I'm kicking #jupitersGhost back off in earnest in several ways.

1) video game due out sometime next year, details to come.

2) hopefully, fully animated Cartoon series due out in late 25 or early 26. Details to come.

3) exploring a live action television program in the #JG universe.

4) doubling down on the original crowd sourced podcast, but with several improvements.

This will be a short thread (and I'm on mobile and only typing in my down time, so it may take a while for it to get finished) about what we have done so far and what we will be doing in the future, and specifically about how you can join the space corps and make a home among the stars.

First, recap: what is #JupitersGhost ?

Jupiter's Ghost is a community drive, creative commons cc-by-sa licensed podcast about the crew of a deep space vessel in the distant future.

It's supported by an in character social network and some other stuff.

Think Star Trek, but actually centering community values and not centering the military. It's the culmination of years of work, and something I've really cared about for a long time.

It's also probably the most popular thing I've ever personally done, with the first episode clocking in well over 30k downloads so far.

You can listen to our first two episodes at https://intergalactic.computer or wherever you find podcasts.

Those episodes are old now, becuase I had too many other things on my plate to give the show the love it needed to keep happening. First, my work commitments skyrocketed and consumed most of my free time, and then I quit my job and spent a year overhauling and rebuilding our businesses.

Along the way, several of my core contributors also had radical upheaval in their lives and ... well, next thing I knew two years had passed.

We have most of episode 3 recorded and I could probably edit it and release it, but I'm not happy with it.

I'm not happy with it becuase it's all my ideas. It is good, it is funny, but it's also basically entirely things that I wrote, and it features fewer external contributions than the first two episodes.

There is room in this show for me to write plots and scripts and, frankly, I'm good at it. I'm funny, and people like the things I write.

But my goal isn't to write this show, my goal is to write @jandrews and to have the rest of the show grow organically. This can and does work, but we don't currently have a good system for collaboration.

The existing infrastructure is a WordPress site with bbpress and buddypress and a groups plugin and ... I mean, it works but you'd have to be very highly motivated to deal with it becuase it is Messy and Conplicated and Fragile, and it's missing some important stuff (like the ability to share audio clips!)

It's too complicated. It needs to be simpler.

Simpler to interact with. Simpler to understand. Simpler to get started. Simpler to participate.

We need a wiki, we need storage, we need a place to plan episodes and a place for players/participants to leave story hooks for one another.

We have a matrix room and a goto social server. I want there to be a forum, but I don't think bbpress is the answer and maybe the forum just needs to be the matrix room.

I don't know, but I am figuring it out. I'm exploring different technological solutions, but I am also embracing the idea that no given technology solution will be sufficient.

Which brings me to our immediate next steps:

Immediate next steps for #JupitersGhost

I'm looking for crew members for the Jupiter's Ghost.

I'm looking for people to run other settings. ( see https://intergalactic.computer/social/ships-and-settings/ )

We're organizing on matrix right now, but I'll be setting up a standing video call for Sunday evenings (5:30 eastern) for new contributor onboarding and episode planning.

If you want in to either thing, hit me up.

I'm also looking at setting up a mail server or an allow-list fediverse server for planning in place of a forum.

We'll do account generation by invite and by hand, rather than through an automated process. We'll set up a wiki in a git repo and build the wiki from there.

There's no need for us to be clever. I'm putting people into places where there used to be technology.

We'll also open things up for more single person episodes and focus a little less on the Big episodes. The Big episodes will come out when they come out. The little episodes will happen a lot more often.

So, if you're looking at the state of the world and wishing to escape to a far future where these problems are history, and instead we have entirely new problems, reach out.

Learn about what we've done so far at https://intergalactic.computer/social

But this is a community project. Bring yourself, bring your stories, consider me a facilitator (and not a producer/director/etc.) It's not *my* story. It's for everyone. There's room for everyone.

(Well, not everyone. Nazis need not apply. Free Palestine.)

Why should Gene Rodenbury and George Lucas (and Paramount/Oracle/Larry Ellison and Disney) control our vision of the future?

Why should Larry Ellison get to decide which stories are real Star Trek and which ones are illegal?

Why should Bob fucking Iger have any say about who can and can't tell stories about the jedi?

Fuck that.

Culture should belong to communities, and that's why I started #JupitersGhost and the #solarFederation

This is your opportunity to tell the stories that matter to you and the people you care about.

You don't need my help or my permission, but I am offering both. CC-BY-SA

If you don't know where to start, I'm an open ear.

If you do know where to start, I'll stay out of your way but I'm happy to chat.

I went back through the #JupitersGhost tag and boosted some older posts and discovered something interesting.

