11 ms·

Mastodon and Keybase

406 points by malgorithms 7y ago

Leace 7y ago
From: https://keybase.io/docs/proof_integration_guide https://keybase.io/docs/proof_integration_guide > To send us the config, you can send us the public URL for your config file or attach it directly in a Keybase chat message to @mlsteele or email miles@keyba.se. In our example the file is hosted at https://keybase.io/.well-known/example-proof-config.json https://keybase.io/.well-known/example-proof-config.json. Will this always require manual step (sending config by e-mail) or is there some automation planned?
- eganist 7y ago
  Assuming my understanding of this is right, I can't see Chris and team publishing an automated platform for proof integration until they find a solution against impersonating established platforms. Edit: Disregard, chris/malgorithms answered above.
- malgorithms 7y ago
  Good q - this step will likely be automated soon. Still, there will always be one final step of our approving any integration, otherwise there would be 10,000 pr0n sites or ad sites. (We mention this in the FAQ.) But we can automate everything up to turning it on. For now, we want to talk to everyone working on integrations, so we can see what steps are working and what are confusing, what could be improved, etc. So we're talking to everyone doing an integration.
  - Leace 7y ago
    > otherwise there would be 10,000 pr0n sites or ad sites. There's a middle ground: you can add integration so that it's available from CLI (`keybase prove ...`) but don't show it in GUI ("select integration") so it's not advertising that site. The proof integration guide looks neat by the way.
    - DuskStar 7y ago
      CLI integration available to all without a human step, but requiring approval to show up in the UI when adding integrations? I'd like that solution
  - velcrovan 7y ago
    I still don't get it. You have always been able to get a keybase proof for ANY website/domain without being approved first. Why do you need to whitelist mastodon instances? Why not just let people type in the domain name for their instance and get rolling?
    - fermuch 7y ago
      But now they're showing every integration possible (as in, every mastodon instance they approve of) on their UI
      - velcrovan 7y ago
        Again…why? who cares? Why is picking from a pre-approved list better than just letting people type in their instance domain name and allowing every instance by default?
        Leace 7y ago
        Agreed. Not to mention Mastodon could've a linkback to Keybase with all data pre-filled (username + instance name). For example in Settings a link "Connect with Keybase".
ocdtrekkie 7y ago
I wonder if the Mastodon community will pick up Keybase chat as the de facto chat option with this integration in place. Chat or private messaging has always been considered the weak link of the fediverse since it's easy for bad servers to mishandle "private" toots.
- codetrotter 7y ago
  Do you mean for encryption or do you mean using their servers also?
  - coldacid 7y ago
    My bet would be both. After all, why handle all the dirty work of implementing real-time chat that works across multiple different sites when you can just plug in Keybase instead? After all, if you're using it for encryption you already require people to have a Keybase account to have their chats encrypted.
    - jeena 7y ago
      Why would you install different Mastodon servers when you can go to twitter.com instead?
      - dcbadacd 7y ago
        I don't :P It's too tedious to keep an eye on multiple communities and manage my single identity.
- insomniacity 7y ago
  Yeah, interesting point - this could actually pick up chat functionality for a whole heap of sites that don't have it, but are prepared to do the Keybase integration work.
- 0xb100db1ade 7y ago
  I wish that Keybase could work with the Signal team on something. Signal has a lot of experience in UI [1] and security, and Keybase had the identity proofs. I'd love to see them work together rather than compete. [1] Signal UI used to be horrible but as of the past few months it's improved a ton! It's now my preferred SMS client.
gtt 7y ago
I never understood keybase as a useful product. What do you use keybase for?
- Gaelan 7y ago
  I think their goal is to do everything (or a large subset of things) Slack/Google Drive/GitHub can do, but with end-to-end encryption and easy discovery (look someone up no matter where on the internet you know them from).
- daosyn 7y ago
  i know a friend who just uses it to store and retrieve their private key for gpg
- otachack 7y ago
  The remote git repo feature is nice. But from what I understand, the primary use is to serve as proof of identity. They have other products like a chat app for individual or team use, file storage, PGP operations, and more. All e2e encrypted.
- TypingStuff 7y ago
  OP demonstrates how your Keybase network can offer E2E messaging on Mastadon, bootstrapped via Keybase. I see Keybase as a secure address book, on top which secure applications can be built.
- Nadya 7y ago
