In preperation for the next release, I thought it would be prudent to test the upgrade on a spare server first. I'm using docker container images.
I'm thinking these test upgrade steps would be :
* Copy compose/env files from live server to test * Change env FRIENDICA_URL to point to test server * Use docker compose up to bring up an empty old version * Restore latest live database backup * Test server should now be a (slightly out-of-date) copy of live * Use docker compose down to shutdown * Update compose file to use new container images * Set env FRIENDICA_UPGRADE=true * Use docker compose up & watch container logs * Do some UI tests
Does that seem reasonable ? Anything to watch out for ?
Mobile first... (I'm not aware of any reputable RSS readers for mobile, as I suspect most people aren't, and I'd be quite interested in recommendations tbh... )
Anyone know when the next Friendica GA is likely going to be released ? Its been a while since the RC 2025.07-rc.
I tried searching for the release plan and process, but couldn't find anything, so I'm not sure what needs to happen before the release.
My server, u3a.social, is on 2014.12 and I've been wondering if I should move to 2025.07-rc or wait for the GA. I did try 2025.07-rc a while back but the user accounts got mixed up so I stuck to 2014.12.
Great news ! Many thanks for the update (I guess a timely question!).
May I take the oportunity to thank the friendia team for all the hard work ... as time go on, its becoming more important than ever to have a platform thats free from ads/tracking/algorithms/big business etc.
@Erik_Haugaard 🎶Ik leaf alleen in de nacht In 't donker op jacht Ik bun Vulgaris Magistralis En ik ri-j op een mammoet in 't rond Ik bun Vulgaris Magistralis En op zondag op een mastodont!🎶
It is absolutely *wild* to me that media organizations still do not put RSS/Atom feed info front-and-center on their websites.
One needs to dive into HTML code or use external tools to discover their feeds.
It is wild because this is one of the easiest, least-effort ways to reach their audience. Encouraging RSS/Atom use is a phenomenal way of becoming less reliant on gatekeepers like huge social media platforms.
@elmine um, I actually blame the non-considered inclusion of RSS feeds in newspaper website systems in the 90s for the fact people expect their news for free. Newspapers don’t want to reach an audience; journalists do. Newspapers want to keep paying journalists and thus have copyright/control/make money. And they don’t make any off you not going to their website.
(As an idealist I feel similar to you but I also know journalism takes a lot of time and can’t be done as a hobby)
@Anneke @elmine sure, I get that – I had worked at a media org.
But here's the thing, the media orgs keep complaining that social media is so bad for them, eating their cake, not sending people back to their sites, limiting reach, and all that, and yet they keep encouraging people to use that.
@Anneke You can also make a teaser RSS feed as a subscription based outlet, just like you would tweet new headlines to lure readers to your articles. It would make a lot of sense in today’s siloed environment for people to also follow media outlets on a more independent technology. Media outlets posting to mastodon already have that at their disposal, so why not offer that more prominently on your website? I think that’s the spirit of @rysiek ‘s post.
@elmine I get it and I have actually myself set up RSS feeds for the Tubantia that ran for more than a decade after I worked there 😀 but there is noone at the papers doing some modernization direction or thinking about what digital tools to use or how to do it responsibly. Just want to help understand the background here. If it’s something you want and think would be good, a paper would probably be delighted to get help with this stuff, even if they’re part of DPG here
@Anneke @elmine most online news media seem to have RSS/Atom feeds, they just don't expose them anywhere. It's not even a question of "modernization", but of making visible something that already is there.
@elmine well as I said, if you believe in it, go and offer to help them with it! I would try and find a person in a responsible looking role through linkedin of one of the media outlets you like. All you need is an advocate on the inside who you can convince. At least that’s my experience and now that I’m thinking about this I might help my old paper get on Mastodon
@ripienaar @ace they keep encouraging people to share stuff on social media, where they also (in most places) don't have a way of monetizing – in fact, often they have to *pay* for the reach!
Mobile first... (I'm not aware of any reputable RSS readers for mobile, as I suspect most people aren't, and I'd be quite interested in recommendations tbh... )
@pluralistic Browsers used to auto-find and put an RSS button in the URL bar.
