Mastodawn

RodBs Jan 15, 2023

FediTips has moved!

Twitter appears to have stopped third party Twitter apps from accessing their network, without any warning or explanation. The reason Twitter can do this is because they control twitter.com and there are no other servers to choose from.

This kind of instant shutdown cannot happen on Mastodon or the Fediverse, because there are thousands of independent servers running on free open software standards.

This is why third party apps are so much more widely used on Mastodon and the Fediverse.

FediTips has moved!Jan 14, 2023

p.s. These posts from third party Twitter app developer @paul are interesting:
https://tapbots.social/@paul/109684886363418765
https://tapbots.social/@paul/109685010188695190

The "Ivory" they're referring to is an upcoming third party Mastodon app they're also developing. you can follow it at @ivory to keep up with news about it.

Paul Haddad (@[email protected])

Almost 24 hours later and still no official/unofficial info from inside Twitter. I'm going to continue as if this was all done on purpose. What now? Ivory goes into hyper mode with just the absolute minimum 3-4 things that have to be done finished up and then off to Apple. Probably going to be a bunch of things I'm not super happy with but I guess we'll fix it in post. Hopefully everyone knows what we're capable of and can live with some, hopefully not long lived, rough edges/missing features.

tapbots.social

FediTips has moved!Jan 14, 2023

p.p.s. For a quick overview, there's an article about this issue on the Verge at https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/13/23553161/third-party-twitter-clients-apps-outage-twitterific-tweetbot

(Well done to the Verge for embedding a toot by the way!)

Some third-party Twitter apps appear to be broken

Some alternative Twitter apps appear to have broken early Friday morning, with no official word from Twitter on whether the issues are caused by a bug.

The Verge

gnarlygeek Jan 14, 2023

@feditips Gotta love The Verge!

Nate Jan 14, 2023

@feditips that passive voice headline tho….

Kevin Russell Jan 15, 2023

@feditips Hey! I want embedd a toot. It is by far the best way to communicate in important circumstances!

I use screenshots to make embeds, quote toots, but then add warning it cant be clicked, then I add the links again.

@feditips been using @ivory and has been amazing in beta.

Josh Jan 14, 2023

@ivory @paul @feditips

Planning on using @ivory as soon as it’s out!

@feditips @paul There's a Mastodon client for Android on the PlayStore that is also named #Ivory but I suppose it's totally unrelated. Apparently it came out in 2019 but is still in early access beta so pretty much abandoned I guess.

Damian Jan 14, 2023

@feditips @paul @ivory
Why are @paul posts so "detached" from normal Mastodon flow? I know it's a separated Mastodon instance but it does not seem to be an issue with other instances. Even following Paul was difficult to do

@sosnowski, I didn't have any trouble with following Paul or any of Tapbots Social accounts in the Fediverse. @feditips @paul @ivory

Jonathan Jan 14, 2023

@feditips @paul @ivory Ivory has been absolutely amazing to test!

Marti Abernathey Jan 15, 2023

@JonDigital @feditips @paul @ivory I agree 100%. I’m using Ivory, and it’s as good or better than Metatext. Given that Metatext development is ending, I am glad that Ivory is in development. I want to support tapbots as soon as I can financially.

Arkadiusz Świętnicki 🇨🇳 I HAVE MOVED Jan 14, 2023

@feditips Pleaseeeeeeee, even you? It can happen on any service. The so called Fediverse also uses the servers and migration is not trivial

FediTips has moved!Jan 14, 2023

No, it can't happen like this. Twitter has shut out third party API users instantly without warning or explanation.

That can't happen on a large federated network where each server is totally independent and decides for itself what software it runs.

There can be changes in APIs that cause app compatibility problems when a server upgrades, sure, but that's a gradual process that can be rolled back or forked if necessary. It wouldn't be without warning or explanation or alternatives.

Arkadiusz Świętnicki 🇨🇳 I HAVE MOVED Jan 14, 2023

@feditips If I create an instance that gets popular, I can rstrtict, remove, change API endpoints as I please

Jarai Jan 14, 2023

@Nuno @feditips only for your users to move to another instance and carry on their merry way.

