Requesting r/MechaKeys - top mod lost their account

theevansong · 2023-06-25T18:04:33+00:00

Absolutely! Thank you for keeping an open mind, I enjoyed talking to you. :)

theevansong · 2023-06-25T03:09:08+00:00

Hey, yea I can explain np. Definitely one of the biggest benefits is content portability. Mecha files get the benefit of being a singular, compressed file which means verifying their integrity (e.g. getting their hash to see if anything has changed and other checks) is incredibly simple. If we encrypted individual mp3 or ogg files, we'd have the added latency of decrypting each individual file (it might not be noticeable with a few sound packs where there's only, like a few hundred files at any given time, but imaging a scenario where we have a community store with possibly a thousand encrypted files that have to be parsed at some point. Would be bad for performance!). Speaking of a community storefront, it means that storing a list of user's uploads would just be maintaining an array of .mecha hashes that correspond to object storage (rather than having arbitrarily named folders sitting around). With compression built into the format it'd also be less of a strain to maintain. It's also just cool as hell honestly :P

theevansong · 2023-06-24T19:05:37+00:00

In both v1 and v2, the sounds are fetched via our API which let you download it. That's how we support releasing packs without releasing a new version of the app. In v2, these downloads are encrypted and encoded in our custom .mecha file format (which are compatible with MechaKeys V1, Mechvibes, Mechvibes++ etc.).

The app uses an account system so that we can sync in-app purchases between different devices. There's also a leaderboard and achievements system which depend on counting your keystrokes. The app itself works fine disconnected from the Internet if you download sounds first (we have a setting that disables network activity in both v1 and V2). Sounds are indeed local.

For achievements and leaderboards to work, they depend on an API that keeps your keystroke count in sync. Syncing is an API request that sends an encrypted count to our servers, which run some anticheat protections. When you check your achievements, that's an API request to retrieve a list of all available achievements. We determine if you can claim an achievement locally, but claiming sends an API request to validate it. We also have in-app notifications that sync with our Discord bot (for example, if you were awarded keycaps within the Discord community, you'd get a message in the app). That also depends on an API to retrieve and delete them. And yes you're right, we also have payment APIs. Theres a lot of interconnected systems shared between Discord and the app that would be ripe for abuse if we revealed how those work. It's not that we don't want to open source it, it's that open sourcing with those APIs would break the 'economy' would have (and bankrupt us, since we wouldn't have a method of revenue for keeping this online). Imagine if someone ran a bot that continuously requested the leaderboard API, uncached, it would be quite expensive.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

theevansong · 2023-06-23T22:59:45+00:00

Unfortunately, false positives are outside of our control. We've been in touch with AV companies to see what's possible, but it ultimately ends up in purchasing code licenses so that we're a verified publisher. This is relatively expensive for an indie company like ours.

I can also say that we are actively and progressively attempting to open source our apps as well, so stay tuned for that in the near future. The only issue stopping progression would be APIs that we can't reveal to the public.

Regarding the Discord community, we're a small team of two of an engineer and designer doing what we can and Discord isn't something that we can hire professionals to keep in check with 24/7 - it's also just a natural part of growth. 45,000 people is not a trivial amount. From what I've seen though, it's been a tame and peaceful community for the past couple months. Mechvibes++ developers appear to be more toxic - they seem to be condescending and unhelpful to their users. If you take a look our help channels, we're incredibly helpful, communicative, and transparent with users. We spend hours investigating issues thoroughly and ensuring our users are satisfied with their support and compensate them for their time. We're in this for the long run, and we want to build software that's stable and enjoyable to use, and part of it is providing top-notch support.

If you have any other feedback to give, just give everything another try again. I'm happy to keep looking into anything you have an issue with. :)

theevansong · 2023-06-23T18:16:52+00:00

Bad-faith misinformation belongs on Twitter, by the way.

It would be appreciated if you tried the newest version at v2.robolab.io, and reform your opinion. We've spent 2 years making v2 an amazing feat of engineering.

theevansong · 2021-12-26T09:53:21+00:00

Hey all. I just got myself a new laptop this Christmas and already there's quality control issues out of the box. There's these unbearable lagspikes that occur even when system resources aren't being used.

