Notices by Terence Eden (edent@mastodon.social), page 4

Of course, the continuing #WPDrama reminds us that there really is no need for a centralised "app store".

The #WordPress plugin directory is useful for *discovery*. But it probably makes more sense for plugins and themes to update from their own site / git rather than a capricious host.

…DSAR sent to to WordPress's GDPR team regarding this decision.

I wonder if they'll actually comply with the law?

As tediously predicted. Had lots of positive reactions to my message. But, of course, no dissent is tolerated in Open Source…⸮

Why do these tech-bros have such thin skins?

#WordPress

And now, mastodon.social sends referrers!

https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/pull/33214

(Don't worry, it is up to your instance to opt in to this. Your Mastodon install is private by default.)

Open Source Nerds Assemble!

The deadline to submit a CfP for State of Open is *this weekend*.

https://stateofopencon.com/

State of Open is in London on 4 and 5 February, 2025 - right after #FOSDEM.

We're looking for interesting speakers on all topics to do with open source, open data, open hardware, funding, AI etc.

Submit a proposal at https://sessionize.com/state-of-open-con-2025/

#OpenSource #OpenHardware #OpenData #OpenUK #CyberSecurity

Two years later.

Want to know one of the major reasons Mastodon didn't catch on with journalists and large website owners?

It is *invisible* in referrer statistics.

Here's my blog from the last month.

BlueSky now sends me more traffic than Bing.

How much traffic does Mastodon send? It is impossible to know due to the "noreferrer" header in all links.

(I'm not saying your privacy isn't important. But you can't grow a community if no-one knows you exist.)

Mastodon enforces a "noreferrer" on all external links.

I have mixed feelings about that.

As a blogger, I want to see *where* visitors are coming from. I also like to see (and sometimes join in) with the conversations they're having.

But, I get that people want privacy and don't want to "leak" where they're visiting from.

Is it such a bad thing to tell a website "I was referred from this specific server"?

Thinking about Cory Doctorow's story "Radicalised".

It is a short story about Americans who decide to wage domestic terrorism on the Health Insurance industry, and the consequences of those actions.

https://craphound.com/category/radicalized-full/

@dansup cheers mate - yeah, always happy to play with some new stuff.

@dansup will do 🙂

@dansup are you coming to FOSDEM?

The SHARD has been activated!

🆕 blog! “Long term technologies, waiting in the background”

Once in a while, there is a disaster. Phone lines go out, the Internet breaks down, and mobiles don't work. Then the Ham Radio Operators save the day.

Amateur radio is one of those things I'm only vaguely aware of. It chugs along in the background unnoticed. It doesn't follow the fashion of today's industry, nor…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/long-term-technologies-waiting-in-the-background/
⸻
#technology

And if you like free money *and* cheap utility bills, you can get £50 when you join Octopus using my referral link.

https://share.octopus.energy/metal-dove-988

For those of you who like free money, you can get £25 cashback if you sign up to an American Express credit card using my referral link.

https://americanexpress.com/en-gb/referral/platinum-cashback?ref=tERENE3jQw

This was *not* helped by me having multiple FIDO2 devices!

I'd saved the PINs in BitWarden.
But I'd "helpfully" labelled them "Device 1" and "Device 2".
Which was which?
I had to look at the "last modified date" to find out.
Anyway, PIN reset to the same code as on my luggage.

FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK

🆕 blog! “A few thoughts on domain verification for social media”

Both Mastodon and BlueSky have the concept of "self-verification". Rather than trust a central authority to assess your notability and then bless your account (as Twitter used to do), they let anyone self-attest using Domain Verification0. What does that mean? You tell the se…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/a-few-thoughts-on-domain-verification-for-social-media/
⸻
#BlueSky #domains #mastodon #SocialMedia

@skylar the problem is, it means storing peoples' email addresses. And I really can't be faffed with that.

Hey FediFriends!

Could you please try an experiment for me?

If you use Mastodon:

1. Visit https://social.viii.fi/masto.php
2. Type in the URl of your Mastodon instance
3. Authorise my app to *read* your account
4. Tell me what you see after authorisation

It is read-only permission, so I can't do anything with your account.

THANKS FOR HELPING WITH MY SCIENCE!

#MastodonAPI