We’re exploring the possibility of moving our citizen science community to Friendica for improved security and ownership. We currently run a wiki at helminthictherapywiki.org and have a Facebook support group with 8,000 members, although engagement is limited (1–4 new posts per day).
We lack the skills and expertise to build this ourselves. Our team consists of two main volunteers focused on internet services (others manage social media like Instagram). One volunteer, John, is in his late 70s and slowing down, but he cares deeply about Internet security and would prefer a finished product. We can manage the Friendiverse platform once it’s set up.
Cost and Current Setup:
We pay around $30/month for the current wiki hosted on a “wikifarm” (which wasn’t a good decision). Moving the wiki to a proper MediaWiki setup on the same server as Friendica would eliminate the need for multiple servers. The wiki sees minimal traffic (1–2 users at a time, with maybe a dozen at peak times).
About John:
John is very invested in the project, as HT literally saved his life 20 years ago. He is highly security-conscious and would be thrilled to see this secure platform in place. However, he’s slowing down, and the best approach is to provide him with a finished product.
What We’re Looking For:
- An experienced individual to privately set up and install Friendica.
- Details on the cost, setup time, and whether you’d be willing to handle the server setup if we provide the cloud service.
I also need to understand any potential differences between Facebook and Friendica, such as how image uploading or other features might work differently. While I plan to search for this information, any insights you can provide would be helpful.
Hi all, syn3gry asked me on Reddit about this and I said to post over here.
I’ve been thinking about how we get people off Facebook and the best way to move whole communities to their own instance. This has the upside of removing decision paralysis.
I’ve been thinking about simple installation of Fediverse services for people with less technical know-how and I’m leaning towards: Hetzner, Debian, Yunohost and then add the services from there (as in this case YH offers Friendica and WikiMedia). This should keep things simple and make updating easier. Thoughts?
Over on feddit.uk, we have around 4k users and 450 MAU, which costs us £34/month (with back-up). So it should definitely be possible to get this all up and running for something like the amount you are already paying.
Does Friendica fit this need though? I don’t think Friendica groups is anywhere near Facebook groups.
Why not a Lemmy community or maybe wait for Pixelfed groups? @[email protected] said that Pixelfed groups will be just like Facebook groups.
We just need to be able to have people posting, and threaded replies. Also search, images and links.
Not having used either, it sounds like the Pixelfed groups don’t actually exist yet while Friendica does exist already, today? If they want to make the move now they probably don’t need to be waiting for something that’s on the roadmap for a project with a solo developer.
Not a solo dev anymore. He had a successful kickstarter campaign to speed/scale up development and build a team.
Also, apparently groups will be released this weekend.
I am reluctant to be a beta user for a large live forum.
True, but Friendica doesn’t have an app and I’m pretty sure most users of Facebook use the app, not the website.
does friendica have an app
Yes, Friendica has mobile apps. Some notable apps include:
- Raccoon for Friendica (Android): Offers comprehensive features and is designed specifically for Friendica[4][5].
- Friendiqa (Android, Qt compatible desktop, Linux phone): Supports Friendica but is less maintained[5].
- DiCa (Android): Another option, though it is also less maintained[5].
- Fedilab (Android): Can be used with Friendica due to its support for ActivityPub[5].
- Friendly (Sailfish OS): A client for Sailfish OS devices[5].
Additionally, many GNU Social and Mastodon clients can be used with Friendica due to its compatible APIs[1][5].
Citations: [1] Friendica - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendica [2] Friendica - YunoHost app store https://apps.yunohost.org/app/friendica [3] YunoHost-Apps/friendica_ynh: Friendica package for … - GitHub https://github.com/YunoHost-Apps/friendica_ynh [4] Raccoon for Friendica documentation - GitHub Pages https://livefasteattrashraccoon.github.io/RaccoonForFriendica/ [5] Mobile Clients - Friendica https://friendi.ca/resources/mobile-clients/ [6] Use it - Friendica https://friendi.ca/resources/use-it/ [7] friendica – A Decentralized Social Network https://friendi.ca/ [8] What are your prefered apps to access Friendica? : r/fediverse - Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/fediverse/comments/1h73wz0/what_are_your_prefered_apps_to_access_friendica/
That’s great, but I should have mentioned that I use iOS 😁
I did notice that there weren’t any for iPhone… As an android user, it seemed a low priority… 🤣
There are also a few offers for managed hosting of Friendica instances, see Hosting a Fediverse instance (a list of providers)
Respectfully, I don’t think you want to go down this path.
Having a third party setting up a complex software with no commitment for ongoing maintenance leaves you in a bad spot when something breaks or needs updating. And even if this software is great; all technology stacks eventually need some maintenance.
So I think you need someone from your community to step up and be willing to take this on with at least an intention of being there for ongoing maintenance and support. Or, paying for a commercial service who will do this for you.
If you find that person, feel free to reach out to me and I’ll give them some pointers about how to get this up and running and answer some questions about best practices and such. I’m not familiar with Friendica but the setup seems relatively straightforward if you have a web host who supports running Docker containers.
I did actually expect a maintenance contractor. I didn’t find any in a search. When I said I could maintain it, I meant the day to day stuff.