Used to.
I kinda understand why they stopped, but I wish it was a user-selectable option so power users could easily find those feeds. Also, it would allow for the creation of a viral TikTok video about a “secret option” to break free of algorithms which would do more for teaching non-technical users about RSS than anything else ever written.
And don't get me started on the absolutely screwed up, hilariously misguided decision by Mozilla to remove the RSS/Atom button from the default Firefox UI a long while back.
And don't get me started on the absolutely screwed up, hilariously misguided decision by Mozilla to remove the RSS/Atom button from the default Firefox UI a long while back.
Re: tech decoded email about AI slop on social media, I agree ... I've (and many others) moved to the fediverse to avoid ads/big business/trackers/algorithms etc.
I now have my electricity numbers for 2025 ... average cost per month now at -£4.16. I earn durning the summer months and have to pay during the winter months, but on average, I earn a little.
Hopefully this will improve after next April when the energy costs are due to come down a little, but I suspect more importantly, some of the "tax" is being removed from the standard charge (where electricity consumers pay for capital projects like sizewell C). Still, this probabally gets lost again when pay-per-mile charges come in, sigh.
We managed to cover a wide range of subjects over the year on zoom calls :
Tuya as a component in my Smart Home
Is it time to move to the Fediverse ?
How Generative AI works
IPv4 and IPv6 addresses
Local generative AI
Installing desktop GNU/Linux
Ask the group anything
Real time bidding (how targeted ads work)
Home networking
3D Printing
Quantum Computers
Not bad huh. All for free 😀
I also re-presented some of these to local u3a groups and national events online (which I'm always happy to do).
The Fediverse idea for u3a members (and friends) has taken on a life of its own. The site, u3a.social, is now up and running ... free from ads, algorithms, billionaire's and trackers (really how social media should have been).
So we'll kick off the new year on 20th January with a talk on how to actually use u3a.social ... I hope many will join and make use of the platform in preference to mainstream social media platforms. Emails will go out as usual nearer the event. Please share the idea of u3a.social with other u3a members (and friends) and spread the word.
If you have ideas for other talks for 2026, or you fancy giving a talk, drop me an email at computing@u3acommunities.org or just send me a message on u3a.social.
with a special shout-out to @shollyethan and @ilja who, a year ago, encouraged me to try self-hosting. And of course immense gratitude to the @yunohost team for making all this possible ❤️
I hope this guide may inspire others to try it, too. The path to digital independence and empowerment is easier than you thought...
One thing I discovered when first installing Yunohost : you can use a free Yunohost domain name, but chose your name carefully, because you can only pick one free domain name.
Years ago (pre-cloud) I used to self host at home, but as the cloud grew there became little point in this d-i-y approach. But as you say, now the cloud has become such a bad place, the d-i-y approach is back in fashion again !
@TimeLime To tell me where kitchen.myhouse.net is you add the details to DNS, this is the A or AAAA record and a lot of numbers/letters that tell the computer where to go.
Email, and your proton address, uses the same system but typically the postman puts everything through one letterbox.
Instead of A and AAAA for the address, you use MX, and this tells the email where on your building the letterbox is.
For resilience, you can have more than one postbox. (multiple MX rows)
@TimeLime and finally, most of the time we take email for the whole house into one server and don't have a specific room for it to go to, so your DNS for proton will be @ MX (protons details) where @ means this whole domain, myhouse.net
You can have more than one email server, so mail@myhouse.net goes to proton and mail@kitchen.myhouse.net goes a different place. You often see businesses separate their email like this (info@france.example.net vs info@uk.example.net)
@sposadelvento Instead of installing Debian first and then Yunohost on top of it, wouldn’t it be simpler and more consistent for a beginner to just install the Yunohost ISO directly? 🙂 @_elena Idiscovered you starting from the a/i blog on cavalette.noblogs.org 😉 cavallette.noblogs.org/2025/12…
@sposadelvento Ok, that makes sense 🙂 I’m running YunoHost on my own home hardware, so I actually had to install the operating system myself, and at that point using the YunoHost ISO felt simpler and more straightforward to me. On a VPS the context is probably different. In the end, what matters is being able to do self-hosting anyway 😉 Also, congrats for your content — nice website👍
Thanks a lot, and I will probably spend some time during the holidays considering what Yunohost can do for me!
