ploumNov 10, 2022

100 Mastodon myths:

1. Mastodon is hard.

FALSE. It’s a "soft"ware. Not hardware.

2. You have to use Linux to post on Mastodon.

FALSE. FreeBSD and OpenBSD are also supported.

3. You need to learn to use the Vim editor before posting on Mastodon.

FALSE. There’s also an emacs plugin.

4. Mastodon is only for computer nerds.

FALSE. As you can see, we sometimes try to make jokes that everyone could understand.

Show thread🐧DaveNull🐧 ☣️pResident Evil☣Nov 10, 2022
@ploum There’s also an emacs client, not plugin. A software that's meant to be installed on a full-blown OS and connects to a server is called a client 🤡
Show threadtessaraktFeb 16, 2025
@devnull @ploum but which editor would I use to write toots?
Show thread🐧DaveNull🐧 ☣️pResident Evil☣Feb 16, 2025

@tessarakt You mean there are other editors beside #vim? 🤔

You'd normally use "vim /tmp/toot.txt" obviously, then use your instance's API to actually post it 🤡

@ploum

Show threadMad Argon Feb 16, 2025
@devnull @tessarakt @ploum more seriously, is something like this technically possible on current mastodon versions?
Show thread🐧DaveNull🐧 ☣️pResident Evil☣Feb 16, 2025

@madargon Well, there is actually an API (for both Mastodon and some other Fedi stuff, either compatible or different APIs). As well as an official Mastodon python library, which might be overkill, depending what (and how¹) you'd use it for.

One could write a vim (or else…) plugin that would just read the currently open file, or script that uses $EDITOR to open your default editor² to write your post. Then makes HTTP POST request to send it to your instance using the API.

@tessarakt @ploum

Show thread🐧DaveNull🐧 ☣️pResident Evil☣Feb 16, 2025

@madargon

1. I'd recommend against using the library in a text editor plugin, as it makes starting that editor slower. It shouldn't be very hard to make API calls without Mastodon library.

2. The same way git uses the default text editor for commit messages when you 'git commit' without the '-m "Message"' part. It just open the default text editor with a comment/hint and let you write your commit message there. Saving means commit with the message. Quitting cancels commit.

@tessarakt @ploum

Show threadMad Argon 
@devnull @tessarakt @ploum I meant mostly that part with sending something directly to Mastodon API. Like manually sending request and it will be converted to a valid toot, nomally visible from UI and possible to interact with.
Feb 16, 2025 at 2:58pmWeb
Show thread🐧DaveNull🐧 ☣️pResident Evil☣Feb 16, 2025

@madargon I'd have to try on newer Mastodon versions without the Mastodon library, but as far as I can remember, it's just HTTP Post requests. curl works for text-only single post.

The script is mainly for EXIF extraction, default hashtags, as well optional stuff and mixing all this shit together.

The library is because I didn't know what features I'd use. Been 4 years that I'm like "I should add multiple images/threads support". Not sure how easy that would be without lib.

@tessarakt @ploum