  Task: Send me a tweet on Twitter. Careful not to send it to any imposters. Challenge: Finding me on Twitter. For example, I am not @Nadya Extra Credit Challenge: Let's say I'm e-famous enough to have imposter accounts but not have a Twitter "verified" badge. Which Twitter account is the real me? And how do you know? Where Keybase comes in: On my HN profile itself you can find my signatures on Keybase. Keybase is not necessary for these signatures but becomes a convenient place to look. You also do not need to trust Keybase; although in practice many people will. Don't lie to me and tell me you'd verify the keys. :) Now you can go directly from my HN profile to my Twitter profile and tweet at me knowing that I am who I say I am. Or at least the individual posing as me has access to three of my accounts (HN, Keybase, and Twitter) and that you'd at least be talking to the same person. The social proof and web of trust bit is where Keybase falls down but that's an inherit flaw of the web of trust (key exchange parties aren't as popular as they used to be and people will sign/trust keys of people they've never met IRL). Ultimately you'll have to trust that the people who follow me on Keybase are certain beyond a reasonable doubt that I am who I say I am. From there, you can trust the social proofs. I personally use it so that people can find me on other services more easily and know that they are speaking to me.
wut42 7y ago
This sucks -- not all Mastodon instances will be able to use this. It's subject to approval by keybase, ensuring only big instances can use this. A step backwards a proper decentralized network…
- insomniacity 7y ago
  I would imagine they're happy to support small instances if they have a legitimate userbase... why not ask them and report back?
  - wut42 7y ago
    They already somewhat said that porn related instances will not be allowed. So sex workers and such won't be able to use this. Why bother asking them? I moved to the fediverse to NOT be controlled and regulated by corporations, because there's no need to. Adding such a feature in Mastodon is stupid. What's the next step? Integrated Twitter client?
    - dcbadacd 7y ago
      Yes please, make it possible to discuss external content more easily in Mastodon, please.
    - stevenicr 7y ago
      Keybase has said porn related names / IDs won't be allowed? I was going to suggest some people look at using it as an alternative ID system to use in various chat systems. However some of those appear to be sex chat focused, so if that could cause an issue for them I'd be better off not mentioning and looking for a keybase like ID alternative.
- xgess 7y ago
  Keybase team member here. We have more than 30 so far, and they range from some of the largest down to single-user instances.
  - 7y ago
zach43 7y ago
Just wanted to say that i moved from twitter to mastodon sometime late last year amd couldn't be happier with it. Keybase integration is interesting to me, but not realky useful since i don't want to tie mastodon with my real life identity. the Fediverse as a whole has a very different 'feel' to it compared to Twitter. Twitter feels significantly more commercialized amd stressful...mastodon / pleroma feel a lot more relaxed and pleasant in comparison. Maybe i just accidentally joined nicer communities, but i see a lot of small-scale chitchat and genuineness on mastodon than i rarely see on twitter. I've also had zero issues with the platform from a technical perspective...overall i think Mastodon, etc have done decentralization "right", and have a lot of potential for growth in the future
- jeena 7y ago
  It would be cool to see everyone's Mastodon usernames/domains, I'm on my own self hosted instance where it's a bit more difficult to find other people. Mine is: https://toot.jeena.net/@jeena https://toot.jeena.net/@jeena
  - yogthos 7y ago
    mine is: https://mastodon.social/@yogthos https://mastodon.social/@yogthos
  - prophesi 7y ago
    Yeah, I self-hosted my own instance of Pleroma for a while, but eventually switched to a more popular instance with people who have similar interests as me (art + religion (specifically, rediscovering religion after rage-quitting Christianity @social.theliturgists.com)
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - JoshTriplett 7y ago
    What has your experience been with self-hosting? I'd love to self-host a Mastodon instance that two-way mirrors my Twitter account and acts as a Twitter client (letting me pseudo-follow folks from Twitter). But in any case, I'd want to ensure that no content from people I follow gets mirrored/hosted on my own instance; the only content actually hosted on my own instance should be the content I post.
mirimir 7y ago
This is great. But damn: > Are there sites you won't link to? > Like a Mastodon instance, we reserve the right to work with whichever partners we prefer. We specifically will avoid at least these sites: > sites which encourage or are known for illegal activity Just what is "illegal activity"? According to whose laws? Given that Keybase servers are in the US, I suppose that means US law. And frankly, that sucks. But please do clarify.
bloopernova 7y ago
Keybase is certainly interesting. Is it possible to link up to your stackoverflow identity yet? How are people using Keybase right now? I added several of my accounts but I'm especially interested in the GPG encryption/signing.
- dcbadacd 7y ago
  StackOverflow integration sounds really cool. Wish they added Discourse support as well - hard to prove I'm me on all of these Discourse instances.
