Decentralizing SaidIt

submitted by JasonCarswell from infogalactic.com

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[–]wizzwizz4 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (18 children)

We can keep the existing Saidit API, like Mastodon has a Mastodon API. Then the app will still work. The backend database can also remain the same, probably; I haven't looked at it, so I can't tell for certain.

All that needs to happen is that Saidit implements an ActivityPub-like API for communication between different "sites", and a new row is introduced to the database mark certain content as non-canonical (i.e. doesn't "live" there) and a few other database adjustments to account for the user table not living in one place (which would all have to happen anyway for decentralisation) and presto! We've got ourselves a distributed Saidit. Apart from brief periods where the database schema changes and the site goes down (after LOTS of testing on a test site), there'd be no downtime. We ordinary users wouldn't even notice!

(ActivityPub, by the way, doesn't have a community behind it. Not really. That's like saying HTTP has a community behind it. Sure, we all use it, but that's not our community identity; it's just a way of sending information from Point A to Point B.)

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (17 children)

Very interesting.

I take it ActivityPub has already worked out the kinks of having decentralized sources and negotiating the database build like negotiating building the blocks of a blockchain?

I didn't mean community in that sense. I mean that there are a lot more folks who can code HTML than know how to code for an open source Reddit fork. I'm guessing there may be more folks using ActivityPub and willing to share their expertise on it compared to SaidIt's two code-monkeys : magnora7 and d3rr.

[–]wizzwizz4 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (16 children)

I take it ActivityPub has already worked out the kinks of having decentralized sources

Yup.

and negotiating the database build

It doesn't actually cover this; it's purely a communication protocol with objects (e.g. post, comment) and verbs (e.g. insightful, funny, create (post / reply)). You can make your own verbs, which Insightful and Funny would be.

I've just asked some people on Fosstodon whether they'd want to help… not that many people would see that post.

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (15 children)

And more emoticons/votes? I'd like to see more options. But I'm overwhelmed by the emoticons on YouTube and Discord - almost an identical set of endless crap.

Very kewl link. Ima gonna join.

Maybe post a link back to this discussion so they see what we're talking about and what Saidit is all about.

[–]wizzwizz4 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (14 children)

I actually found Saidit from Fosstodon, interestingly enough.

(Note that Fosstodon is only one part of Mastodon.)

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (13 children)

Where? I'm sure /u/magnora7 would be interested to know that if you haven't shared that with him already.

I joined up. Any tips? Any favourites? Is it a big timesuck? I'm not sure I need another distraction right now. And yet I'm curious on many levels. I'm afraid to look/explore and be pulled in.

[–]magnora7 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

That is cool we've gotten people from Mastodon!

[–]wizzwizz4 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (11 children)

It's not a big timesuck; it's good for social mediaing with friends though!

Don't be too offended that I haven't followed you back, though; I don't want to fill up my feed with lots of stuff I don't care about. Only close friends' messages and post tags, or it would become a timesuck like Twitter.

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (10 children)

No worries. I don't know how much time I'll spend there. I don't do much social media stuff, the last two months excepted. I intend to be distracted for a little while longer before focusing on my own projects.

[–]wizzwizz4 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (9 children)

Ooh! What sort of thing?

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (8 children)

If I can eventually pull away from all my distractions...

At Xmas I came up with the idea to develop a "Truther Newbie Crash Course" (https://saidit.net/s/SaidItSurveys/comments/9hi/saiditsurvey_how_to_gently_red_pill_newbie/) that along with my TT20 talking point lists (https://infogalactic.com/info/Truther_Top_20s) will support curious fans wanting more info after watching my open source "Trutherism 101" short animated truther comedy series (like comic strips with motion) that will all fit on a framework flow for a potential mocumentary. And that T101 project will express /purge all my conspirophilia stuff while supporting one of my screenplays, the important one, that will have a deeper context without the didactic preachy truther stuff, and I'll make that story into a storyboard / graphic novel with hopes that it may be picked up and made into a feature film (doubtful but I must try). It's a near future HARD-sci-fi dystopian cautionary tale. I can't share the name yet, but a friend came up with a very funny but not very misleading temporary working title, "Foiled Again"

I started this sub / list recently too. (https://saidit.net/s/AnimatedShorts/) I have way more to add. They are diverse so if you don't like one, just move on because there's all styles. Most can be considered "Truther" themed in some small or great way, but not all.