NFG @NFG@nfg.zone
SysOp. Writer. Photographer. Malcontent. Irascible. Also, I run this place.
Fucking fuck fuck fuckery do.
Rebooted the Mastodon machine and Mastodon decides it's not going to run because some fucking file somewhere changed a digit for some reason and never mind it was working for the last week, fuck you, NFG.
And the other machine was all "You know how you've been building this server for a week? Suddenly Apache is installed and hogging your ports, and your nginx doesn't work anymore. Fuck you, NFG."
Fucking computers, man. Fuck 'em.
Soundtrack for this evening:
Rabbit Junk's I.D.O.N.T.G.I.V.E.A.F.U.C.K
Pleroma looks lovely, but node.js?
Honestly, half of the frustration is me just being old and frustrated by shit I don't understand. There are installation instructions for Pleroma, and they're more complicated than 'upload these files to your server, and run a config file'.
And, like, why does nothing have install scripts anymore? "Here's a three page list of shit to install a simple web app, good luck or whatever".
Generally speaking, I'm used to software that invites tinkering. CSS files and PHP scripts, a database. Mastodon seems to have done everything short of encrypting its files to make it hard to work with.
Every change takes an age, unless I want to set up a development environment on top of the original, and I just want to add a menu option and it's a fucking hassle. Every step is slow and painful.
And every change breaks everything when assets don't compile (WTF is that even)
The more I think about closing my instance, the angrier I get. I want to be here!
It's difficult to tell how much of this anger is a result of disagreeable decisions in its development, and how much is my own ignorance. Let me explain:
I've run a server for almost 20 years. FTP, Web, PHP, Perl. Forums, chat, IM, games.
I thought I was good at this shit. Linux was new to me, but I worked it out.
But Mastodon! Fuck me. I've never used software as obtuse, and hard to work with.
I posted a brief update about the Pantheon Project over on my blog.
If you're not a Patreon supporter, there's only one new image for you. I'll share it here, and save you the trip.
However if you'd like to support my project (for as little as $2!) there's a Patreon link on the site. 
(2/2)
4. My instance is a lonely silo because searches and hashtags don't propagate, and so I get only my three active local users or the broader boring idiots and no option to expand that community except through accidental discovery or signing up for other instances to see what's going on there, and what's the point?
Which resulted in me waking up one day and realizing I'm paying to maintain a node on a network I don't enjoy.
It was a fun ride, sometimes. I learned a lot.
Why am I closing this instance?
Basically, four things all added up:
1. the huge, inscrutable back end with a lot of moving parts and arcane command-line fixes for difficult to identify problems;
2. A UI that's TweetDeck Plus, which is a personal choice, but one that drives away my desired community;
3. A larger community of people whose endless inane meme shitposts flood my public feed; and
(1/2)
(2/2)
I dread looking at the federated timeline, with its endless shitposting and memes, and no matter how many accounts I silence, it never gets better.
So I don't like the user culture, the UI, or the back end, and I don't like the development roadmap.
And then I asked myself, why am I paying to host a node on a network I don't like?
I wanted decentralized, personal social media, and I got Tweetdeck Plus.
I'm looking elsewhere for revolution now.
Registration at this instance is now closed.
There are still no solid plans to close this instance. I'm toying with the idea of running it as my own little post in the fediverse, which would mean the existing users wouldn't need to leave, and they'd get a little bit of exclusivity, for whatever that's worth.
But aside from the dozen or so users here, and that I follow, I will not miss the rest of the Mastodon experience.
(1/2)
It's not yet time to panic, but I'm considering shuttering this instance. The Mastodon experience is no longer filling me with joy.
To my users: there's no rush, but you may want to start looking for other instances. If the decision is made, and every day I suspect it's more likely, I'll give you time to download your content and migrate. (A month, say?)
Lately I've been getting some sulphur crested cockatoos coming by for a feed. They know to squawk to get my attention, and this particular pair have quickly decided I'm probably not going to harm them.
Today, after being chased away by a particularly feisty lorikeet about 1/4 their size, they ate a special meal about 150cm from me. No other bird would hassle them so close to a human.
They're smart and curious birds (and not a little bit mischievous!) and I love having them around.
I've shot six athletes so far, for the Pantheon Project. I think it's some of my best work as a photographer.
Here's a tiny preview, of some amazing, powerful bodies. ^_^
The local cockatoos figured out in two days that I leave my house through the back door when I feed them, so now they come to the door and chortle for my attention.
I fed them once at the back door, when I rebuilt the shelf that normally has plants on it. This morning one of the cockatoos cheerfully dragged all the plant pots off the shelf to clear space for food, because obviously that's how it works now.
It's Wednesday, and that means there's a new Asher!
Spent about half of yesterday working on a directory listing script, after a user let me know some links were dead after the server move. A fun exercise in making things functional, reusable and robust.
But I'm still beavering away at it today, because even though it works flawlessly (as near as I can tell) it still does things like leave a trailing slash where it shouldn't.
I'm no perfectionist, but fuck me, when I want to fix something I am utterly unable to let it go. =/
In case you noticed the downtime today, there was a rush patch to fix a security issue on Mastodon, and it went a little sideways.
A lot sideways.
Sorry about that.
This is unbelievably distressing.
Tens of thousands of near new, unused share bikes abandoned in China.
The scale of fuckuppery behind this just breaks me.
Server's running a bit slow while I do a bunch of maintenance stuff in the background.
Please forgive me.
I'm doing it for you, you know!
AUGH THE PRESSURE 💥
I recently discovered F-777 on bandcamp and it's flat-out amazing stuff.
Currently this track is giving me the top vibes, and I think everyone should have the chance to add it to their lives:
https://jessevalentinemusic.bandcamp.com/track/dynamic-funk
It's free! The whole album is, and a lot of those songs are great.
I really like tracks 2, 3, 9, 14, 25, and 26. Also the 'We Believe' series is great in total.