  - bloopernova 7y ago
    Definitely! Would be nice to add "extra" verification via Signal too, or Google Authenticator. Although GPG's public key, if already known, provides a good source for that.
  - xfalcox 7y ago
    Tracking the Discourse implementation here: https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-keybase-proof/115239?u=falco https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-keybase-proof/115239?...
charliebrownau 7y ago
Masterdon is filled with pods with Global Socialist LEFT admins and the always offended Dont expect to get free speech on most or almost all the servers on masterdon
charliebrownau 7y ago
I recommend people check out gab instead of twitter and diaspora instead of google plus Yet its been proven again and again and again that once the diversity circle takes effect the LEFT as a whole refuses to support diversity of viewpoint and will censor non left people on all platforms left admins exist on Even Diaspora has a massive infection of SJW , Diversity and "woke" people that are pro censorship
forgotmypw3 7y ago
I'm working on a web-based system that uses PGP key as identity. How do I integrate with Keybase?
AgentME 7y ago
Bug report: I just connected my Mastodon.social and Keybase profiles. On my Keybase profile, the "post" link next to my Mastodon.social profile link doesn't go directly to the proof post, but instead just links to my profile again.
founderling 7y ago
This seems backward. They want ActivityPub servers to apply to a central service (keybase) to offer cross server identities. And they want users to trust that central service to decide who is who. It's always amazing, how strong the force of centralization is. Even when the whole value proposition of a technology is that it is decentralized, users will soon flock to centralized services built around it and end up in the mercy of a few organizations again. Reminds me of all the people who think they hold crypto currency while in reality they "hold" yeah-we-promise-we-owe-you-somethings by some exchange. Reminds me of how little resistance the Ethereum elite faced when they flushed "code is law" down the toilet and forced all users to switch to a fork with rewritten history. What makes this attempt of centralization even more tragic is that it does not bring anything to the table. If you want to run a service that let's people claim they are joedoe@host1 and joe_the_doe@host2, just let them publish two messages. "I am joedoe@host1" on joe_the_doe@host2 and "I am joe_the_doe@host2" on joedoe@host1. Neither the integration with the hosts nor the crypto spiel is needed.
- BinaryIdiot 7y ago
  > It's always amazing, how strong the force of centralization is. This is because Mastodon is a UX nightmare because of the way they decentralized it. With Twitter you go on and you @ your friends / etc and you're done. With Mastodon you have to figure out where they are and if they're not all in the same place it becomes a nightmare to try and manage. I get it, decentralization can be great. But so far most of the implementations of decentralized social networks have been a UX nightmare for even the casual user.
  - willvarfar 7y ago
    People managed to share email addresses, which are name@domain.
    - lifthrasiir 7y ago
      And the domain is predictable. There were (and still are) a two-part email form around the web, where the domain part is a drop-down list.
waferedpie 7y ago
Can someone explain Mastodon to me? Because I’m not really sure I “get” it. As I understand it, I need to register for Mastodon at some server ``foo``, and with this one single registration I can also access other servers ``bar`` and ``baz`` and read what their members post, but I’m not able to post on those servers myself, only on my original ``foo`` server. So what happens when ``foo`` goes under for whatever reason? Or what if the admins at ``foo`` decided to ban me from their server for whatever reason? Am I just shit out of luck now? And what if my friends decide to join Mastodon some time later, but they all agree to join ``bar`` leaving me the odd person out? I think I’ve read somewhere that it’s not possible to relocate my ‘home server’?
- fiatjaf 7y ago
  Yes, you are right. The entire ActivityPub concept is flawed, but not because you would be left alone in your server, it's the opposite: since you're interacting with your friends, your friends' server would then fetch all posts from your server and vice-versa, it will be as if there was just one server, but maintenance costs are now duplicated and the discovery process is not great also. These problems are less problematic the smaller the servers are, which makes me think the best structure would be one in which each user is its own server and just syncs to temporary syncing hubs when possible -- or maybe sync directly to other online peers they know. Oh, wait, that's what https://www.scuttlebutt.nz/ https://www.scuttlebutt.nz/ does! (Disclaimer: I don't use Scuttlebutt nor Mastodon nor anything like that, and I really thought about Scuttlebutt in the middle of my comment, not before.)
s09dfhks 7y ago
I'm not entirely sold on keybase. Why would I want my online presence 100% identifiable and traceable back to me? What is the appeal of this service exactly?