...and now the inevitable addition by someone who got burned by manual syncing to portable media: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncthin…
Runs on my PC, laptop and phone. Whenever two of them find each other online, they sync a set of folders that I want to have available (KeePass store, current files or documents, GPG keys ...), amongst themselves, without me having to do anything. If the same file changed on different devices in between syncing, you get a warning and can resolve it yourself. It can also keep backups of previous versions.
Nextcloud can provide the same function (and more!) but needs a trusted server (admin can read/change the files!)
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Premier essai. Étape 4, mon admin est déjà créé, je clique sur l'onglet DNS et ça ne se passe pas comme prévu.
Yunohost me propose une configuration automatique (voir la capture d'écran). Je suis le lien pour les instructions pour obtenir le jeton d'authentification, mais la documentation n'est pas à jour, l'interface de Gandi a changé. Je galère sur le site de Gandi, et je ne trouve pas.
Je me rabats sur les instructions de Yunohost pour faire ça manuellement et je me souviens de pourquoi je ne l'avais pas fait. Je n'y comprends pas grand chose.
Tes instructions sont plus simples, mais la correspondance entre ce que je devrais voir sur Yunohost et chez Gandi n'est pas évidente.
Je vais devoir y revenir plus tard. Je dois me préparer pour demain. Je laisse tomber pour l'instant...
Dès que j'ai un peu de temps, je vais configurer ça manuellement, mais je vais devoir bien reviser toute la documentation de Yunohost (et de la tienne).
(Je l'avais déjà fait pour un Wordpress il y a deux ou trois ans et il me semble que ça avait été plutôt simple.)
Thanks for the tip off, this is a great way for us non-techie #selfhosted folk to get around the complications of proxy/webserver configs.
I'm having some quite odd issues trying to get apps (#jellyfin #immich #nextcloud) to work with mounted NFS shares though (they can 'see' the files and folders but can't actually access them.
Once that's fixed I'll have another go at getting gmediarender and spotifyd working properly too!
My way of rebelling against techbros and autocrats:
December 2024: quit all Big Tech platforms and start #selfhosting essential services
December 2025: write guides for newbies about how to self-host
I'm also in discussion with a blogger I admire to start a podcast about tech... where we'll focus on solutions (instead of problems)... aiming to inspire others to join in...
It's been a really heavy year but these little acts of rebellion give me hope ✨
Hell yeah! I wanted brush up on my IT skills so I set up a homeserver with virtualization in Nov 2024 and being able to divorce from Big Tech as it fell in line with fascism in 2025 was so liberating.
your departure from big tech and embrace of open source and foss mirrors my own personal journey also in timeline!
I’ve been planting the seeds to get my professional livelihood from ethical tech consulting so that’s my primary focus for the 1st quarter of the year. Then alongside I’ll continue with my mission of raising and helping regular people untangle themselves from big tech.
This entry was edited (Monday, December 15, 2025, 9:01 PM)
This is a target audience that certainly needs the help and guidance. I’m doing that for my family, in-laws, parents, friends and neighbours. Will certainly tune them to such a podcast if I will provide non techies the tool, tips, insights and most importantly the courage to take the first steps themselves or purchase managed services from ethical providers.
This entry was edited (Monday, December 15, 2025, 3:15 PM)
yep the cost and knowledge makes FOSS and self-hosting feel inaccessible to most. In the long run it definitely saves much more, but anything to make it feel like less of a hurdle to friends and family.
I say start with having them practice booting to USB and VMs, dip their toes in and build their confidence.
As a busy dad, i dont have the time to set things up any more, and self hosting is seldom plug and play... I set up Home Assistant on a raspi, but it took time. More plug and play self hosting pls! 🙂 And i dont want to have 100 raspberry pis running things neither, so some sort of virtualization would be nice also.
Bonus points: Invite people who aren't technically savvy / motivated enough to selfhost, to use your services. You can be the agent of change for more people than just yourself! Maybe it can be your gift to them. Maybe they'd be happy to help you out with something they're good at.
