Retiring BlendIT: the BSD Cafe's Lemmy instance

After careful consideration, I've decided to retire BlendIT, our Lemmy instance, effective 1st May 2026.

This is not a decision I take lightly. Every service at the BSD Cafe is something I care about, and shutting one down always feels like closing a table in the bar. But part of being a responsible barista is knowing when something isn't working - for us.

Lemmy is a valid and interesting piece of software, and I have respect for the project and the people behind it. However, managing it in a context like the BSD Cafe has proven to be more difficult than I can sustain. The resource demands, particularly around media storage and retention, grow in ways that are hard to control, and the maintenance overhead has become significant for what is, ultimately, a community-run infrastructure with limited resources. There are also concerns around GDPR compliance, as the software's approach to media retention makes it difficult to ensure that data is handled and removed in accordance with European regulations.

On top of that, we now have Billboard, a federated forum that fits naturally into the BSD Cafe's ecosystem. With Billboard available, maintaining two overlapping solutions for the same purpose no longer makes sense. Rather than spreading our energy thin, I'd rather focus on what works best for us.

None of this is a judgment on Lemmy as a project - it simply isn't the right fit for us, here, now.

If you have content on BlendIT that you'd like to save, please do so before 1st May. After that date, the instance will be permanently shut down and its data removed.

Thank you to everyone who used and contributed to BlendIT.

The table is closing, but the bar is very much open - and there's always room at the counter.

Stefano, your Barista

#BSDCafe #BSDCafeServices #BSDCafeUpdates #BSDCafeAnnouncements #BlendiT

I’ve previously mentioned having trouble managing BlendIT, but I’m going to give it another try.

Tomorrow, 5th February, I’ll be running an experimental update.

I managed to compile everything in my test jail, but we’ll have to see if the actual upgrade succeeds.

I will be taking the service down for a few hours - exact timing depends on my schedule - but since usage is low, it shouldn't be an issue.

I will post updates here and on https://status.bsd.cafe.

#BSDCafe #BSDCafeServices #BSDCafeUpdates #BSDCafeAnnouncements #BlendIT

Dear friends of the BSD Cafe,

The Lemmy instance (BlendIT) has been causing issues for a long time. Updating it is problematic—it doesn’t compile easily on FreeBSD, requires a huge amount of resources, and fails to delete old remote media. Recently, it has also started throwing unknown errors that are nearly impossible to debug.

Unfortunately, I can no longer rely on it.

I'm sad to announce that this will likely be the first BSD Cafe service to be retired. I can't trust it at this level of reliability, I can't let it grow indefinitely, and I can't stop upgrading it while letting it run in this state.

I’ll take another look at it, but—though it pains me to say this—please be prepared for this possibility.

#BSDCafe #BSDCafeServices #BSDCafeAnnouncements #BlendIT

BlendIT (https://blendit.bsd.cafe) has been updated to Lemmy 0.19.1

@stefano

#BlendIT #BSDCafeUpdates #BSDCafe #BSDCafeServices

Dear friends of the #BSDCafe and the entire #Fediverse,
currently, downvotes are enabled on the BlendIT Lemmy instance.
It's not a problem, but should I keep it enabled or disable the option?

#BSDCafe #BSDCafeServices #BlendIT

🎉 Exciting News from BSD Cafe! 🚀

After a long journey in my mind, the BSD Cafe project is finally taking shape. Registered the domain a year ago, and last July, I unveiled the first piece: our Mastodon instance. Since then, Miniflux, Matrix, and recently, our public Wiki have joined the family, inviting everyone to contribute.

The community's response has been overwhelming, far exceeding my expectations. It's clear there's a thirst for modern, decentralized, open tools to nurture our favorite BSDs and our community.

One early idea (also suggested by many) was a forum. However, existing BSD forums felt repetitive. I craved something more modern, decentralized.

After weeks of experimentation, I'm thrilled to announce another cornerstone of BSD Cafe: BlendIT!

https://blendit.bsd.cafe is a Lemmy instance centered on our beloved BSDs and more. For those unfamiliar, Lemmy is a decentralized, federated alternative to Reddit, compatible with ActivityPub. Meaning, yes, you can follow and interact with Lemmy communities from Mastodon and other Fediverse software.

Lemmy isn't just a Mastodon clone. While Mastodon excels in microblogging without algorithms, where old statuses fade into oblivion, Lemmy keeps everything organized, using algorithms to manage newsfeeds.

BlendIT aims to be a hybrid - a mix of a Forum, Wiki, Mastodon instance, and more - all seamlessly integrated into the Fediverse.

I've set up some basic communities where users (registration is open and manually approved like Mastodon) can create news, discuss, vote, and even follow communities from other Lemmy instances.

BlendIT (a play on Reddit, symbolizing the blend of our diverse BSD OS), like the Wiki, could become a vital tool for spreading information about our favorite BSDs - but only with your help.

Let me know if you encounter any issues or have suggestions. Happy registering!

@stefano

#BSDCafe #BSDCafeServices #BSDCafeAnnouncements #BSDCafeUpdates #Lemmy #BlendIT #OpenSource #Fediverse #CommunityBuilding #FreeBSD #OpenBSD #NetBSD #DragonFlyBSD #Linux #IT #SysAdmin #Fediverse #NewInstance