Mastodawn

Mastodon Migration

Mastodon just keeps getting better! Full text search is here!

Well, almost here...

Mastodon core engineer @renchap has just announced that version 4.2.0 beta3 is coming and will be rolled out to some instances within a few days. (https://oisaur.com/@renchap/110946188204729065)

This much requested capability has been in development for a long time and promises to transform Mastodon into a much more capable platform.

Thank you to everyone that has contributed to making search a reality.

Renaud Chaput (@[email protected])

Full text search has been merged in #Mastodon `main` branch, and will be in the next (and final?) 4.2.0 beta 🎉 It is opt-in, so it will take some time to be filled with people content as they enable their profile to be indexed, but this was one of the most wanted Mastodon features for some time. We plan to deploy it to mastodon.social and mastodon.online in the coming days to have a bit more feedback on it and see how it behaves in the wild.

Oisaur

Mastodon Migration Aug 24, 2023

BOOM 💥

One important thing to note, is that the search function will support modifiers...

"In addition, you get a whole lot of search modifiers for advanced search (no UI for those yet):

has:image / has:video / has:audio / has:media
has:poll / has:link / has:embed
is:sensitive / is:reply
language:en
from:account
before:2023-08-08
after:2023-08-08
during:2023-08-08"

(https://oisaur.com/@renchap/110946220406745505)

Folks, this is going to be great!

Renaud Chaput (@[email protected])

Full-text search allows you to search for words in the content of statuses (if your instance has ElasticSearch configured), compared to the current version which only allows searching for hashtags. In addition, you get a whole lot of search modifiers for advanced search (no UI for those yet): has:image / has:video / has:audio / has:media has:poll / has:link / has:embed is:sensitive / is:reply language:en from:account before:2023-08-08 after:2023-08-08 during:2023-08-08

Oisaur

Howard Chu @ Symas Aug 25, 2023

@mastodonmigration @renchap how about is:liked? Was always annoyed twitter didn't let me search tweets I've previously liked.

Renaud Chaput Aug 25, 2023

@hyc @mastodonmigration adding it to the ideas list, but iirc this was a bit more challenging as we would need to store all interactions into the search index to be able to search on them

Renaud Chaput Aug 24, 2023

@mastodonmigration Small mistake: beta3 is not yet released (probably next week), this has been merged into the main branch.

Mastodon Migration Aug 24, 2023

@renchap Ah, thanks for the correction. Will edit.

Edited post to say it will be rolled out within a few days. Sorry for the miscue.

Emil Jacobs - Collectifission Aug 24, 2023

@mastodonmigration @renchap does it require extra resources on the server end, like the earlier solution with ElasticSearch?

Cleo Menezes Jr. 🌵Aug 24, 2023

@mastodonmigration @renchap FINALLY!!!!!

happyborg Aug 24, 2023

@mastodonmigration @renchap

Or transform it into a closer mimic of a platform with different values.

I'll never opt-in to search, but everyone who does will nudge this platform closer to one which was designed with profit as it's primary motive. Not community, individual or collective well-being. Same with quote posts. 🤦‍♂️

Just because you're used to search doesn't mean that search was in your interest. 🤔

Louis Couture Aug 24, 2023

@mastodonmigration @renchap yo this is completely unreadable even for people with mild vision impairment. Please caption your images. It takes like 5 minutes

Mastodon Migration Aug 25, 2023

@louisrcouture @renchap Apologies. Always intend to add alt-text, but forgot this time. Updated the post with a short description of the screenshot.

Louis Couture Aug 24, 2023

@mastodonmigration @renchap I have to force my eyes and I have my contacts on. Too bad

Voline Aug 25, 2023

@mastodonmigration @renchap @riamaria
Heck yeah!

smaroukis Aug 25, 2023

@remindme 1 week

Remind Me Aug 26, 2023

@that_marouk_ish Ok, I will remind you on Thursday Aug 31, 2023 at 7:19 PM PDT.

Remind Me Sep 1, 2023

@that_marouk_ish Here is your reminder!

Daniele10 Aug 25, 2023

@mastodonmigration @renchap Will the export feature work again with this update?

Renaud Chaput Aug 25, 2023

@daniele_Hesse @mastodonmigration I am not aware that it is broken. Can you provide more details?

Daniele10 Aug 25, 2023

@renchap @mastodonmigration recently our server was down I tried to do a full back up with it, returned to being online. I got a message saying it was backing up but you can do every seven days, but it never completed or offered me a download. I was using Firefox. I haven't seen the back up options and other programs are use on the iPad.

lucas 🎺Aug 25, 2023

@mastodonmigration @renchap oh finally

Baral'heia Stormdancer ΘΔ🐲Aug 25, 2023

@mastodonmigration While I'm happy it's an option for those who want it, I'm very glad you can opt out of it tbh. It's been an incredible breath of fresh air to not have swarms of bots replying to random posts that mention words like shirt or commission like back on the Birdsite. Full text search will enable that kind of crap to start taking off here and I ain't here for it.

The Spoonless Kitchen Aug 26, 2023

@baralheia @mastodonmigration

Can someone, anyone, DM on HOW to opt out of full-text search? Before it goes live?

Thanks.

Baral'heia Stormdancer ΘΔ🐲Aug 26, 2023

@thespoonless @mastodonmigration If I'm not mistaken, it's as simple as unchecking the circled option in the screenshot that Mastodon Migration posted. But that option won't appear until your instance upgrades to the new software.

Boris VAN HOYTEMA Aug 25, 2023

@mastodonmigration

Can I excluse my Toots from search to keep the trolls at bay?

@renchap @pietervaneverdingen

Renaud Chaput Aug 25, 2023

@Bo @mastodonmigration @pietervaneverdingen the feature is opt-in, if you do not explicitely enable the setting then your content will not be indexed

Boris VAN HOYTEMA Aug 25, 2023

@renchap
Awesome! Thanks for the great work.
@mastodonmigration @pietervaneverdingen

Madies Scythian Aug 25, 2023

@mastodonmigration @renchap Excellent. These features are released as "opt-out", and enabled by default?

Renaud Chaput Aug 25, 2023

@madies @mastodonmigration No, this feature is opt-in, and you will need to explicitly allow your content to be indexable in the new privacy settings.

Madies Scythian Aug 25, 2023

@renchap @mastodonmigration Thanks.
I'll mention @randahl here, because he spoke about search features a few days ago. This may be of interest to him.

Randahl Fink Aug 25, 2023

@madies Thanh you.

@mastodonmigration @renchap CC @iamsk @Pisith

Malte Petersen Aug 25, 2023

@Psy_Fer_ consider updating to 4.2+?

@biodatacore yea I think I'm only going to update on major stable releases (including patches, etc). Very excited to update once it's out of beta though.

interglossa Aug 25, 2023

@mastodonmigration
I thought @Gargron intentionally left out text search and quote toot to deprecate monetizing the site as well as internet flame culture. This conversation must have been resolved though since he just boosted this news.

@mastodonmigration @renchap

Finish making account migration COMPLETE and easy ( 1 click ).

The Spoonless Kitchen Aug 26, 2023

@mastodonmigration
And how do we opt OUT of this please?

Mastodon Migration Aug 26, 2023

@thespoonless Just keep the box in Preferences under Search unchecked.

The Spoonless Kitchen Aug 26, 2023

@mastodonmigration Thanks! I haven't been on Mastodon much recently. I haven't been "online" online much recently....practicing #degrowth comes with a lot of front-loading for future-proofing it seems.