406 points by malgorithms 7y ago

From: https://keybase.io/docs/proof_integration_guide https://keybase.io/docs/proof_integration_guide > To send us the config, you can send us the public URL for your config file or attach it directly in a Keybase chat message to @mlsteele or email miles@keyba.se. In our example the file is hosted at https://keybase.io/.well-known/example-proof-config.json https://keybase.io/.well-known/example-proof-config.json. Will this always require manual step (sending config by e-mail) or is there some automation planned?

eganist 7y ago
Assuming my understanding of this is right, I can't see Chris and team publishing an automated platform for proof integration until they find a solution against impersonating established platforms. Edit: Disregard, chris/malgorithms answered above.
malgorithms 7y ago
Good q - this step will likely be automated soon. Still, there will always be one final step of our approving any integration, otherwise there would be 10,000 pr0n sites or ad sites. (We mention this in the FAQ.) But we can automate everything up to turning it on. For now, we want to talk to everyone working on integrations, so we can see what steps are working and what are confusing, what could be improved, etc. So we're talking to everyone doing an integration.
- Leace 7y ago
  > otherwise there would be 10,000 pr0n sites or ad sites. There's a middle ground: you can add integration so that it's available from CLI (`keybase prove ...`) but don't show it in GUI ("select integration") so it's not advertising that site. The proof integration guide looks neat by the way.
  - DuskStar 7y ago
    CLI integration available to all without a human step, but requiring approval to show up in the UI when adding integrations? I'd like that solution
- velcrovan 7y ago
  I still don't get it. You have always been able to get a keybase proof for ANY website/domain without being approved first. Why do you need to whitelist mastodon instances? Why not just let people type in the domain name for their instance and get rolling?
  - fermuch 7y ago
    But now they're showing every integration possible (as in, every mastodon instance they approve of) on their UI
    - velcrovan 7y ago
      Again…why? who cares? Why is picking from a pre-approved list better than just letting people type in their instance domain name and allowing every instance by default?
      - Leace 7y ago
        Agreed. Not to mention Mastodon could've a linkback to Keybase with all data pre-filled (username + instance name). For example in Settings a link "Connect with Keybase".

ocdtrekkie 7y ago

I wonder if the Mastodon community will pick up Keybase chat as the de facto chat option with this integration in place. Chat or private messaging has always been considered the weak link of the fediverse since it's easy for bad servers to mishandle "private" toots.

codetrotter 7y ago
Do you mean for encryption or do you mean using their servers also?
- coldacid 7y ago
  My bet would be both. After all, why handle all the dirty work of implementing real-time chat that works across multiple different sites when you can just plug in Keybase instead? After all, if you're using it for encryption you already require people to have a Keybase account to have their chats encrypted.
  - jeena 7y ago
    Why would you install different Mastodon servers when you can go to twitter.com instead?
    - dcbadacd 7y ago
      I don't :P It's too tedious to keep an eye on multiple communities and manage my single identity.
insomniacity 7y ago
Yeah, interesting point - this could actually pick up chat functionality for a whole heap of sites that don't have it, but are prepared to do the Keybase integration work.
0xb100db1ade 7y ago
I wish that Keybase could work with the Signal team on something. Signal has a lot of experience in UI [1] and security, and Keybase had the identity proofs. I'd love to see them work together rather than compete. [1] Signal UI used to be horrible but as of the past few months it's improved a ton! It's now my preferred SMS client.

gtt 7y ago

I never understood keybase as a useful product. What do you use keybase for?

