-opening the Tox chat application. Select the plus button to add a friend and then copy and paste in a Tox ID from the users list.
@@ -626,9 +626,9 @@ At present video doesn't work reliably, but text and voice chat do work well.You can make files publicly available on the network simply by dragging and dropping them into the Public folder on the desktop. To view the files belonging to another user select the desktop icon called Visit a site and enter the username or Tox ID of the other user.
@@ -643,9 +643,9 @@ You can make files publicly available on the network simply by dragging and dropTo create a blog post select the Blog icon on the desktop and then use the up and down cursor keys, space bar and enter key to add a new entry. Edit the title of the entry and add your text. You can also include photos if you wish - just copy them to the CreateBlog/content/images directory and then link to them as shown.
@@ -685,7 +685,7 @@ You can also visit other blogs, edit or delete your previous entry and also chan-This site can also be accessed via a Tor browser at http://2tp3f6vtvhkqpuc6.onion +This site can also be accessed via a Tor browser at http://pazyv7nkllp76hqr.onion
-This site can also be accessed via a Tor browser at http://2tp3f6vtvhkqpuc6.onion +This site can also be accessed via a Tor browser at http://pazyv7nkllp76hqr.onion
@@ -276,21 +277,22 @@ This site can also be accessed via a Tor browser at
-
Know of some fabulous web system which could run on Freedombone, but currently doesn't? Contact the above, and be prepared to make a compelling argument for why it should be included.
At the present time this project is not seeking any funding. There is no crowdfunding campaign and no slick marketing video. Those aren't ruled out as future possibilities, but for now they're just not needed.
Testing of the install on different hardware. Also pentesting on test installations to find vulnerabilities.
A better design for this website would be nice to have. Photos, icons or other artwork are all welcome. I've always liked the cartoon artwork of the Mediagoblin project, and attractive graphics can help to get people initially interested.
To add translations modify the json files within the locale subdirectory. Then make a pull request on the Github site.
Helping to package GNU Social and Hubzilla for Debian would be beneficial.
Things which would be nice to have
-Ideas
-Things which would be nice to have
+Ideas
+Money
-Money
+Testing and reporting bugs
-Testing and reporting bugs
+Web design and artwork
-Web design and artwork
+More education and promotion
-More education and promotion
+Translations
-Translations
+Packaging
-Packaging
+