I logged in to Facebook a day or two ago to pin a post that basically said: "I'm still around, just not here. My email is ______ and here's a link to my blog. Stay in touch if you're so inclined."
I've had contact with a few folks. I really despise how FB has become so entrenched in my friends lives. I'd love for them all to leave it, but they're too invested.
What is it I was taught?
"Vote with your feet."
I stopped posting about why people should leave a while back. I gave up preaching about secure communication and open source alternatives. Part of me feels like I abandoned them, but a big part of me also realizes that I gave them a means to contact me. I'll reach out to my closest peeps, anybody else...ball is in their court.
I'm just done supporting shitty companies. I'm a stubborn son-of-a-bitch when it comes to my principles, but it can make for a lonely existence at times.
A: the site was very buggy and wasn't of much help and we currently don't have the resources (as in developers) to work on a new one, as we like to focus on Sharkey itself not marketing, we have started redirecting the domain to the documentation and have fixed any links in the docs.
Sharkey funding for server hosting issues is used to run a minecraft server
A: We did have hosting issues but those were not responsible for the website being down. Sharkey is a project of TransFem.org, that means it runs on the same servers as TransFem.org, we did have a funding campaign for collecting funds to use for hosting TransFem.org this was reposted on the Sharkey account as Sharkey is a part of TransFem.org, it was also stated that said money would be used for hosting TransFem.org and it was never said it would solely be used for Sharkey, with that said yes there is a Minecraft server running on the same servers as Sharkey is, that being the TransFem.org servers which said Minecraft server is for. just like the TransFem.social fedi instance that runs on the same servers because its part of TransFem.org
The lead is just playing minecraft instead of working on the project
A: this is partially false, the project lead isn't much involved in actual development and more in sysadmin and management and has recently taken a bit of a break for mental health reasons and started playing on the modded minecraft server, that said they are still helping out when they are needed and this has no effect on Sharkey whatsoever
please keep in mind we are just a bunch of hobbyists working on this software, we do this for free, in our own time, the money we make with donations goes to hosting costs of the entire TransFem.org
1st, when you asked for money for your server, you made it clear that your Join Sharkey dot Org site would be online. You continued that statement before asking for money, during asking for money, and after asking for money. It is NOT online.
You could slap together even the most basic website and link to a 3rd party, for example Fedi dot Org and that would be good enough. Some simple HTML and you're done. Missing complete and promise fulfilled.
2nd, yes, people understood you would also be hosting your private Fediverse instance, too. We understood that and liked the idea. I think it is great, that you're running a Fedi dedicated to LGBTQ+ and their allies, for everyone to freely join. But we also were still waiting for the Sharkey development to be included onto that server, which it is not.
3rd, no one said or suggest that you were ONLY playing Minecraft. Only that it seems like you're using the server for everything BUT what you said you would.
4th, the documentation, the simple Wiki, takes all of 10 seconds to fix the URLs, which you STILL have not done. So I find the documentation, and it still does not point to how to Join Sharkey. Even now, after you wrote this. Do you think you can do that?
The reality is, you always take a chance when contributing to an open source development or projects. Just because you made a contribution, does not mean you own the project or can decide the path that project takes. Those of us who donated understood the risk (or at least, I hope most people did).
That said, when someone takes a proactive driving stance claiming they will deliver, you kind of hope you can take them for their word. And expecting the main website to be online is not a big ask, especially when that serves as a gateway for people to learn about and use the project you are funding. That, after all, was the reason I donated.
The fact that Sharkey has kept their Join Sharkey dot Org domain offline, basically nullifying the whole reason for their request for funds, seems like a betrayal. If you ask people to donate so you can have a server and run the project, but then do not do the very thing you said you would....
Needless to say, I have ended my funding of Sharkey.
Join Sharkey dot Org has been OFFLINE for over 2 months. The reason given was hosting issues, and this was before the whole Hetzner drama. Join Sharkey dot Org is supposed to be the gateway for people to learn about Sharkey and how they can join.
The Documentation Page (Wiki) is still up, using the subdomain, Doc dot Join Sharkey dot Org, but the URLs are broken. I have repeatedly reported the broken URLs for over 2 months (both in the Git and on their Discord Server). No one seems to want to address that.
They have a private copy of GitLab located at ActivityPub dot Software, that you cannot find via a search looking for Sharkey (DuckDuckGo, Bing, Google). That is where you can report code changes and fixes, but you would likely not know that unless you stumbled upon the URL somewhere (or someone gave you that URL).
Sharkey raised a lot of money so they can host their own content, safely, and securely. They now own their own physical server and lease the space to have that server housed (hosted) remotely. And while the lead developer promotes that server partially as a minecraft server, Join Sharkey dot Org still remains, OFFLINE.
I have pulled funding from Sharkey and will not be supporting it further until they get their act together. It is a good software, and it is my preferred method to use the Fediverse, but you would assume they would want their website working.
No matter, how you connect to the Fediverse, be if, for example, Misskey, Sharkey, Ice Shrimp, Mastodon, PeerTube, Pixelfed, Kbin, or by other means, the Fediverse instance you're using cost money. In the real world, web hosting, bandwidth, and storage space cost, money. And the more members who use and join your Fediverse instance (server), the more resources and the most it cost.
I earned by badge, by reaching out to my administrator, and helping them by donating. And while if it was not required to make a donation or regular contribution, I like using the Fediverse. It is ad-free and decentralized, meaning, someone like Elon Musk, cannot change things for everyone, everywhere, solely on their latest mood swing. So I made the choice to help fund my corner of the collective social media network, known as the Fediverse.
They're the mascot for #SharkeyWorld, an instance powered by @Sharkey (cc: @ruud). It's a community of roughly ~120 members, and part of the rapidly growing squad of instances based on this #Misskey fork. #OhHaai
Haai is also the Dutch word for shark, and also is a homophone for a greeting (Hi!).
Those wanting to try out an alternative to Mastodon, you're welcome to create an account on https://sharkey.world. #Sharkey has a very different layout, but most of the same features as Mastodon, and many features Mastodon hasn't. Just see for yourself, and it's fine to either use it as a second account, or you can decide to migrate your current account to it, if you really like it.