Gaelan 7y ago
I think their goal is to do everything (or a large subset of things) Slack/Google Drive/GitHub can do, but with end-to-end encryption and easy discovery (look someone up no matter where on the internet you know them from).
daosyn 7y ago
i know a friend who just uses it to store and retrieve their private key for gpg
otachack 7y ago
The remote git repo feature is nice. But from what I understand, the primary use is to serve as proof of identity. They have other products like a chat app for individual or team use, file storage, PGP operations, and more. All e2e encrypted.
TypingStuff 7y ago
OP demonstrates how your Keybase network can offer E2E messaging on Mastadon, bootstrapped via Keybase. I see Keybase as a secure address book, on top which secure applications can be built.
Nadya 7y ago
Task: Send me a tweet on Twitter. Careful not to send it to any imposters. Challenge: Finding me on Twitter. For example, I am not @Nadya Extra Credit Challenge: Let's say I'm e-famous enough to have imposter accounts but not have a Twitter "verified" badge. Which Twitter account is the real me? And how do you know? Where Keybase comes in: On my HN profile itself you can find my signatures on Keybase. Keybase is not necessary for these signatures but becomes a convenient place to look. You also do not need to trust Keybase; although in practice many people will. Don't lie to me and tell me you'd verify the keys. :) Now you can go directly from my HN profile to my Twitter profile and tweet at me knowing that I am who I say I am. Or at least the individual posing as me has access to three of my accounts (HN, Keybase, and Twitter) and that you'd at least be talking to the same person. The social proof and web of trust bit is where Keybase falls down but that's an inherit flaw of the web of trust (key exchange parties aren't as popular as they used to be and people will sign/trust keys of people they've never met IRL). Ultimately you'll have to trust that the people who follow me on Keybase are certain beyond a reasonable doubt that I am who I say I am. From there, you can trust the social proofs. I personally use it so that people can find me on other services more easily and know that they are speaking to me.

wut42 7y ago

This sucks -- not all Mastodon instances will be able to use this. It's subject to approval by keybase, ensuring only big instances can use this. A step backwards a proper decentralized network…

insomniacity 7y ago
I would imagine they're happy to support small instances if they have a legitimate userbase... why not ask them and report back?
- wut42 7y ago
  They already somewhat said that porn related instances will not be allowed. So sex workers and such won't be able to use this. Why bother asking them? I moved to the fediverse to NOT be controlled and regulated by corporations, because there's no need to. Adding such a feature in Mastodon is stupid. What's the next step? Integrated Twitter client?
  - dcbadacd 7y ago
    Yes please, make it possible to discuss external content more easily in Mastodon, please.
  - stevenicr 7y ago
    Keybase has said porn related names / IDs won't be allowed? I was going to suggest some people look at using it as an alternative ID system to use in various chat systems. However some of those appear to be sex chat focused, so if that could cause an issue for them I'd be better off not mentioning and looking for a keybase like ID alternative.
xgess 7y ago
Keybase team member here. We have more than 30 so far, and they range from some of the largest down to single-user instances.
- 7y ago

zach43 7y ago

Just wanted to say that i moved from twitter to mastodon sometime late last year amd couldn't be happier with it. Keybase integration is interesting to me, but not realky useful since i don't want to tie mastodon with my real life identity. the Fediverse as a whole has a very different 'feel' to it compared to Twitter. Twitter feels significantly more commercialized amd stressful...mastodon / pleroma feel a lot more relaxed and pleasant in comparison. Maybe i just accidentally joined nicer communities, but i see a lot of small-scale chitchat and genuineness on mastodon than i rarely see on twitter. I've also had zero issues with the platform from a technical perspective...overall i think Mastodon, etc have done decentralization "right", and have a lot of potential for growth in the future

jeena 7y ago
It would be cool to see everyone's Mastodon usernames/domains, I'm on my own self hosted instance where it's a bit more difficult to find other people. Mine is: https://toot.jeena.net/@jeena https://toot.jeena.net/@jeena
- yogthos 7y ago
  mine is: https://mastodon.social/@yogthos https://mastodon.social/@yogthos
- prophesi 7y ago
  Yeah, I self-hosted my own instance of Pleroma for a while, but eventually switched to a more popular instance with people who have similar interests as me (art + religion (specifically, rediscovering religion after rage-quitting Christianity @social.theliturgists.com)
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- JoshTriplett 7y ago
  What has your experience been with self-hosting? I'd love to self-host a Mastodon instance that two-way mirrors my Twitter account and acts as a Twitter client (letting me pseudo-follow folks from Twitter). But in any case, I'd want to ensure that no content from people I follow gets mirrored/hosted on my own instance; the only content actually hosted on my own instance should be the content I post.

mirimir 7y ago

This is great. But damn: > Are there sites you won't link to? > Like a Mastodon instance, we reserve the right to work with whichever partners we prefer. We specifically will avoid at least these sites: > sites which encourage or are known for illegal activity Just what is "illegal activity"? According to whose laws? Given that Keybase servers are in the US, I suppose that means US law. And frankly, that sucks. But please do clarify.

bloopernova 7y ago

Keybase is certainly interesting. Is it possible to link up to your stackoverflow identity yet? How are people using Keybase right now? I added several of my accounts but I'm especially interested in the GPG encryption/signing.