Arkadiusz Świętnicki 🇨🇳 I HAVE MOVED Jan 14, 2023

@Jarai @feditips I mean, the migration is not trivial. Its just that what Fedi Tips said is not fully true, as it can happen here, just the damage is smaller

Scaine Jan 14, 2023

@Nuno it's pretty trivial.

Mark Jan 14, 2023

@Nuno @Jarai @feditips Hmm, I know several people who have migrated without issues, and these are not technical folks. Maybe you should clarify that *you* have difficulty migrating because I don't see evidence that it is a widespread thing.

neatchee Jan 14, 2023

@Nuno @Jarai @feditips You are missing the point. Twitter as an entire platform can remove all third party apps from the entirety of Twitter on a whim whereas here Mastodon in its entirety will not cease to allow apps at once. It literally can't happen because any change has to propagate through all the servers through an admin's choices to upgrade.

It's not the same, not even at a different scale. It's functionally different.

Moved to @[email protected]Jan 14, 2023

@Nuno @feditips And then people can just simply move to another instance.

OliverUv Jan 14, 2023

@Nuno @feditips yes, and your users can use other servers on the fedi and talk to basically everyone they could talk to before, with the apps they choose. Same is not true for twitter. Fedi isn't perfect but it isn't equivalent to twitter at all

fuomag9 Jan 14, 2023

@Nuno @feditips

And everyone can move off that instance and migrate to a new one, it’s even a supported feature

Flit 🦊 🔥Jan 14, 2023

@Nuno @feditips In this case, I can choose to migrate to another Mastodon instance that does not do this. I cannot do this on Twitter.

We are talking about Mastodon as a whole, as a decentralized platform - not individual instances.

Arkadiusz Świętnicki 🇨🇳 I HAVE MOVED Jan 14, 2023

@flit @feditips Of course i get it, but my point still stands. It doesn’t mean it cant happen here. Just the impact is smaller

@Nuno @feditips

Sure, but JUST on your instance then... just on one instance of many thousands... that's the point.

Alex Hansford Jan 14, 2023

@Nuno
If you stop honouring the Mastodon API (by amending the code/disabling services), you might stop being listed as a Mastodon server or could lose users that rely on other clients - e.g. Truth Social created their own island in the Fediverse that suits them fine.
On Twitter, you don't have any choice but to accept what they do if you want to stay on their platform.
It's not perfect, but I see the advantages.

Colin Rafferty MOVED Jan 15, 2023

@Nuno if you do that, you’ll also be breaking a bunch of things that make federation work.

So you won’t just be disabling ivory, but also removing basic functionality of your instance.

Frances_Larina Jan 14, 2023

@Nuno @feditips

Except in the Fediverse, someone or some company can simply use their own server and ensure it will always be available. Even without the rest of the 'verse.

Comfortably Numb Jan 14, 2023

@feditips so basically no more public API?

Experiencer (Mastodon)Jan 14, 2023

@feditips how long has it been broken? I've been using an RSS feed from nitter.poast.org and I'm getting posts as recent as 4:43pm GMT

John Koen 🏳️‍🌈 🎶Jan 14, 2023

@feditips @experiencersinternational #Twitterific #TwitterAPI

🏳️‍🌈Trentskunk🏳️‍🌈

@experiencersinternational
Only some stuff seems affected. Nitter seems to be working, as does the Tweetcaster client. FWIW.
@feditips

Stefan Scholl Jan 14, 2023

@feditips But some apps may refuse to work with certain servers.

(Not a criticism. The only red hats I own are merchandises of my local bank.)

Robert "Szkodnix"

@feditips Nitter seems to still work just fine.

Frances_Larina Jan 14, 2023

@feditips
3rd party Twitter apps have always occupied a DADT sort of place. But does this mean the official Twitter API is dead? Because...