It's been almost *exactly* a year since the last time I tried to revive this project, and in that time my ideas have not evolved significantly.

That says to me that I was on the right track a year ago, and just got overwhelmed with the logistics.

I'm not overwhelmed, but I am worried about the future, and some escapist, community drive, shared world science fiction seems like a good way to feel better about the future.

For now, if you find yourself wanting to participate, message me here.

So this is what I'm going to do today:

- Reinstall debian on my cheapest VPS,
- kick everything that is currently there over to other servers
- Point a domain name at it
- Set up a basic tilde server with a decent getting started MOTD, on box email (no outbound smtp, but can check mail through pop and imap)
- Set up an IRC server island and bridge it in to our matrix room (so that folks can join IRC or Matrix, rather than having to do both)
- Deploy some kind of messaging board software (Bulletin Board and Jelly? An actual news server?)
- Set up some basic help files, and a version controlled wiki that can only be edited by logged in users over ssh.
- Deploy a gemini server and also make the podcast episodes and lore available over gemini.

This creates some barriers to entry that I'm not thrilled about, but it gives me the most ability to Make Stuff for the universe and to shape it the way I want to shape it.

- *and* there are a bunch of ways to participate that do not involved sshing in.

(Email can be accessed from any email client.

I can set up some listener addresses to interact with the wiki, message boards, etc. from email.

If I do a news server, that can be access from any news reader.

If I do RSS feed stuff, as I tend to do, that can be accessed from any RSS reader.

Read only stuff can be snagged over the web or over gemini.

IRC and Matrix can have dedicated clients.

We can do audio log uploads with sftp using any ftp client, straight to a specific folder in the users home folder, and then I can set up a cron job to go collect them and notify everyone that they exist

and ...I could keep this list going, but I'm going to stop.)

- *and* ssh'ing in isn't actually that hard, and learning to operate a computer in that way 1) will feel appropriately scifi to people who don't do it on a regular basis, or at least it used to to me when I first started 2) is a valuable skill to pick up.

So uhhh

time to stop talking and start doing?

- Debian installed
- Everything else mostly migrated (fixing a broken thing, but it'll be fixed in a minute.)
- Basic tilde server in progress
- - I have apache installed, and /~ working
- - Still need to customize the motd, build out the /skel file, and set up email.
- I have not started on IRC, the message boards, or the rest of the nice to haves.

Okay update.

Debian installed.

Everything else migrated.

First broken thing fixed. Found another broken thing. Working on that.

In the meantime, apache is installed. /~ is working.

MOTD has been lightly customized, and a getting started script now exists.

I think I have email working, but I recall doing this to be a real pain in the ass the last time I did it and ... at least as of right now, it just appears to be working without issue? So I'm sure I haven't done something yet, and I'll have to start testing soon.

(Testing with thunderbird. Positive it won't work, but not sure what I'm missing.)

Yeah, I forgot the mx records lmao.

Okay, I'll try again in fifteen minutes.

Imap ... just worked immediately?

smtp is complaining about ssl.

So I'll fix that.

Alright, I fixed SSL and I set it up so that when I run certbot the imap pem file will be updated too and ...

Email is just working.

Granted, it's *local only* email, but it's *local only* email that works with deltachat, my phone's email client, and thunderbird. (so far)

@ajroach42 most probably you know about it but this reminds me very much of https://cosmic.voyage/

I don't know much more than what it says on the front page, it's been on my open tabs forever so that I don't forget to explore it but I haven't found the mindset to dive in.

I particularly liked the idea of logging in via ssh. The terminal as an interface is very much a retrofuture that still embodies the lost hope of computing in my mind.

Anyway, in the off chance you didn't already know it maybe you can find some inspiration from it, either technical, procedural or even literary.

Cosmic Voyage - Messages from Humanity's Stellar Diaspora

Cosmic Voyage is a public-access unix system and 'tilde' community based around a collaborative science-fiction universe. Users write stories as the people aboard ships, colonies, and outposts, using the only remaining free, interconnected network that unites the dispersed peoples of the stars.

@qwazix I *loved* cosmic voyage, and never gave it enough time, but if you dig around there are a few of my logs out there.
@ajroach42 Because they created them. 😕
@JustinMac84 larry elison didn't create shit. George lucas barely created shit.
@ajroach42 I'm still in. Overwhelmed with college and such at the moment, but I have been thinking about my character.
@KitMuse Awesome!
@ajroach42 The time is a bit short for me for that Sunday call (I feed at 4 central) but will do the best I can to make one.
@KitMuse I'm not married to the timeslot. I'll see what @TaxDan prefers.

@ajroach42 I'm interested, but I want to get caught up in the flavour of this story before I jump into being a crew member.

