Is Kbin dying? I wanted to address the deleted thread and provide some insight into the current situation.

/kbin is certainly not dying, as @fr0g pointed out, work on new features and bug fixes is ongoing. However, it may give the impression that it is, and for that, I take full responsibility and owe you an explanation.

Several factors have contributed to this situation. The first and most significant reason is my family issues, which I must prioritize. I'm doing my best to stabilize the situation as quickly as possible, but not everything is within my control. The second reason is unfortunate financial matters. When Kbin suddenly gained popularity, the project's maintenance costs far exceeded my initial estimates. While community support still allows for the cluster's maintenance, I also need to take care of my own livelihood and commitments. Another reason involves spam campaigns and other issues that I need to address behind the scenes. I don't want to go into specifics right now, but there will come a time when I can share more. My top priority is to resolve all these matters so that I can return to working on Kbin full-time.

I spend every spare moment writing code and reviewing code? from other contributors. It's a lot of work that goes into development, and I try to verify every accepted pull request and make improvements when I can. It also takes up a lot of time, more than it may seem. I have also delegated some responsibilities and permissions to the Kbin core team (https://codeberg.org/org/Kbin/teams), which has allowed the project to continue to grow, and I am immensely grateful for that. However, I still want to maintain overall control, although over time, we will work on better processes to make it less dependent on me.

I paused updates on kbin.social some time ago until the release of the first version. Hence, the impression that nothing is happening. Kbin is, in fact, developing so rapidly that I wouldn't be able to respond to potential issues quickly enough, adding to the stress.

I've given myself a deadline to resolve all my issues and release the first official version by the end of September. If I can't meet the deadline, I will step down from leading the project and transfer full rights over the repository and instance to the contributors. Of course, this includes the budget I mentioned earlier, earmarked for instance maintenance.

I feel truly awful about this. I can't even keep up with threads on Matrix Spaces, notifications here, etc. Right now, the only way to contact me is through the contact form. However, I want to catch up on everything as soon as possible and stabilize the situation. It's crucial to me, but at the moment, I can't put it above family matters. I apologize for letting you down, and I appreciate your words of support. If it weren't for such an amazing community, I might have given up a long time ago.

rbos,
@rbos@mastodon.novylen.net avatar

@ernest
I primarily use Lemmy but I love that kbin exists, in case Lemmy's architecture doesn't work out. We need diversity in the ecosystem, and different technological solutions to the same problem. Diversity is resilience, and it's great to see the work being done.
@fr0g

LegionEris,

Same. I’m not a kbin local, but even being based in a neutral instance that blocks nothing and nobody, kbin users and content are a huge presence in my ecosystem. Kbin is an important part of the fediverse. Periods of slow growth or even genuine stasis are preferable to unsustainable long term development decisions in the name of immediate results. Better to simmer the sauce now while the pot is small than to have an enormous vat of increasingly unworkable spaghetti in a year and a half.

originalucifer, (edited )
@originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com avatar

dunno, i kinda got into running an instance after reading about all the hard work you put into it. it would be hard for me to separate the ernest from the kbin ... so, dont do that?

take your time, take care of yours. this shit will be here

wagesj45,
wagesj45 avatar

I've given myself a deadline to resolve all my issues and release the first official version by the end of September. If I can't meet the deadline, I will step down from leading the project and transfer full rights over the repository and instance to the contributors. Of course, this includes the budget I mentioned earlier, earmarked for instance maintenance.

Silly. Your stewardship is great. Don't let unrealistic timelines get you down, especially ones that are self imposed.

TellumSiege, (edited )
TellumSiege avatar

You've done an awesome job. And anyone complaining needs to remember that Kbin/ Fediverse is still in its infancy stages: It's going to cry, teethe, piss and shit itself when you least expect it. But with the right care (and time), one day it'll be a lot easier to manage.

kreynen,
kreynen avatar

You might reach out to https://indieweb.social/@dries. He's talked openly about some of the challenges his project has had scaling and less openly about how personally he takes it when he can't solve problems with the project/contributor community. Drupal is a very mature community that has been able to foster a lot of trust between longtime contributors. What you've accomplished with Kbin already is amazing. Give yourself time to figure out how to delegate in a way that works for you. Focus on finding the right people and process over an arbitrary date.

ZugZug,

I’m here for the long haul. Having a great time already.

readbeanicecream,
readbeanicecream avatar

@ernest Don't let someone with the red ass, who by the way is using a self-described beta product for free and without ads) get you down. You need to take care of yourself and your family first. We will manage. I spend more time on kbin than I do on reddit and mastodon combined. The few little glitches I have hit here and there are nothing. This is a solid product and I have a blast using it!

If anyone says that /kbin is dying ... well I will leave this right here:

kbin.social stats

kbin's codeberg activity

Kudos to you @ernest and everyone else who contributes to the project!

elouboub,
elouboub avatar

Dude, you're being quite hard on yourself. You're not the only one who can write code, you're not the only one who can review it. It would be fine for you to step back and take a decision making role until everything else has been handled in your life.

Don't burn out in a few months. Protect your sanity so that you can be there for the long run.

Lolman228,

"If the task are not done by the time allotted, I doth declare my resignation" bro you're a developer, not a politician. The fact you're actually giving us an update shows you're better than 99% of people who could replace you. Kbin isn't even in that bad a spot right now, considering the alternatives. You're doing fine, take your time to make sure whatever gets pushed out is up to your standards.

indieterminacy,

slow and steady wins the race :)

lots of people trust you and from what I can tell you have a great team around you.

dont fret, it will be ok.

maybe just delegate a bit more out to some deputies you have confidence in.

geosoco,

Thank you for all your work and I hope everything with the family is well and you're taking care of yourself!

DarkGamer,
DarkGamer avatar

Self care first, my friend. When you are okay then you can worry about others. All the weight doesn't have to be on your shoulders.

I appreciate what you've built so far and the rest can come as it does. It's not worth running yourself ragged over. I hope things resolve well with your family issues, many thanks and no gripes here. Kbin remains awesome as-is and I'm sure it will only get even better eventually. Every improvement doesn't have to be today.

downpunxx,
downpunxx avatar

hey @earnest, original (and multiple since my bad poster here) I just wanted to drop a note here, and wanted to thank you for your response. i couldn't see any replies to my original thread this morning, figured it was users that i had blocked trolling me through some loophole in the blocking/"not really blocking" feature, and reposted a couple times today.

i will stop doing that now that you sent me that message, i'd sure like to see the other replies to this thread (your thread) but can't see a single comment.

take your time, do your thing, i truly utterly and gratefuly appreciate you taking the time out to respond to this, and your efforts, preivous and ongoing are valued and i'm just glad kbin is a workign alternative to lemmy. wish you nothing but good for your family, and other ongoing commitments, and here's to the future of kbin!

ADHDefy,
ADHDefy avatar

You are crushing it, in my view, @ernest. Thank you for all you do for this community, but you can give yourself some room to breathe. We're all doing okay as long as you're okay.

Brkdncr,

Please delegate a task to develop a revenue stream.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • kbinMeta
  • ethstaker
  • DreamBathrooms
  • everett
  • magazineikmin
  • Durango
  • InstantRegret
  • Youngstown
  • mdbf
  • slotface
  • rosin
  • thenastyranch
  • kavyap
  • GTA5RPClips
  • tacticalgear
  • JUstTest
  • cubers
  • cisconetworking
  • osvaldo12
  • khanakhh
  • ngwrru68w68
  • modclub
  • tester
  • anitta
  • normalnudes
  • Leos
  • provamag3
  • megavids
  • lostlight
  • All magazines