StrypeyJan 26

Does anyone else struggle with a kind of Cassandra Complex about decentralised network tech?

Like, we can imagine a whole different world, better for people and our environments, that could be built on existing tech. But hardly anyone seems to know or care about this amazing potential. I've long felt the same way with renewable energy.

The main thing holding us back from these radical transitions in most people's willingness to put up with the status quo. Or maybe just a learned helplessness?

Show thread@iveylineJan 26
@strypey Also not feeling confident to make the change e.g. from microsoft to Linux. I have often read that you need someone who knows how Linux works to assist with making the change.
Show threadPeteJan 27
@Iveyline @strypey Forgive me for butting in, but it all depends on what your needs are, as to whether Linux will work for you, and how hard it is. If your computing needs are simple home office sort of things, it will probably work well. If you have more specialised needs, you need to do some research before making the change.
For example, I have no IT training, but have switched fully to Linux and have set up my own personal cloud server. The latter with Claude AI holding my hand every step of the way!
There are versions of Linux now that make converting a PC to Linux very simple now, and unless you have special requirements, you can do it without diving into the terminal at all.
You can also try Linux without making any permanent changes to your computer at all AND there is the dual boot option, where you can keep your Windows system and install Linux alongside it.
Happy to talk to you about my experience if you like, but I have already warned you I am not an expert!
Show threadStrypeyJan 27

@98Percent
> I have no IT training, but have switched fully to Linux and have set up my own personal cloud server. The latter with Claude AI holding my hand every step of the way!

Great stuff! Have you written about the transition? A HowTo from a newbie POV would potentially be really helpful to others who want to make the switch but feel the lack of confidence @Iveyline talked about.

Show threadStrypeyJan 27
@98Percent
BTW @lightweight mentioned you're part of a group in Motueka who support each other in doing these IT transitiona. I pop through there from time to time. Do you have meetings I could attend next time I'm there, or anything like that?
Show threadPeteJan 27
@strypey @lightweight Currently the nearest thing to a face-to-face group is the Repair Cafe. The majority of my
"clients" are of a certain age, so I've set up a Facebook group, Linux Learners Tasman, which you would be welcome to join if you have a FB account.
I am also fortunate enough to have had a person with vast knowledge of UNIX and Linux systems make contact with me. He has set up a user group with a help forum. It's currently not in active use, but you would be welcome to join it at www.island42.net/tlg/
My plan this year is to get a user group going, with monthly meetings.
Whenever I convert a person's computer to Linux, I always provide contact details for support, but Linux has come so far that I get few calls for help.
Show threadStrypeyJan 27

@98Percent
> He has set up a user group with a help forum. It's currently not in active use

It's up to @lightweight but if your forum is using AP-enabled forum software like Discourse or NodeBB, maybe we could federate it with;

https://community.iridescent.nz/

So your local forum would be appear as a category there, and some of us could share our experience when that helps. Our sporadic forum discussions could be a category on your forum, for anyone who's interested in what we talk about.

Forum for all the flavours, colours, and communities of Aotearoa NZ

This is a place for people interested in collaborating openly.

Forum for all the flavours, colours, and communities of Aotearoa NZ
Show threadPete
@strypey @lightweight It's on phpBB fourm software (which I know nothing about).
Jan 28 at 12:53amWeb
Show threadStrypeyJan 28

@98Percent
> It's on phpBB fourm software

Oh wow, old school. I can't find any evidence of AP support for phpBB.

But FYI I did find LemmyBB, an alternative client for Lemmy that uses phpBB styling (by borrowing some of their GPLv2 code);

https://lemmy.world/post/10825

#forums #phpBB #LemmyBB

@lightweight

LemmyBB, a new frontend based on phpBB - Lemmy.World

Lemmy is structured in a way that backend (database, api, federation etc) and frontend (html, css, javascript) are completely separate. This makes it possible to create other frontends which can take the place of lemmy-ui. I have long been playing with the thought of having a Lemmy frontend that looks more like a traditional forum. Now I finally found some time to work on this, and get an initial proof of concept working. [https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/91170cff-8737-4a84-b70d-5e2c4d85bf72.png] [https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/da0d0bd8-5dcd-4ea8-a3ab-3b8eabf8b85a.png] To reduce the amount of work, the project uses HTML templates and CSS themes from phpBB [https://www.phpbb.com/], which are open source under GPLv2. This also has the advantage that many preexisting phpBB themes can be used for lemmyBB. It is written in Rust, because it allows for tight integration with the Lemmy API, and is generally a great language for webservers. For now the funcionality is very basic, but nonetheless its already usable. You can: - browse the local post listing - browse comments - login and logout - create new posts and comments To give it a try, run the following commands on your local computer, replacing lemmy.ml [http://lemmy.ml] with your own instance: git clone https://github.com/Nutomic/lemmyBB.git LEMMY_INTERNAL_HOST=https://lemmy.ml cargo run If there is any specific feature that you would like to see added, please open an issue [https://github.com/Nutomic/lemmyBB/issues]. For now there arent any instructions for deploying lemmyBB to a server. If you would like to do that, please open an issue as well. This post was made from lemmyBB.

Show threadStrypeyJan 28
@98Percent @lightweight
If your forum is new and hasn't really had much uptake yet, maybe you could create a category on the iridescent forum to replace it? That would save the host having to maintain it, and put more cats in one sack ; )
Show threadPeteJan 28
@strypey @lightweight I actually know nothing about this subject!
My colleague is the one who built and runs the bulletin board. And yes, he is retired after 40+ years experience with UNIX and Linux, so it's quite possibly an old-school platform that he is familiar with.
I'll talk to him.
Show threadStrypeyJan 29

@98Percent
Just for clarification, when I say;

> maybe you could create a category on the iridescent forum to replace it?

... I'm using Discourse terminology, where a 'category' is the term for a subforum within a forum, with its own mods, etc. The advantage being that many groups can pool their resources to run one forum server, while still having their own discussion space, but also being able to visit and chime in on each other's discussions.

@lightweight