Sweet! Just took the leap into self hosting this month. Bought my hardware and about to start installing software. Ive got ideas planned but love seeing an overview for whats recommended. Thank you Elena! Ive been sharing your intro fediverse videos with friends & family, its so much easier & likely more effective than trying to explain it myself.
I think it is telling that we are about three years into the AI craze and, still, every single time someone says to me "I asked ChatGPT ___ " or "The chatbot told me ____" I know they are about to say something completely stupid and devoid of facts. Every single time.
This entry was edited (Monday, December 15, 2025, 12:01 PM)
@crazyeddie @alextheuxguy I once asked an AI bot to add ten numbers together and it failed. Can't imagine using it to manage or track something like work hours or finances.
@alextheuxguy There's some sort of weirder cognitive error going on here. Common understanding of computers and the fantasy of sci-fi TV has lead people into false beliefs somehow to such a degree that they live in a complete fantasy land wrt to the tools they use in their daily lives.
Someone told me they use AI to track their hours. I said it probably gets stuff wrong, don't trust it. "Oh yeah, it sure does!!!"
3 years of AI? I've been using AI for many years. Oh, you mean LLM? Yeah, it is just the same as the usual AI that can't see the difference between true and false facts. I only use it for ocr of documents that a human will proof read anyway.
The other day my sister asked Google's AI assistant mode to recommend wireless routers that could work as cheap access points.
Probably 90%+ of routers have an access point mode, so the list it returned ended up being accurate. But, I still had to double check everything.
Did it save time? Maybe? It narrowed the options, which isn't nothing. Asking it to summarize or narrow a list, even if you have to double-check its work, is one of the few things it can do, sometimes.
now wait until you learn that this world you wish for has always existed, the bbc being one of the biggest adversary of such a world. Wait until you learn about the heroes of the world who have been defamed by (among others) the bbc.
Maybe this situation can help you understand that your enemy is not the rightwinger, the mysoginist or the racist but the capitalist, who orchestrates all others.
Now wait until you understand that is was socialism that had the first pro abortion laws.
It's a disgrace that it had to come to this, but good on you to stand up for those that need it against those who don't. Much as I'd miss the IMC, I think I'd prefer it to end than for them to stuff in a "replacement" and carry on like nothing happened. Much love and support from 🇨🇦
This entry was edited (Sunday, December 14, 2025, 7:00 PM)
Good for you. It must have been such a difficult decision, but - for what it's worth - I think you made the right choice. It's an inspiration to others. To me.
Just adding my voice to the chorus of support for you here, Robin. Absolutely appalling behaviour by the #BBC management. I wish nothing but the best for you, and even while I hope to see and hear you in future endeavours, I am aware that all the wonder you have already spread is an absolute gift, and I hope you know you don’t owe us, your audience, anything should choose not to give it.
🗓️ Start: Tue 20 Jan 2026 3:00 pm
⏳ End: Tue 20 Jan 2026 5:00 pm
[strong]20th January @ 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm[/strong]
Social media is now a big part of how we stay connected. While some large platforms, such as Facebook, have concerns around privacy and da
Social media is now a big part of how we stay connected. While some large platforms, such as Facebook, have concerns around privacy and data use, the Fediverse offers a more open, secure, and community-focused alternative. Fediverse sites are free of ads, tracking, algorithms, big business and billionaires … they are community sites – owned and managed by the community for the community.
We’re pleased to say this is now being introduced across the U3A network, and we hope many members will join us and take part.
So this month we look at how to use the newly created social media Fediverse site u3a.social.
We start with a summary of past talks on the Fediverse and real time bidding (how targeted ads work) before walking through creating and using an account. Also covered is how to find groups, friends and news sources to follow (such as users on other Fediverse sites, Bluesky and RSS). Of course we’ll have a demo.
As always, plenty of time is reserved for discussions.
Joining details will be emailed to subscribers. If you aren’t a member, it’s free to join here u3acommunities.org/subscribe-t….