2015-2022:

"Create an IoT Twitter Bot in 5 Easy Steps"

"Here's How Twitter Can Connect Us To The Internet Of Things"

"Leveraging the power of Twitter for Internet of Things (IoT)"

"Design, Implementation and Analysis of a Twitter-Based Social IoT Network"

cytokine_storm Jan 14, 2023

@Frances_Larina @feditips imagine controlling your house lights via a tweet 😂

Frances_Larina Jan 15, 2023

@cytokine_storm @feditips

omg

Christine McCloud Jan 14, 2023

@feditips when did this happen? I did use a 3rd party app last night & it worked ok.

Serion Jan 14, 2023

@feditips
Is this different than how Nitter accesses the site?

Gidi Kroon Jan 14, 2023

@feditips It doesn't seem generally true for third party apps, at least not yet, that Twitter cut them off. My interface with Twitter still worked a few minutes ago.

But the general point that it can happen is true of course. A little while ago Instagram restricted their api, essentially blocking all outside development. On the fediverse, no organisation controls all servers, so it indeed can not happen like that.

Charles Johnson Jan 14, 2023

Musk has not blocked all third party apps — just the most popular ones.

author_is_ShrikeTron🔠💉x5 Jan 14, 2023

@Green_Footballs Any that makes him lose ad revenue.

Shoq Jan 14, 2023

@Green_Footballs Are any of the blocked apps something other than a full blown client, as Tweetbot and Fenix were?

Charles Johnson Jan 15, 2023

I think they’re all full-blown client apps, alternatives to the “official” Twitter app. Which means they don’t generate any advertising income for Musk.

Se'eS Jan 14, 2023

@feditips I just hope enough companies have Twitter problems and open their eyes for alternatives

David W. Jones Jan 14, 2023

@feditips Well, I've occasionally logged into Twitter's website, but have never installed or used the official Twitter apps. 3rd party FOSS apps have been the only way I use Twitter for many, many years now.

Andreas, DJ3EI, he/him Jan 14, 2023

I announce my new mastodon home by writing it across my twitter profile picture.
https://twitter.com/Andreas_aus_MH/status/1614375570791436291

That German tweet says "bye, twitter, as my fdroid twitter app no longer works and I don't have nor want a Google play store account". For context on that, read the toot this one is an answer to.

Andreas Krüger on Twitter

“Ich habe auf meinem Android-Handy keinen Google Playstore, sondern bis jetzt eine Twitter-App von Fdroid benutzt. Die funktioniert nicht mehr. Tschüss, Twitter!”

Twitter

Andreas, DJ3EI, he/him Jan 16, 2023

@feditips
Can't view it anymore: My twitter account is gone for good. After some 10 years (but only some 60 tweets), I took it down.

Kingsley Uyi Idehen Jan 15, 2023

Yep!

#Web20 is the worst thing that happened to the #Web, and by effect: #Society at large.

Hopefully, everyone (developers in particular) have learnt invaluable lessons from this experience — thanks in large to #Twitter (under the stewardship of Elon and his team).

In tech there are no good silos!

Fenna Jan 15, 2023

@feditips
Just for your information, I read the birdsite via TweetCaster and that still works. But it's worrying what I hear about third party apps being shutdown, because using the official app is hopeless. I now have a chronological timeline of whom I follow. Just like here, how it should be.
But there's still some sports that I follow over there, like cycling, speedskating and mostly figure skating. That's just not possible here.

Sabrina 🇺🇦🇹🇼🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️Jan 15, 2023

Ping @liam_b
First indication I have seen on social media of the bird site’s exclusion of third-party apps.

edgeoforever 🍎Jan 15, 2023

@feditips I wonder if it’s by design or a consequence of their incompetence at this point (read Space Karen’s)

FunHouse Radio Jan 15, 2023

@feditips we use one and it seems to be working.

strongempatheticawarenessyoga Jan 15, 2023

my display name Jan 15, 2023

@feditips at least web clients still appear to be working...?

@feditips incoming souls

@feditips I was just looking for a desktop/web client that supports at least Twitter and Mastodon. Never mind I guess.