fediverse

A big thank you to those who contributed to making this release, translating, writing documentation, providing emotional support and promoting PieFed! None of this would happen without you all.

New hotness

Pronouns - when you put pronouns into Extra Fields on your profile that is used as a flair in all communities where you haven’t set a flair yet
Private communities - no federation, only certain roles (depends on the community) can invite new people. Posts inside are only visible to members.
Mastodon can now quote-boost PieFed posts
Plain http web UI (no SSL required) with SSL used during federation - see http://retro.piefed.com
Downvotes can be turned off completely in a community, not just instance-wide
Admins can sticky a post on the home page, not just mods in their communities
Auto-delete of replies on remote instances when reply author has been blocked by parent content author (only works in PieFed communities due to a ActivityPub limitation)
On home page when showing number of replies a post has, calculate the sum of the replies on all cross-posts and display that
New users can only do 3 posts in their first 24h, to reduce floods of posts by that guy who keeps deleting his accounts and making new ones

More good stuff

Improve emoji federation compatibility
Change order of emoji in picker to present most-used ones first
Daily time limit on usage to help people use PieFed less (released in 1.5.2)
A way to report posts that need to be tagged as AI generated
Better accessibility
Improved handling of bold and italics in markdown parsing
Don’t accept votes from people the author has blocked
Admins can resend email address verification email
Admins can add notes to instances to keep track of defederation reasons, etc
Search form has been simplified
Option for admins to disable the em-dash detector
Multiple minor bugfixes and security enhancements

To upgrade from 1.5.x

git pull git checkout v1.6.x

At this point you might see an error message about a merge conflict with compose.yaml. To preserve your custom compose.yaml you will need to copy it somewhere else, then git checkout compose.yaml then git pull again. This time the pull will succeed so after that copy your custom compose.yaml it back, overwriting the one from git.

Then,

./deploy.sh or ./deploy-docker.sh

If you had to do the compose.yaml fix up earlier then you might want to compare what you have with https://codeberg.org/rimu/pyfedi/src/branch/main/compose.yaml and manually copy and paste some improvements in particular the command: part of the db container which tunes postgresql for performance. Adjust the numbers for your system.

This time the database migrations will not take long.

Donations

PieFed is free and open-source software while operating without any advertising, monetization, or reliance on venture capital. Your donations are vital in supporting the PieFed development effort, allowing us to expand and enhance PieFed with new features.

Donations can be made via Patreon, Liberapay or Ko-fi.

