Purgatory.

Purgatory.

I posted this in the "google+ mass migration" community; just making ita public post...

Originally shared by Kent Crispin
How I set up a hubzilla hub on Digital Ocean.

Motivation: Hubzilla is the most interesting of the possible G+ alternatives I've looked at so far. It's most important feature, from my perspective, is that your identity isn't tied to a particular hub. Identity portability is built in. You can move your activity to any hubzilla hub -- one you run yourself, or one run by a mega-corp. You can run your own hub and participate fully in the network.

But hubzilla is new and perhaps a bit hard to grasp -- new terms, new concepts. I decided to set up a hub.

Requirements: Some proficiency in linux system administration at the command line. Financial committment of ~ $100/year. Time committment of ~ 8-24 hours to set up, and then ongoing time TBD. Some expertise in using Google...

0) You need a domain name for your hub (eg: "nymclub.net"). In my case I had registered the name long ago at godaddy.com.

1) Set up a DO account (at https://www.digitalocean.com/) and create a
droplet. A minimal droplet costs $5/month. Select ubuntu 18.04 as the OS.

The name of the droplet on creation should be the domain name above (eg: "nymclub.net"), and not the name they provide by default. Secure your droplet by following the excellent clear instructions at
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/initial-server-setup-with-ubuntu-18-04

[In general, DO has really great tutorials.]

[Note: I don't work for DO, but I am a satisfied customer.]

The droplet will have an IP address that it will keep as long as it is alive.
Note it.

2) Set up DNS using the above IP address. You can use DO servers, following the documentation at:

https://www.digitalocean.com/docs/networking/dns/

In my case I have my own dns servers, so I used them.

Be sure you can log into your droplet remotely, by name, not IP address.

3) Install the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, Mysql, PHP):
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-install-linux-apache-mysql-php-lamp-stack-ubuntu-18-04
(There is also a DO "one click application" that gives you a server with a
LAMP stack. I don't know anything about it, other than it exists.)

Note: I used the MariaDB, a free plug in replacement for MySql, with

$ sudo apt install mariadb-server

if I recall correctly. It may be the default already.

Verify that you can see the apache start page from your browser.

4) Hubzilla requires a mail server that can send mail to confirm accounts. I just installed postfix as an "internet server":

$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install postfix

[I think this will take further work on my part -- I got it to the point where it could send the confirmation emails, and didn't do any more email
configuration. Email is, in general, a pain.]

I also installed an email client so I could send test messages:

$ sudo apt install mutt

5) Hubzilla also highly recommends using SSL/TLS for your web server. I used the "Let's Encrypt" certificate authority, and "certbot". See
https://certbot.eff.org/lets-encrypt/ubuntubionic-apache for information.

https://nymclub.net worked first try.

6) Install hubzilla. The instructions at
https://project.hubzilla.org/help/en/admin/administrator_guide are perhaps too concise, but they are complete. I followed them slavishly. Google will reveal several other tutorials:

https://www.howtoforge.com/tutorial/how-to-install-hubzilla-on-ubuntu/ --
doesn't include TLS, and uses an apache virtual host.

https://hubzilla.rocks/page/tobias/tutorial_install_hubzilla_in_7_easy_steps

https://websiteforstudents.com/install-hubzilla-platform-on-ubuntu-16-04-18-04-with-apache2-mariadb-and-php-7-2/

Might not be a bad idea to read through them.

Once you have unpacked the software you can access the site and use the software itself to guide you through the installation. Specifically, I used the recommended "git clone" to get hubzilla in the default root directory of the web site, /var/www/html, then browsed to https://nymclub.net. The web site at this point shows the status of the installation -- what is missing and what needs to be configured. At the command line, then, I manually installed the needed requirements -- php-zip, mbstring, php-xml, and several others were needed. Sometimes it took a bit of head-scratching to figure out the correct package name to install. You can use "dpkg S" to find that out - eg:

$ sudo dpkg -S php-zip

You may also need to edit the /etc/php/7.2/apache2/php.ini file to be sure that all the indicated packages have been enabled, change upload limits, and so on.

Important: in order to get changes in the php configuration to be reflected in the web page you must first RESTART THE WEB SERVER:

$ sudo service apache2 restart

Took me a while to remember that...

Be sure you have changed "AllowOverride None" to "AllowOverride All" in the necessary places in the /etc/apache2/apache2.conf file:


Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride All
Require all granted

Set up the database and the database user as described in the documentation.

After all this you should have an installation.

Finally, you need to create the first user, using the same email address
that you provided during installation. This user is the administrator.

7) Now it is "administration" of hubzilla, not "installation." I'm learning
this at the moment, so just a couple of quick notes.

Initially, the navigation bar at the top of the page is pretty empty. In the
upper right of the "Channel Home" page is "New Member Links". A "Missing Features?" group is at the bottom of the list, with "Install more apps" and "Pin apps...".

"Install more apps": click on this link to get a list of apps to install.

"Pin apps to navigation bar": Click on that link, and you will see a bunch
of apps, along with a pushpin icon. Click the icon, and the app will appear in the nav bar. (Requires a reload).

I think you need apps to do much of anything, so the above two steps are pretty important.

Anyway, for ~$100/year you can have an awesome social network with complete control over your own data. Not a bad deal.

Well, I have a hubzilla instance running on a Digital Ocean droplet...