This entry was edited (Tuesday, January 6, 2026, 8:33 AM)
Long have I been annoyed with electric car charging apps not showing the cars state of charge ... I've just noticed that #OctopusEnergy #electroverse now shows it !
Perhaps its been there for some time and I've not noticed it, but nice to see something get better over time !
My last 12 months electricity bill continues to drop ... now average -£2.53/month. This is with #OctopusEnergy #solar #myenergi and #homeassisant . This covers my house electricity, hot water and car charging. It doesn't include heating.
Having some fun & games with #hyundai servicing of my #kona electric car. Its 7 years old with 8 years warranty on the traction battery, so it's vital to get the state-of-health of the battery. I measured it at 100% via a bluetooth ODBII adapter, servicing reported 73%.
Pretty sure they've confused state-of-health with state-of-charge. A friend suggested next time I should charge it to 20% and see if they will "fix" the battery under warranty 😀
Anyways, decided it was time to do a better measurement and so will track Cumulative Energy Charged & State of charge for a few months via #torquepro and #homeassistant.
I try hard to be a good citizen and reduce my pollution as much as I can (eg electric car and solar panels). But this year we've seen the (UK) government vastly increase electric car running costs.
I just worked out that my per mile costs will be going up for me by over 400%. Letter sent to my MP.
We’ll hand over to Adjua from @omega_nebula_dub our brother @mcbinbags from @binbag.wisdom and @pottsmusic to explain a bit more 🔥
The Garden Party is thrilled to be hosting this brand new not-for-profit festival model bought to you by ‘Grassroots Rising CiC’ - the team behind @chaiwallahs & @diplomatsofsound - together we champion independence, transparency, trust and true festival culture ☀️
Visit our Crowdfunder for how to get involved - L!B + the rest of the video is belting!
Join us on a voyage of discovery
This is just the start - This is ‘Where it all Began’
Join Octopus Energy’s Supergroup: a hands-on community of customers shaping energy tech (EVs, heat pumps, solar, smart tariffs). Meet the makers, try betas, see your impact.
That's a really weak word for the tracking, logging, capturing my screen, spying, high-jacking my data to Onedrive, resetting my basic settings (default browser, file association choices).
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Ready for a solo adventure in 2026?
🏕️ Volunteering at festivals alone is one of the best ways to step outside your comfort zone, meet amazing people, and make unforgettable memories!
📈 From gaining new skills to experiencing the energy of live events from behind the scenes, solo volunteering is a rewarding experience that’s all about personal growth and connection.
👋 Volunteering with us is the perfect opportunity to go adventure solo—with a supportive community, meaningful roles, and a friendly team to guide you.
💌 Ready to take the plunge? Sign up to our mailing list to keep up to date with everything MCUK! mailchi.mp/mycauseuk/mcuk-mail…
Don't forget, 3pm today is Prof. Winfried Hensinger talk on quantium computers over at u3acommunities.org/interest-gr… Promises to be the talk of the year!
🗓️ Start: Wed 10 Dec 2025 10:30 am
⏳ End: Wed 10 Dec 2025 12:00 pm
For over a century, the ultimate recognition of ground-breaking scientific research has been the award of a Nobel Prize. But there’s another series of annual awards, less prestigious but
For over a century, the ultimate recognition of ground-breaking scientific research has been the award of a Nobel Prize. But there’s another series of annual awards, less prestigious but no less cherished, which honour, not the greatest achievements in science, but the funniest. They’re called the ‘Ig’ Nobel Prizes, and, since their launch in 1991, they’ve provided a humorous insight into the quirky side of scientific research. In this light-hearted presentation, Barry Zussman, from Torridge u3a, will spill the beans (and much else besides!) on the wackiest prize-winners of 2025.
I am actually a little suprised he was not knighted already. Him as the 4th Doctor is so iconic. I bet you could show him dressed in that outfit to any adult anywhere in the world and they would probably know what or who he is
I know, like I’ve loved David Tennant and Eccleston is probably my favourite, but when you say Doctor Who, Tom Baker is the first image that comes in to my head. He might not be my favourite but he is my Doctor.