dcbadacd 7y ago
StackOverflow integration sounds really cool. Wish they added Discourse support as well - hard to prove I'm me on all of these Discourse instances.
- bloopernova 7y ago
  Definitely! Would be nice to add "extra" verification via Signal too, or Google Authenticator. Although GPG's public key, if already known, provides a good source for that.
- xfalcox 7y ago
  Tracking the Discourse implementation here: https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-keybase-proof/115239?u=falco https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-keybase-proof/115239?...

charliebrownau 7y ago

Masterdon is filled with pods with Global Socialist LEFT admins and the always offended Dont expect to get free speech on most or almost all the servers on masterdon

charliebrownau 7y ago

I recommend people check out gab instead of twitter and diaspora instead of google plus Yet its been proven again and again and again that once the diversity circle takes effect the LEFT as a whole refuses to support diversity of viewpoint and will censor non left people on all platforms left admins exist on Even Diaspora has a massive infection of SJW , Diversity and "woke" people that are pro censorship

forgotmypw3 7y ago

I'm working on a web-based system that uses PGP key as identity. How do I integrate with Keybase?

AgentME 7y ago

Bug report: I just connected my Mastodon.social and Keybase profiles. On my Keybase profile, the "post" link next to my Mastodon.social profile link doesn't go directly to the proof post, but instead just links to my profile again.

founderling 7y ago

This seems backward. They want ActivityPub servers to apply to a central service (keybase) to offer cross server identities. And they want users to trust that central service to decide who is who. It's always amazing, how strong the force of centralization is. Even when the whole value proposition of a technology is that it is decentralized, users will soon flock to centralized services built around it and end up in the mercy of a few organizations again. Reminds me of all the people who think they hold crypto currency while in reality they "hold" yeah-we-promise-we-owe-you-somethings by some exchange. Reminds me of how little resistance the Ethereum elite faced when they flushed "code is law" down the toilet and forced all users to switch to a fork with rewritten history. What makes this attempt of centralization even more tragic is that it does not bring anything to the table. If you want to run a service that let's people claim they are joedoe@host1 and joe_the_doe@host2, just let them publish two messages. "I am joedoe@host1" on joe_the_doe@host2 and "I am joe_the_doe@host2" on joedoe@host1. Neither the integration with the hosts nor the crypto spiel is needed.

BinaryIdiot 7y ago
> It's always amazing, how strong the force of centralization is. This is because Mastodon is a UX nightmare because of the way they decentralized it. With Twitter you go on and you @ your friends / etc and you're done. With Mastodon you have to figure out where they are and if they're not all in the same place it becomes a nightmare to try and manage. I get it, decentralization can be great. But so far most of the implementations of decentralized social networks have been a UX nightmare for even the casual user.
- willvarfar 7y ago
  People managed to share email addresses, which are name@domain.
  - lifthrasiir 7y ago
    And the domain is predictable. There were (and still are) a two-part email form around the web, where the domain part is a drop-down list.

waferedpie 7y ago

Can someone explain Mastodon to me? Because I’m not really sure I “get” it. As I understand it, I need to register for Mastodon at some server ``foo``, and with this one single registration I can also access other servers ``bar`` and ``baz`` and read what their members post, but I’m not able to post on those servers myself, only on my original ``foo`` server. So what happens when ``foo`` goes under for whatever reason? Or what if the admins at ``foo`` decided to ban me from their server for whatever reason? Am I just shit out of luck now? And what if my friends decide to join Mastodon some time later, but they all agree to join ``bar`` leaving me the odd person out? I think I’ve read somewhere that it’s not possible to relocate my ‘home server’?

fiatjaf 7y ago
Yes, you are right. The entire ActivityPub concept is flawed, but not because you would be left alone in your server, it's the opposite: since you're interacting with your friends, your friends' server would then fetch all posts from your server and vice-versa, it will be as if there was just one server, but maintenance costs are now duplicated and the discovery process is not great also. These problems are less problematic the smaller the servers are, which makes me think the best structure would be one in which each user is its own server and just syncs to temporary syncing hubs when possible -- or maybe sync directly to other online peers they know. Oh, wait, that's what https://www.scuttlebutt.nz/ https://www.scuttlebutt.nz/ does! (Disclaimer: I don't use Scuttlebutt nor Mastodon nor anything like that, and I really thought about Scuttlebutt in the middle of my comment, not before.)

s09dfhks 7y ago

I'm not entirely sold on keybase. Why would I want my online presence 100% identifiable and traceable back to me? What is the appeal of this service exactly?