Well, I have a hubzilla instance running on a Digital Ocean droplet -- https://nymclub.net. It's a minimal virtual server with limited storage, but so far it is working quite well -- a couple of small glitches, but so far I am impressed.

Installation is a bit complex -- hubzilla itself is really pretty straightforward to install, but the infrastructure: a virtual host, a domain name with function dns, a web server with a LAMP stack, a let's encrypt certificate, email -- a bunch of fiddly details that need to be set up. I haven't done this stuff for a while, and there were small snags that I wouldn't have hit in my younger days...

No reason for only one account...

I must admit that I am having a great time exploring the lesser-known social media platforms. I think maybe I've signed up for more than I can possibly keep up with, but maybe that's an illusory problem -- I already keep dozens of tabs open and I've survived that. To paraphrase Dylan: "Tabs will arrive, tabs will disappear.."

Of course, people who live on their phones may not have that luxury, but I surf mainly from my desktop.

Murderer in the garden....

Murder in the garden....

Originally shared by Sawanya Prittipongpunt

Big-eyed bugs - Hemiptera (Geocoris) : มวนตาโต

I am mosqueeto:

I am mosqueeto most places:

ello.co: mosqueeto
pluspora.com: mosqueeto
diasp.org: mosqueeto
cake.co: mosqueeto
mastodon.social: mosqueeto
photog.social: mosqueeto
reddit.com: mosqueeto
tumblr.com: mosqueeto
social.isurf.ca: mosqueeto
C32767.blogger.com

Patience.

I don't understand people immediately leaping to other social media platforms -- g+ isn't slated to close for 10 months, and a lot can happen during that time. Indeed I will be trying as many different platforms as I can in the next few months, but I am certainly not going to commit to anything. Not only will things change, but I will undoubtedly change as well, as I think about what I really want.

Adding instant translation to other social media platforms

Pursuant to adding instant translation to hubzilla/diaspora/etc: the google api charges by the code point character, $20/1000000 characters. Convenient translation, therefore, could be an enhanced service that is charged for at a pretty reasonable rate.

Very useful summary:

https://medium.com/we-distribute/a-quick-guide-to-the-free-network-c069309f334
https://medium.com/we-distribute/a-quick-guide-to-the-free-network-c069309f334

Organizational infrastructure of a social media platform

It's hard for me to keep up, so this may have been discussed extensively elsewhere, but...:

What kind of an organizational infrastructure is appropriate to support a long term replacement for gplus? For example, I could personally support a diaspora instance with perhaps a few dozen active users, using my personal funds and time. But that doesn't scale. Many of the efforts so far seem to be on an "if we build it they will come and the organizational infrastructure will evolve later" model.

Some kind of legal entity (corporation/foundation/trust) with an unlimited potential lifetime and a funding mechanism seems required. A governance mechanism to deal with bad actors, hopefully something other than autocracy, would be nice.

In a federated case this consideration applies to each instance individually, and to the overall software base. How do the various alternatives compare in this matter?

Instant translation?

One of the most important features for g+, for me, is the convenient access to instant machine translation. It allows me to follow people from all over the world, and at least have a semblance of understanding what they are saying. This won't be easy to replace.

Google search for "alternative social media":

Google search for "alternative social media":

https://www.dailydot.com/debug/facebook-alternatives/

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/31/youve-decided-to-delete-facebook-but-what-will-you-replace-it-with

https://fossbytes.com/best-facebook-alternatives/

https://eluxemagazine.com/magazine/alternative-social-media-sites/
Google search on "alternative social media":

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/social-media-alternatives-to-facebook/

https://www.1and1.com/digitalguide/online-marketing/social-media/the-best-facebook-alternatives/

Diaspora, ello, and tumblr seem somewhat viable.

Colin Hay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL--eSOT2Xs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL--eSOT2Xs

A drinking game! Who would have imagined?

Originally shared by Lori Holt

Yes, like that other great drinking game, Drawn and Quartered

I got the Kavanaugh blues...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvrzqcfv9mY

Long forgotten

Over the years I've collected many CDs -- several hundred. I'd forgotten about this one, until this song popped up in a playlist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2R78FVqLfY&index=1&list=PLjPTzPtxk4lpMOQJiuKrYtpupqEVg4--1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2R78FVqLfY&index=1&list=PLjPTzPtxk4lpMOQJiuKrYtpupqEVg4--1

https://ello.co/mosqueeto/post/fozwbgzjggirfatkdwztdq

https://ello.co/mosqueeto/post/fozwbgzjggirfatkdwztdq
https://ello.co/mosqueeto/post/fozwbgzjggirfatkdwztdq

The first image is of Sagittarius, slightly cropped to put the center of the Milky Way galaxy dead center. If you work at it, you can make out the teapot of Sagittarius. This was a thirty second exposure; note the airplane entering from the left.

The first image is of Sagittarius, slightly cropped to put the center of the Milky Way galaxy dead center. If you work at it, you can make out the teapot of Sagittarius. This was a thirty second exposure; note the airplane entering from the left.

The second image is a tightly cropped portion showing the airplane track, with the two wingtip lights, with bright flashes every couple of seconds.

A thirty second exposure is long enough for star trails to just begin to show, which is why all the stars look like parallel peanuts.

Really not sure how to classify this one. People standing in a large paved area at the airport in Hilo, Hawaii.

Really not sure how to classify this one. People standing in a large paved area at the airport in Hilo, Hawaii.