Can I just...start writing with the tag?

@jakimfett go for it

@ajroach42 aside from the Aliens! page, are there any Randross-specific lore resources I should know about?

Contemplating the feasibility of playing a Randross monk or exchange student serving as a cadet...thoughts on either of these as feasible entrypoint for a crewmember?

Aliens!

The Silent Helpers THE SILENT ROBOTS were created as Helpers by the vanished Builders in an age now forgotten. After a long time working alone, they gained sentience. Today they maintain the wondrous city-planet of the Builders, and travel amongst the stars to see what else they may create. Creat

Intergalactic Social

@jakimfett One of the crew members in the first two episodes is a Randross. There *might* be a little more lore tucked away somewhere that @Username_Here_ASAP wrote when he came up with the Randross, but I don't know where it would be if it exists.

A Randross Monk sounds like a *ton* of fun. Exploring the religions of the Randross seems absolutely fascinating, and it's basically brand new territory, so you can have fun.

An exchange student serving as a cadet would also be a great place to enter things, and it'd give us a kind of fun source of conflict in the whole "culture clash" element (young folks tend to be less good at handling surprises and culture shock, you know?)

Either of those could be a lot of fun, and both of them would slot nicely in to the universe.

@ajroach42 @Username_Here_ASAP excellent.

I have followup questions:
1) What would a Randross know about Jupiter's Ghost before signing on? (cc @egowjr )
2) Where would a new crewmember embark?
3) Who do I talk to about getting on the ssh for this?

(...as a sidenote...I've found Matrix to have immense overhead from the sysadmin side, as well as quite a lot of difficulty with dropped and improperly delivered messages. Does the context necessitate a high security environment, or could something like XMPP suffice?)

@jakimfett @Username_Here_ASAP @egowjr

1) That depends on how/why they signed up. They probably had basic "solar federation history" lessons regardless, but they might have joined up:
- Because a member of the JG saved their life on a distant planet
- For course credit
- Because they've always dreamed of it.

Think about it like what your average person from the US might know about Vietnam. It varies from person to person, surely, but the general answer is not much.

2) Could be anywhere. Might meet up at a station or on a mission or take a shuttle to join the ship. TRansport ships are common enough.

3) Me! What username do you want, I'll get it set up.

4) I was already running matrix, so I stuck a room on our existing server. XMPP would be fine if we weren't already using matrix. an IRC or XMPP bridge would be great.

@ajroach42 @Username_Here_ASAP @egowjr

1) I can work with that. Thanks.

2) Glorious. I'll improvise.

3) I'd like jakimfett please, thank you!

4) That makes sense, and I'm mostly looking at it from an overhead-minimizing standpoint.

4.a) Is matrix the preferred rallying point on this for the moment?

4.b) ...I've tallied so far the wordpress site, a fedi instance, the ssh interface, and the matrix server...kinda hoping that the ssh interface can be a / the primary way to engage, as I'm very burnt out on making new accounts and joining new things, but I'd very much like to join in...somehow...for story, not for tech-wrangling.

4.c) The idea of being able to ssh into the roleplaying environment (as if connecting to the ship itself), check local emails, upload personal logs, contribute to the wiki via version control, etc very much appeals, however I'm not entirely sure if that was what you were going for here, or something else.

@jakimfett @Username_Here_ASAP @egowjr

Yeah, I have a lot of overhead I need to minimize.

There isn't a preferred rallying point at the moment. There are more people on matrix than anywhere else, but it's sparse.

We have:

Wordpress - This was originally intended to be the main thing, but I don't like the way it works, and that's how I ended up starting the SSH server.

GoTo Social - This is intended to be an in character/in universe fediverse instance that we use for promoting the show. This was my first attempt at doing something better than buddy press.

Matrix - We use matrix for a bunch of other stuff, and several of the folks who were already doing other stuff in Matrix with us were contributing to JG, so we set up a matrix room. It's .. not very active. Like, 10 messages in a week would be abnormal.

Tilde/SSH - This is very much in progress, as I do all the tech wrangling to make it the primary interface, but the goal is for this to be the primary interface.

I want to bridge the best bits of what we already have so it's accessible from within the tilde (IRC or XMPP to matrix bridge, migrate the web pages over, built out the wiki, maybe use the tilde server account as an identity for the gotosocial instance.)

Then, I want to wind down a bunch of stuff that isn't working (the wordpress site, buddy press, bbpress.)

Then add in email and a list server, and some in-universe custom scripts/applications and then it becomes a more immersive thing.

So yeah, 4.c is the goal. I'm still working on making it happen that way, but it is my hope that that's where we land.