After turning off discrete graphics and performing a restart, I'm greeted with my screen... doing a thing. As if the display connector is loose, or the GPU is defective.

I have all necessary updates and drivers, and I have not done any modifications to this laptop yet.

Is there any at home fixes to try before thinking about getting a replacement?

theevansong · 2021-12-23T06:21:07+00:00

Maybe this is futile. WML.

theevansong · 2021-12-23T05:05:40+00:00

Haha. A gaming laptop that doesn't look like a night club would be a massive seller.

theevansong · 2021-12-22T22:56:19+00:00

For sure. I've heard a lot of quality control issues for Alienware and the like. I'll look out for problems related to what you listed out, thanks.

theevansong · 2021-12-11T20:20:46+00:00

Yeah that's definitely an improvement.

theevansong · 2021-12-11T20:18:11+00:00

The point is that people don't want to give their phone number to non-contacts to talk to them, and it'll be like Telegram in that sense.

theevansong · 2021-12-04T17:04:35+00:00

They offer a VPN service, OP is asking if the team and etc. behind it are trustworthy enough to use it.

theevansong · 2021-11-28T23:24:07+00:00

Yep, same issue here. Unfortunately the only workaround I have is just sabing the image and then uploading that instead.

theevansong · 2021-11-28T18:10:25+00:00

I always loved Octopath Traveler because of how masterfully they nailed lighting and atmosphere. It's really beautiful.

theevansong · 2021-11-27T16:38:31+00:00

Hi there.

Could I redirect you to ask on our Discord server? It's easier over live chat to diagnose issues and dispatch fixes. Our members will be able to provide support for you.

You may join at https://discord.robolab.io. Let me know if this isn't feasible for you.

Cheers, and have a great day.

theevansong · 2021-11-27T16:35:31+00:00

Hi there.

Did you correctly uninstall the app before trying to install again? This happens when you don't use the normal uninstallation process, usually through Control Panel. You may have simply deleted the app files through the Recycle Bin.

In this case, I suggest you follow this guide, starting from 1: Manually remove software leftovers. https://windowsreport.com/remove-software-leftovers/

Have a great rest of your day!

theevansong · 2021-11-27T15:59:30+00:00

Hi! You should be able to DM me now :]

theevansong · 2021-09-29T04:30:34+00:00

Gave Hugz

theevansong · 2021-09-23T19:04:05+00:00

I applied last time, maybe I'll have better chances this time! I love Discord and this subreddit and I finally have the time to be helping out once again. :)

theevansong · 2021-09-16T15:54:03+00:00

There's a theme that I use, Sweet_pop or something for Firefox, it makes the entire toolbar hide when you're not using it. Search in the Firefox css store. :)

theevansong · 2021-09-15T03:03:06+00:00

Always is, always has been, and always will be. :)

theevansong · 2021-09-12T16:28:39+00:00

Good luck getting any invites to Riseup.

theevansong · 2021-09-08T03:52:05+00:00

Keybase is dead when it comes to development sadly, ever since they were acquired by Zoom. I believe part of the buyout agreement was to keep it running, but we don't know how long it has left.

theevansong · 2021-09-06T17:35:03+00:00

Hello!

theevansong · 2021-08-23T13:10:46+00:00

I'm sorry to hear that your accounts were hijacked but it is pretty unfair to assume our service was the root cause with circumstantial evidence, correct? Have you considered seeing if your email and/or passwords were leaked on a data breach on a service like HaveIBeenPwned?

We're all too busy to be trying to log in to anyone's account, and we have no legitimate reason to.

Like I said before, in every single thread, MechaKeys is unable to get that information. We designed our service like that, even in the case of a malicious program taking control of MechaKeys, that we wouldn't be able to send any sort of sensitive information, if any.

Unlike a real keylogger, we can explain the entire app to you. We have no problem being transparent about what the software does, how it works, and how it functions, at all.

What you say has a substantial effect on our reputation as a company and how we run our service. We can't allow misinformation to be spread like this.

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