Subscribe and 🔔 to the BBC 👉 https://bit.ly/BBCYouTubeSubWatch the BBC first on iPlayer 👉 https://bbc.in/iPlayer-Home *PLOT SPOILERS* Tom Baker returns in...
He was my Doctor, though Tennant won me over eventually, so good in the role. Tom Baker though - I would always watch Dr Who before going out as a teenager and he was just amazing and the show so good even with the foam rubber special effects. Hair so different now but that smile is the same! He looks great for 91.
🗓️ Start: Tue 18 Nov 2025 3:00 pm
⏳ End: Tue 18 Nov 2025 5:00 pm
[strong]18th November @ 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm[/strong]
This month we are fortunate that Professor Winfried Hensinger, from Sussex University, will be giving us a talk about quantum computers.
This month we are fortunate that Professor Winfried Hensinger, from Sussex University, will be giving us a talk about quantum computers.
Prof Winfried Hensinger is a Professor of Quantum Technologies at the University of Sussex where heads the Sussex Ion Quantum Technology Group. He is the director of the Sussex Centre for Quantum Technologies, and he is Deputy Director and Sussex lead for the new £24M EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Quantum Information Science and Technologies, a joint venture of the University of Sussex and the University of Bristol. Hensinger is also a co-founder of Universal Quantum, a full stack quantum computing company, where he serves as Chief Scientist and Chairman. Hensinger has been working for over 20 years on building quantum computers with trapped ions that can solve important industry problems. In 2017, leading an international team from Google, Aarhus University, Siegen, Riken and Sussex University, he announced the first industrial blueprint for building a practical quantum computer with millions of qubits capable of solving important industry problems.
As usual, plenty of time is reserved for discussions.
This event is open to U3ACommunities computing, science and leading edge groups as well as the u3a science online interest group.
Joining details will be emailed to subscribers. If you aren’t a member, it’s free to join here u3acommunities.org/subscribe-t….
This entry was edited (Friday, November 14, 2025, 9:12 AM)
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We are very fortunatel that Prof. Winfried Hensinger, Professor of Quantum Technologies from the university of sussex, will be giving us a talk about quantum computers next Tuesday. See u3acommunities.org/event/quant…
We are very fortunatel that Prof. Winfried Hensinger, Professor of Quantum Technologies from the university of sussex, will be giving us a talk about quantum computers next Tuesday. See u3acommunities.org/event/quant…
Starts:Tuesday, November 18, 2025 at 3:00:00 PM UTC
Finishes:Tuesday, November 18, 2025 at 5:00:00 PM UTC
18th November @ 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
This month we are fortunate that Professor Winfried Hensinger, from Sussex University, will be giving us a talk about quantum computers.
Prof Winfried Hensinger is a Professor of Quantum Technologies at the University of Sussex where heads the Sussex Ion Quantum Technology Group. He is the director of the Sussex Centre for Quantum Technologies, and he is Deputy Director and Sussex lead for the new £24M EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Quantum Information Science and Technologies, a joint venture of the University of Sussex and the University of Bristol. Hensinger is also a co-founder of Universal Quantum, a full stack quantum computing company, where he serves as Chief Scientist and Chairman. Hensinger has been working for over 20 years on building quantum computers with trapped ions that can solve important industry problems. In 2017, leading an international team from Google, Aarhus University, Siegen, Riken and Sussex University, he announced the first industrial blueprint for building a practical quantum computer with millions of qubits capable of solving important industry problems.
As usual, plenty of time is reserved for discussions.
This event is open to U3ACommunities computing, science and leading edge groups as well as the u3a science online interest group.
Joining details will be emailed to subscribers. If you aren’t a member, it’s free to join here u3acommunities.org/subscribe-t….
(I'm not aware of any reputable RSS readers for mobile, as I suspect most people aren't, and I'd be quite interested in recommendations tbh...
)
feed info front-and-center on their websites.
Michael 🇺🇦
in reply to Peter Lord • • •Peter Lord
in reply to Peter Lord • •Great news ! Many thanks for the update (I guess a timely question!).
May I take the oportunity to thank the friendia team for all the hard work ... as time go on, its becoming more important than ever to have a platform thats free from ads/tracking/algorithms/big business etc.
Cheers.
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