Takahe has limited support for this type: See Original Page

I had the opportunity to attend FOSDEM 2026 virtually, and I spent almost all of my time in the [Social Web](https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/track/social-web/) track.A few themes kept coming up across talks. Some were explicit, some were between the lines. Either way, they prompted a bunch of thoughts I wanted to capture.DISCLAIMER: AI was used to help me organize and improve the flow of this post. Ideas and thoughts expressed are my own. ## Hosting is hardIn [*Building a sustainable Italian Fediverse: overcoming technical, adoption and moderation challenges*](https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/VKHGXT-building_a_sustainable_italian_fediverse_overcoming_technical_adoption_and_moder/), there was a moment (not the main focus of the talk) where hosting came up in a way that really stuck with me. I’m paraphrasing, so apologies if I misrepresent anything, but the gist was:- Hosting Mastodon is hard, so we simplify with hosting services like Masto.Host- Hosting PixelFed and PeerTube is easier thanks to appliances like YunoHostBased on my own experience, that rings true, with some nuance.Getting Mastodon running isn’t actually the hardest part. The self-hosting docs are good enough in my opinion, and that’s how I originally stood up my instance at [toot.lqdev.tech](https://toot.lqdev.tech/@lqdev). I even maintain guides for [cleanup](https://lqdev.me/resources/wiki/mastodon-server-cleanup/) and [upgrades](/resources/wiki/mastodon-server-upgrades/) that largely mirror the official Mastodon documentation and release notes.The harder part is everything after provisioning.Mastodon (especially with federation enabled) can be resource-intensive, and that cost shows up fast even on a single-user instance. If I’m not staying on top of maintenance, disk fills up. Every few weeks, my instance will go down because I’ve run out of storage. Add database migrations, which can be error-prone, and you end up with a setup that’s straightforward to launch but expensive to operate. You pay in money for a big enough server, and you pay in time for ongoing maintenace.I still want to participate in the Fediverse, but I don’t want to keep paying the maintenance tax for Mastodon. That’s one of the reasons [I implemented ActivityPub on my static site](/notes/website-now-natively-posts-to-the-fediverse-2026-01-22/) instead.On the PixelFed side, I did try to self-host it once, and I couldn’t get it working cleanly from scratch. Some of that is on me (I’m not familiar with PHP), but either way, YunoHost was a lifesaver. With YunoHost, I had PixelFed up and running quickly, and what that ecosystem provides is genuinely impressive.That said, I also learned the “operations” lesson there too. During an upgrade, something went wrong with the database, it got corrupted, and I couldn’t restore from backup. I ultimately took the instance down. I’m willing to attribute that to user error, but it still reinforces the bigger point.The promise of federation and decentralization is that you can stand up your own node for yourself, your family, a school, a company, a city, even a government. In practice, that’s still too hard for most people unless they use appliances like YunoHost or managed hosting like Masto.Host.And yes, those options mean giving up some control. But even with that tradeoff, I’d argue it’s still better than centralized platforms.As someone fairly technical and a little extreme about owning the whole stack (I implemented my own static site generator, Webmentions service, and now ActivityPub), I still find this hard. I can’t imagine how unapproachable it feels if you’re not technical. I just wish it were simpler and more cost-effective to run these services without needing either deep system administration knowledge or active ongoing maintenance.## One identity, many post typesIn the talk, [*How to level up the Fediverse*](https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/HVJRNV-how_to_level_up_the_fediverse/), Christine and Jessica talked about ActivityPub implementations and touched on something that really resonated with me.The idea (again, paraphrasing) was that splitting content types by app (video goes to PeerTube, images go to PixelFed, microblogging goes to Mastodon) might not be the right long-term model. Instead, they suggested something closer to one place to publish and follow people, with rich post types handled in one identity and one experience.That immediately made me think about Tumblr.When I first heard [Tumblr was planning to implement ActivityPub](https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/21/tumblr-to-add-support-for-activitypub-the-social-protocol-powering-mastodon-and-other-apps/), I was excited because Tumblr is already “that kind of app.” You can publish videos, photos, polls, longer posts, and everything in between, all in one place. There was also talk about [moving Tumblr to WordPress](https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/28/tumblr-to-move-its-half-a-billion-blogs-to-wordpress/), which (in theory) could make ActivityPub integration even more powerful. But as of now, [Tumblr’s ActivityPub work seems to be paused](https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/01/automattic-puts-tumblr-migration-to-wordpress-on-hold/).The more I think about it, the more this model makes sense, especially because the most important part isn’t the “single app.” It’s the single identity.You should have one account where your content originates. Then people can consume it from different experiences. Maybe that is a video-focused client, maybe it is an image-first view, maybe it is a Mastodon-like timeline. The key is that you do not need separate accounts everywhere.That’s essentially how I think about my website.My site is my digital home and my identity. I post different content types which align with [IndieWeb post types](https://indieweb.org/posts#Types_of_Posts):- Articles- Notes- Responses (reposts, replies, likes)- Bookmarks- Media (photos and videos)- RSVPsPeople can follow via RSS. And more recently, I implemented my own ActivityPub support so my posts generate native ActivityPub activities. That means Mastodon and other clients can follow and interact with my site directly.What I like about this is that it decouples publishing from consumption.I choose where I publish (my site). Others choose how they consume (their client). The protocols handle the translation.## The web is already social and decentralizedIn Social Web conversations, sometimes the tone implies the "social web" is separate from "the web".I don't really buy that.The web is social because people are on it. People use it to learn, create, find community, do commerce, argue, collaborate, share memes, and everything else. The web is also decentralized by default. That's the baseline architecture.Dave Winer recently wrote about software being ["of the web"](http://scripting.com/2025/11/24/141418.html). Software that's built to share data, accept input, produce output, and let users move their data. Not locked into silos.This is why I'm so bullish on a different architectural approach: **start as a website, add social capabilities as components.**People are already using WordPress, Ghost, and Micro.blog to build sites. With an ActivityPub plugin, your existing web presence becomes followable and interactive in the Fediverse. The site remains a site. It just gets socially interoperable.Bridgy Fed reinforces this. It takes what already exists on the web and helps it participate in social protocols, without forcing you to rebuild as a native social app first.That's also my own setup. My website worked as a publishing platform and people could follow via RSS. When I implemented ActivityPub, it became progressively enhanced. Same posts, new social vocabulary. I didn't have to abandon my site. I just made it speak the social language.## Modular and extensible feels like the right directionThis is the architectural vision I took away from Bonfire: [Building Modular, Consentful, and Federated Social Networks](https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/3QHALR-bonfire_building_modular_consentful_and_federated_social_networks/).The "opt-in pieces" approach is about choosing which parts you want, evolving your experience based on what you enable. It echoes [small pieces loosely joined](http://scripting.com/2026/01/30/140150.html). It's a practical model for a federated future:- Start with the basic web- Add social capabilities as components- Get progressively more powerful as you opt inYour site still works normally. When you speak the lingua franca of protocols like ActivityPub, you can express social intent in a way other systems understand.So it's not "the web vs the social web." It's the web, with richer native social vocabulary.## ConclusionThis probably reads like I’m nitpicking, but I’m genuinely bullish on federated and decentralized networks. That’s why I’m still participating.What stood out to me at FOSDEM this year is momentum. Last year, the Social Web track was a half day. This year, it expanded to a full day. That signals to me that there are a lot of smart, passionate people working across protocol design, UX, moderation, policy, community, activism, and implementation, trying to build real alternatives to entrenched silos.And the plurality of implementations is a strength. It encourages exploration, competition, and innovation.My hope is that the “end state” isn’t a separate social web you have to join. It’s a web that continues to work as expected, but gets progressively enhanced when you opt into interoperable social protocols.Ultimately, there isn’t “the web” and “the social web.” There's just the web, and social vocabularies that participants can adopt without thinking about it. Takahe has limited support for this type: See Original Article