@jakimfett @Username_Here_ASAP @egowjr 3. I'll get your user account made next time I'm at a real computer.
@ajroach42 take your time, stories aren't built in a day and neither are computers. _^

Transport vessel BAK'RA III, en route to deep space rendezvous with #JupitersGhost, ship's log, temporary crew member T'sa:

(the recording snaps on with brief electronic feedback, and a voice like a heavy object dragging slowly through gravel begins to slowly dictate)

ALTHOUGH THIS RANDROSS HAS BEEN ASSURED THAT NO FORMAL DUTIES SHALL BE ASSIGNED, THE UTTERLY OVERWHELMING HOSPITALITY SHOWERED UPON ME FEELS LIKE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR RECIPROCITY.

(movement can be heard, the creaking of a chair as the occupant rises, and the voice volume rises and falls as the speaker paces to and fro)

THIS MANY-LEGGED VOYAGE HAS GIVEN FEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR MY WORK TO FLOURISH, FOR THE REGULATIONS STATE THAT A PASSENGER IS EXPECTED TO STAY QUIET AND OUT OF THE WAY OF CREW ABOARD HUMAN STAR VESSELS.

(the speaker's tone drops with this last statement, and a small pause carries a sense of disappointment in the silence)

HOWEVER, ON THIS FINAL LEG OF MY JOURNEY, I HAVE FOUND KINDRED AMONG THE STAR-FARERS, AND THEY EXPRESSED JOY AT THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE ONE OF THE MARKED WANDERERS INTO THEIR RANKS FOR THE BRIEF DURATION REMAINING BEFORE I EMBARK UPON JUPITER'S GHOST.

AND I, IN TURN, AM DELIGHTED TO EXERCISE MY CRAFT.

(a slight pause accompanied by clicks and reverberations of clasps unfastening, then the slight hum of an electric motor rises in the background before bell-like notes begin, and the voice of the speaker harmonizes roughly with the sounds)

(sound sample, for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9t1jc6pIuc )

I CALL TODAY
THE HARMONIES
OF LIGHT AND OF SHADOW
AND ALL THAT IS BEYOND.

(each phrase is accompanied by a paired chord of the notes)

FOR THESE KIN-FOLK
THOUGH BEYOND MY CLAN'S FOLD
HAVE SHOWN ME HONOR.

(the notes grow more complex, wavering in and out of hearing, as the speaker continues)

FOR I SEEK TO FACE
IN THE COMING DAYS
A CHALLENGE OF SUCH HEIGHT
NONE YET LIVING HAS ACHIEVED

(the notes grow staccato, almost frantic, pattering and pinging from the recording)

FOR WORD HAS COME
ACROSS THE VOID
THAT UPON THE VESSEL
OF JUPITER'S GHOST
AN ANCIENT ADVERSARY
HAS BEEN SIGHTED ANEW

(a massive crescendo of sound, matching the roar of the speaker, erupts)

MOUSE
OH MOUSE
THE MOUSE
SHALL I SEEK
THE MOUSE
SHALL I FACE
HO, MOUSE
MOUSE

(again the staccato notes patter from the recording)

NONE YET LIVING
HAS FACED THIS FOE
AND YET I GO
TO SEEK AND MEET
AND TEST MY METTLE
WITH MOUSE
THE MOUSE
MOUSE

(the notes spin in a final flourish, then wind to a close, and after a moment the electric hum fades, followed by the speaker's voice again)

THIS BALLAD I LEAVE AS WITNESS AND GIFT, THAT MY CLAN MAY KNOW OF MY RESOLVE, AND MY KIN-FOLK BE BLESSED BY THE HARMONIES OF LIGHT AND SHADOW.

I AM T'SA,
AND THIS I HAVE WOVEN.

(the recording ends with a crackle of electronic noise)

#randross

cc @ajroach42

Glassharmonica / Mozart Adagio K.356 by Thomas Bloch

YouTube
@jakimfett i love this and I'm looking forward to learning more about Randross religion.

@ajroach42 thank you, I quite enjoyed writing it!

...and just because I went down a bit of a rabbit hole on finding the exact right instrumental sound for this...here's a bit on the history of the glass armonica:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_kPOI5wPZE

Glassharmonica maker / Gerhard Finkenbeiner meets Alan Alda

YouTube
@ajroach42 that sounds very interesting!
@stefan I am trying to figure out exactly how long term collaboration will work, but if you're interested in an ssh account on our tilde or an invite to our matrix room, let me know.
@ajroach42 I love how this sounds. I've been dreaming of a non-military Star Trek show for ages.
@carturo222 Thanks! I think it's a pretty great project. I'll talk a lot more about it as we get new episodes out. For today, I'm mostly working on plumbing.