Dave Troy 

A huge thank you to everyone who has offered to help offset costs for operating the toad.social servers! We aim to be a (small) but high-quality home for Mastodon users, with a focus on performance, stability, and civility.

If you'd like to donate on a one-time or recurring basis, we've setup an account at Donor Box. Thank you for your support! 

https://donorbox.org/help-support-toad-social

Help Support toad.social! | toad.social (Powered by Donorbox)

Thanks for supporting Toad.Social — and now also Social.Snorklr.com!With all the uncertainty surrounding Twitter, many democracy-minded activists have migrated to Mastodon to create a protected space rooted in open standards that is free from the ...

Nov 18, 2022 at 11:46pmWeb
Show threadMarina Ormes Nov 18, 2022
@davetroy can you suggest a recommended amount, e.g. based on number of users and cost? 
Show threadDave Troy Nov 19, 2022
@marinao whatever works for you, really. Recurring donations especially appreciated, as that will help us grow. $8/month has a nice ring to it. 😃
Show threadJustice💙 LICSWNov 19, 2022
I’ll move to monthly shortly, @davetroy 
Show threadnobodyzhome Nov 19, 2022

@davetroy
Great. Will be donating soon.

Would also be curious after you've run it for a few months what it costs per user to run. Up to you if you would like to share that info though.

Show threadDave Troy Nov 19, 2022
@nobodyzhome happy to be transparent about that, when we know. Right now it’s going to be somewhat dependent on bandwidth, and that’s not yet known. Appreciate the support either way.
Show threadTed Saves Everything Nov 19, 2022
@davetroy I love it here, I haven't been able to express myself untargeted for several years
Show threadMikeNov 19, 2022
@davetroy donated, thank you for this server. Feeling proud to be part of it.
Show threadMike FraserNov 19, 2022
@davetroy We have the same philosophy with a Canadian focus at thecanadian.social. 
Show threadNoelle Vann, PhDNov 19, 2022
@davetroy Has it already been created? New to this platform and want to join.
Show threadDave Troy Nov 19, 2022
@elle_vann yes. Sign up at toad.social.
Show threadNoelle Vann, PhDNov 19, 2022
@davetroy I searched for that and requested but it didn’t work. Do I need to do something else to join that server?
Show threadDave Troy Nov 19, 2022
@elle_vann just go there directly in your web browser.
Show threadNoelle Vann, PhDNov 19, 2022
@davetroy Hm. I’ve tried that but it rejects my username and password. I’ll have to troubleshoot.
Show threadSnimNov 19, 2022
@davetroy In an unrelated matter, I have to ask you a question: are you really the same Dave Troy who wrote a JavaScript geohash implementation 15 years ago? If so, that's a crazy coincidence--I used and/or referenced that code in the past! That's a pretty cool career switch you did!
Show threadDave Troy Nov 19, 2022
@snim heh yes that is my work! It even mostly works. ;) some weirdness at the boundary conditions if I remember. And yeah I’m still in tech but focusing on writing for a while, until our democracy is off life support at least, and am also using data/tech to inform analysis and journalistic work.
Show threadPaul AllenNov 19, 2022
@davetroy May I ask for some details of your hosting setup?
Show threadDave Troy Nov 19, 2022
@allenpg right now on a single AWS instance w 16gb, 4cpu, 320gb, plus Mailgun for SMTP to avoid sender reputation problems. Will likely break out Postgres and Redis onto their own boxes. Then probably Sidekiq.
Show threadPaul AllenNov 19, 2022
@davetroy Thank you!
Show threadJustice💙 LICSWNov 19, 2022
@davetroy @allenpg Greek to me 🤣
Show threadBrian DubeNov 25, 2022
@davetroy @allenpg I had been curious about this too. I'm seeing about 1200 MB idle memory demand for the default docker configuration, which does not include elasticsearch.
Show threadDave Troy Nov 25, 2022
@singlepotstill @allenpg I would recommend avoiding Docker and its overhead, if you can, unless you have some reason you need it. Elasticsearch only benefits an individual user searching their own posts, so I don't see a ton of utility for it.
Show threadRoss Martin Nov 19, 2022
@davetroy done. Thanks!
Show threadMel LeeNov 19, 2022
@davetroy done! Thank you for everything you are doing. I signed up for the $8 reoccurring ( couldn’t help myself hehe) but if you find that what it costs to host this requires more I will definitely change it.
Show threadDave Troy Nov 19, 2022
@Mellee thanks very much, appreciate the support! 🙏
Show threadRobert FriedmanNov 19, 2022
@davetroy thanks for setting this up and helping folks like me finally transition with confidence. I am going to throw in my support for the cost but it would help to see what’s already being contributed and what’s still needed on an ongoing basis. Wonder if you’d ever consider forming a governing board or coop structure to democratically manage this instance?
Show threadAW 🏳️‍🌈✊☮️🇧🇪🇺🇦Nov 20, 2022
@davetroy Would it be possible to add PayPal as a payment option?
Show threadDave Troy Nov 20, 2022
@etherealfields for several reasons, that's not doable at the moment.
Show threadAW 🏳️‍🌈✊☮️🇧🇪🇺🇦Nov 20, 2022
@davetroy Ok thank you for the quick reply :)
Show threadDaniel Schwarz Nov 22, 2022
@davetroy the one feature I’d really like to see is the Mastodon 4 toot translation functionality. I understand there’s a cost to do that (i.e. google translate API fees). Is there a donation level at which you’d consider turning it on?
Show threadDave Troy Nov 22, 2022
@dschwarz it’s on the list to do after a couple of other things… I’d expect it should be doable in the next couple of weeks.
Show threadBrian DubeNov 25, 2022

@davetroy Hello, I saw @jennycohn mention on another site that media storage is a problem for OSINT researchers on Mastodon.

Is donating to your instance the best way to help with storage?

I have a sandbox instance set up that is connected to S3 compatible storage to see what that looks like. I'm trying to picture how something like crowdfunded storage could be offered to the fediverse for groups like OSINT researchers.

Show threadDave Troy Nov 25, 2022
@singlepotstill @jennycohn I'm committed to storing everything local users post here, and have it saved in cloud storage. So yes, contributions you make will go towards funding that. In general, I think it's wise for folks to be wise to such risks though; if I get hit by a bus, that could affect stability here. However, I am not aiming to get hit by a bus soon.
Show threadDavid GerhartNov 26, 2022
@davetroy Encapsulates why I started my instance. There are so many ways to amplify reasonable voices. Thank you for yours.
Show threadSophia Newman Nov 28, 2022
@davetroy Gave $8 couldn't help myself
Show thread990205Nov 28, 2022
@davetroy have not yet been accepted into toad. Did ask before you hit 10,000. Just want to know should I quit watching for invite then as you had the cap? Not sure if I attempted wrong or ? Just clarifying. I’ll continue to follow from other server here … just clarifying since I am trying to get everything mastadon
Show threadDave PentecostNov 29, 2022
@davetroy done, and thanks! Your moonshot is accelerating nicely.
Show threadUnhackdemocracyDec 5, 2022
@davetroy gave $100 to start. Thanks for everything Dave!
Show threadDave Troy Dec 5, 2022
@unhackdemocracy thanks very much! :)