UPDATE (May 6): NGL, it has been fun (hobby wise) implementing this (https://murasama.net/portal) and learning how I can use this setup in place of other platforms. At first, the plan (in my head) was going to be something like a stripped down version of the media portal (which utilized a complete content management system) I ran 10+ years ago where there were granular access controls, admin defined categorization for different content, an addon system that allowed extending its functionality, and a complete user account management system.
In this case (what exists so far), it’s like a social media feed (without an algorithm) with channels (spaces) for categorization with simple access controls, an invite/join system (similar to Discord’s channel or server invite links) along with individual and group direct messages (and real time chat if enabled). In short, a great replacement for self-hosting a community of individuals that may have been on a platform like Discord. Unlike Discord (or any of the alternative platforms to it), this one allows public view access if enabled (which is how the site is operating)
While it could be opened up to the public (signup registrations) where it would be like operating your own small social media network/community chat, that isn’t the objective here. I’ve had several small Discord servers (with people I know) and have been looking for alternatives; I’ve already started the process of depreciating the use of Discord (deactivated since early April) before they start rolling out age verification.
While I don’t expect my account to be flagged, I decided over the course of the last year to begin this self de-platforming and making a conscious decision to stop or reduce the amount of time spent participating on these larger platforms (going back to self-hosting/running what I can as an alternative). This overarching aspect of age verification was the nail in the coffin.
Previously, the plan was to use ActivityPub’s federation to provide a direct messaging capability (via private mentions). While that avenue will remain available (unless I blocked/disable that functionality), this mini portal will provide that ability in a format that is more familiar to most and is what this will be used to replace those Discord servers.
At the same time, blogging (at the rate I was doing in April), can be either fun or a drag depending on what the topic is (the unfun geopolitical stuff dominated most of that given the current events angle). This month, I’ve gone back to not looking at that news (which means not needing to purge that out into a stream of conscience post).
The posting format on this community portal can be anything (detailed or microblogging style short where the latter is perfect for just simply posting a link to some article which if I feel like, can then blog about in greater detail on the actual blog). While I could do that here (post links without context or commentary), I’ve kept to this longer form style since I prefer adding my own thoughts and opinions when deciding what does get posted.
Because it’s actually coming together much better than I expected, it might end up becoming the primary frontend once everything is better defined and tested. Currently, the media hub site is redirected to from the main domain (murasama.net) while this blog (and the semi-retired gaming blog) are separate subdomains (I don’t have any plans to merge these two blog sites together).
Original:
Instead of clogging up this blog site with short microblog/Discord style postings, will be working on implementing and testing a “mini” community portal running off the main domain.
This project/hobby is currently a “work in progress” beta test site.
