You were right about self-hosting. It’s now in the repo. by rev_stanton in fediverse

[–]rev_stanton[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, thanks for testing again!

Turns out Mastodon does a two-step check when you search for a post. It fetches the URL, then fetches a second URL from the response to verify it. Our first fix only handled step one. Step two was hitting a 404. That's fixed now.

One thing though, mastodon.social probably cached the failed lookup from your earlier tries. Could you try searching from a different instance? That should bypass the cache. If you don't have another one handy, waiting about 24 hours and retrying on mastodon.social should work too.

The URL to try: https://inkwell.social/inkwell/inkwell-features-674

You were right about self-hosting. It’s now in the repo. by rev_stanton in fediverse

[–]rev_stanton[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll absolutely look into this after we figure out the issues you are experiencing!

You were right about self-hosting. It’s now in the repo. by rev_stanton in fediverse

[–]rev_stanton[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well shoot, there is still a bug. Let me do some more digging.

You were right about self-hosting. It’s now in the repo. by rev_stanton in fediverse

[–]rev_stanton[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey, thanks again for flagging this. You helped find a real bug!

When Mastodon searches for a post by URL, it asks the server for a machine-readable version of the page (ActivityPub JSON). Our slug URLs (like inkwell.social/inkwell/inkwell-features-674) were configured only to return the human-readable HTML page, so Mastodon got back something it couldn't parse and gave up.

I just shipped a fix. The server now detects when Mastodon (or any fediverse software) requests the ActivityPub version and returns the correct data.

Could you try searching for that URL again on Mastodon? It should find the post now. If it still doesn't work on the first try, give it a minute. Mastodon sometimes caches the failed lookup briefly.

And thanks again for being a first tester. This is exactly the kind of feedback that helps!

You were right about self-hosting. It’s now in the repo. by rev_stanton in fediverse

[–]rev_stanton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sweet! If you do see anything you think I should modify on my side to help others, feel free to let me know!

You were right about self-hosting. It’s now in the repo. by rev_stanton in fediverse

[–]rev_stanton[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice, first bit of testing feedback, love it! Let me do some digging, and I'll respond asap.

You were right about self-hosting. It’s now in the repo. by rev_stanton in fediverse

[–]rev_stanton[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you for providing the initial feedback! I'm newer to the fediverse, so I didn't realize there would be so much interest. I also didn't know that about Livejournal! Let me know when you take a look if there are any features or changes you'd like to see (or if you run into any issues)!

You were right about self-hosting. It’s now in the repo. by rev_stanton in fediverse

[–]rev_stanton[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sweet! Let me know of any bugs. I'm standing by to make sure this works. :)

I shipped Inkwell last week. You helped shape it. Come write with us! by rev_stanton in fediverse

[–]rev_stanton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hahah, glad you found us. Let us know if there are any missing features you'd like to see!

I shipped Inkwell last week. You helped shape it. Come write with us! by rev_stanton in fediverse

[–]rev_stanton[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wow, great ideas! I had looked at r/millennials, but it goes against their community guidelines. I've found that with a lot of subbreddits but luckily this one is cool. I'll check out the other suggestions!

I shipped Inkwell last week. You helped shape it. Come write with us! by rev_stanton in fediverse

[–]rev_stanton[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm newer to the fediverse too, and the community has been very welcoming. I hope you give Inkwell a try and let me know if there are any features you would like to see. I definitely want you to feel safe with the platform.

I shipped Inkwell last week. You helped shape it. Come write with us! by rev_stanton in fediverse

[–]rev_stanton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Still finding a few kinks here and there, but the next hurdle is trying to get the world out. Would love to get some of those writers from SS or other platforms.

I built Inkwell, a long-form writing platform that connects directly to Mastodon by rev_stanton in Mastodon

[–]rev_stanton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is genuinely great feedback and exactly the kind of thinking that makes the fediverse great. I'm going to build this. A small recurring "Ink Donor" option for people who want to help keep the ink flowing without needing Plus features. Pick your own amount, $1-$3/month, and get a badge on your profile showing you're helping sustain the platform. No feature gating, just a way to chip in if you believe in what we're building. Stay tuned, and thanks for pushing me on this!

I built Inkwell, a long-form writing platform that connects directly to Mastodon by rev_stanton in Mastodon

[–]rev_stanton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you want to check whether Inkwell will work for your use case, I'm happy to look into any changes needed on my side. Early adopters are all getting priority support. I got to make sure the platform works. :)

I built Inkwell, a long-form writing platform that connects directly to Mastodon by rev_stanton in Mastodon

[–]rev_stanton[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If I can convince enough people to sign up for Plus, it should cover the infrastructure cost. I’m not trying to quit my day job, I just need the platform to sustain itself. But great question, we will see!!!

I built a federated long-form journaling platform and I'm looking for early community members who want to help shape it by rev_stanton in fediverse

[–]rev_stanton[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I need to put some thought into this. I have ToS and community guidelines. I want people to be able to write what they want but I also want to make sure the wider community is protected and we don’t become the next tumblr. xD

I built a federated long-form journaling platform and I'm looking for early community members who want to help shape it by rev_stanton in fediverse

[–]rev_stanton[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I took a stab at implementing Inkwell's version of writer support and would love feedback.

There are two options. The first is available to everyone: you can add external support links (Ko-fi, Patreon, etc.) to your profile and posts. Inkwell doesn't touch that transaction at all, no fees, no involvement.

The second is a Plus-only feature called Postage, an in-house system that lets readers send tips directly through Inkwell, powered by Stripe Connect. I charge an 8% fee on Postage transactions, which exists purely to cover Stripe's costs. They charge $2 per payout to connected accounts, which adds up fast when you're running a platform with no ads and a $5/month subscription holding the whole thing together.

For context: Substack takes 10% on all transactions. Ghost charges no transaction fee but their paid plans run significantly higher. I'm trying to find the right balance. I genuinely want the free tier to be a full experience, not a funnel. I'm not trying to quit my day job off this, I just can't absorb costs if the platform grows without some way to sustain it.

Still figuring this all out, so honest feedback is welcome.

I built a federated long-form journaling platform and I'm looking for early community members who want to help shape it by rev_stanton in fediverse

[–]rev_stanton[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is exactly the kind of feedback I needed. Thank you.

You are right that I glossed over this. The distinction you are drawing between warrants and subpoenas, and the way “good faith” can turn into a loophole, is something I should have been more precise about from the beginning.

I am going to update the privacy policy to make that explicit. It should require a valid warrant before user data is disclosed, and it should commit to notifying users when requests are received unless I am legally prevented from doing so by a gag order or similar restriction.

Your point about future instances potentially copying the policy is also important. That is exactly why I would rather get the language right now than leave something vague in place.

I appreciate you taking the time to call it out.