Good Morning Everyone,

The good news is, it's been more than three weeks since our last begpost!! We're both still employed and it looks like my upcoming average weekly hours are on the mend after the usual first-quarter retail slump.

The bad news is, we're still struggling a little to get on our feet. The increase of aforementioned scheduled work hours won't happen for several more weeks, so funds will be tight for a bit longer.

On top of that, we've had multiple one-off expenses; my partner finally convinced me to allow my six-year-old Pixel 4 to rest in peace, which will piss me off til the end of time because I know I could get at least a couple more years out of it if the damned battery weren't welded on. Fucking planned obsolescence.

It got to the point where it was getting very, very warm during charging and was almost unusable unless strapped to a wireless battery charger (the USB port ceased charging a couple years ago). We figured since I'm walking and/or riding the bus home from work late at night it might be a good idea to have a lifeline.

The phone replacement was probably the most significant expense this month, but we've also needed to address things or difficulties that we had indefinitely postponed due to our precarious poverity living situation the past two years until the #Fediverse gave us the chance to stage a true, honest-to-goodness comeback for the first time in our lives. We finally have all-purpose cleaner and Softscrub again after years of just.. not cleaning anything. Our pantry is slowly becoming stocked. An upgraded Crock-Pot (on a killer sale) gives us much more flexibility than the 2-qt slow-cooker we've always used.

We still need to get the oil changed, replace the wiper blades to have functional windshield wipers, and get the dog to the vet for the first time in almost five years. But.. one step at a time. We're still recovering and can't do everything at once, much as we wish we could.

Anyway since I'm off today and tomorrow, I have no daily pay advances to guess about which means I can start fundraising a couple days earlier this time, which is always helpful.

I realize this amount is even *greater* than what we needed at the beginning of January for rent, which seems like we're going backwards; but as I mentioned above, we had a substantial expense replacing my phone in addition to lower than usual weekly work hours and the cost of replenishing our pantry and fridge and so on. Without those almost exclusively one-time (or at least quite rare) expenses, this amount would be less than half.

So.. I must respectfully ask for your #MutualAid help yet again. I know things are.. awful everywhere. Everyone needs help right now; I can't begin to imagine what others are going through right now. I know there are so many, many people who need help. But if you can pitch in, we would be deeply grateful.

If you're willing AND able, please boost and if possible donate. If you can't donate, *do NOT feel guilty* for being in the same boat as us. Your feelings about it are valid but rest assured you needn't feel bad.

Venmo: https://venmo.com/thegizmotwins
Cashapp: https://cash.app/$thegizmotwins
PP: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/gizmo1982
GFM: https://gofund.me/12171be3

#Solidarity #MentalIllness #BPD #PTSD @mutualaid