Notices by Fedilab Apps (apps@toot.fedilab.app)

@4censord
Unlike Mastodon's 4.5 server-side fetch, Fedilab has long loaded the remote public context live from the client when you open a thread, with no cache or recent instance needed. The app is now improving it: those replies are merged with the ones your instance already knows, for the most complete thread on any software.

#Fedilab lets you fetch a remote conversation to retrieve all the messages your instance does not know about. This feature is limited by design, because the public context on the #Mastodon API is capped (40 ancestors and 60 descendants without authentication).

That is why the next Fedilab release will add a merge mode: the messages already known by your instance are merged with the remote ones. This way, the case where the feature worked against its own purpose can no longer happen.

RE: https://mastodon.social/@joinloops/116773144424300494

Definitely I am in and you also confirmed it through the poll. https://toot.fedilab.app/@apps/116698793322098592

#Loops is clearly a new amazing project to support with #Fedilab.

@dansup
You made an amazing work with the Loops API documentation. The thing with Pixelfed is that its custom features can't be used through the Mastodon API alone, and those custom endpoints are not documented for third-party clients. Please do the same for Pixelfed, so devs can add the specific features that deserve it. I would be happy to implement them in Fedilab. Thank you for your amazing work.

@rompe
I reproduced it, and it will be an easy fix. Thanks for sharing.

@aburka
Yes, it will require polling since it's not yet available. I wrote an article on my blog if you want more details: https://tom79.dev/posts/follow-a-note/

@sunflowerinrain
The API returns the detected languages with a confidence score. For instance, if you write 60% in English and the last 40% in French, the API will detect it as English.
@RachelThornSub

Running a #LibreTranslate server takes work behind the scenes. My latest optimization adds a parallel queue system to avoid killing the service when it gets abused, but it can introduce immediate 503 errors for some users when the service is under heavy load. I will work on a smooth balance to stop bot abuse and avoid Fedilab/Holos users being restricted.

@rompe
Yes, I've been working on exactly that. I'll post about it soon. It's most likely a false positive I need to fix.

The next #Fedilab release will be able to detect a mismatch between the written text and the selected language of the message. This uses the #LibreTranslate server, so it has no extra weight on the final APK size and doesn't use any Google stuff. It will be turned off by default.

Thanks to @RachelThornSub for the suggestion.

To beta testers #Fedilab 3.42.0-beta-2 is available. It adds a language check when posting (detects language mismatch, disabled by default). It also brings several fixes: collection errors on profiles, adding accounts to collections, notification timeline empty on restart, animated emoji freezes, and multiple app windows when sharing.

Release notes: https://codeberg.org/tom79/Fedilab/releases/tag/3.42.0-beta-2

@RachelThornSub
I just thought of something. Fedilab has its own translation feature using LibreTranslate, which can detect the language, so I could add an option to check, before posting, whether the text matches the defined language. But it would be off by default.
@Tusky

@RachelThornSub
Warning when the selected language doesn't match the text means running language detection on device. The only options are the ML Kit library (Google), which is proprietary and breaks the F-Droid build, or the open-source alternative, which adds over 100 MB to the app. Neither is acceptable, so it's not feasible for now.
@Tusky

#HolosDiscover can now follow #PeerTube channels that have the indexable flag set to true.

Working on and fixing a lot of bugs really takes some pressure off when it is published in the beta channels. The hardest part with #Fedilab is matching all the conditions to reproduce a bug.

But I am also happy to still support Android 21. It is a deliberate choice on my side: keeping the app light on recent APIs and their dependencies, even if it means giving up a few newer features.

@silverpill
I was not aware. I really think Loops is the project that could push this FEP forward.
I know Holos is not a well-known project yet, but I do believe this is worth supporting, and Dansup can make it happen.
@dansup

@beandev
Thank you for all the suggestions to improve this feature :)

@lionel
To be honest, I completely forgot about that option, @HurricaneWeasel reminded me recently :)

@tjk
You're welcome. In settings, you can search for announcements and enable pop-up alerts. If an announcement has been published since your last visit, you will be warned with a pop-up containing the announcement :)

@dansup
Cc @silverpill