Hi all, sorry for a lack of updates but there's been a lot going on behind the scenes and events moved rather rapidly.
I recently posted that we were going to have to move to another instance because our only Admin was missing and problems looked to be piling up.
Fortunately, Tom dropped me a line the other day and he has updated the instance and made GreatAlbatross and myself Admins.
So the immediate crisis has been averted and we've fallen back to the original plan which was get more Admins in place and work to ensure there's no single point of failure, so any one of us could get hit by a bus (bagsy not me) and the instance will carry on.
Soooo bear with us while we thrash out the details of what else needs doing to ensure the continuity of the instance and while I figure out what all the new buttons do (hopefully not by mashing them all at once just to see what happens).
In the meantime there are likely problems that need fixing. I know, for example, that some are still having email verification problems and have been waiting a while, so I'll figure out how to resolve this and work through the pinned post here. If you have this problem then post there and we'll get it sorted.
If there are any other issues you want to flag up for attention then you can do so here or contact one of the new admins.
And, finally, thanks to everyone for their enthusiasm for this instance in the other thread and elsewhere, if the folks on here hadn't formed a great community that they felt was worth the time and effort to save we wouldn't be here now with the future looking more secure. Tom built the house but you all made it a home. So carry on...
edit 1: I'll keep tagging things on as I think of them. Firstly, we'll be keeping the Matrix space - it'll be our fallback if the server goes down and provides people with an encrypted (and private if needed) channel of communication. If you add your Matrix ID to your profile it adds a secure DMs button to your.profile, so Matrix and Lemmy are integrated to a degree.
I disagree. The country-specific Lemmy instances tend to share the Feddit branding which I think is a big plus. I think there's a strong argument the name doesn't infringe Reddit's brand (it's not like Apple can just make all i-Whatever products go away).
And feddit.de is the 5th biggest instance, and would surely run into problems first. They seem to be doing fine.
What's the strong argument? The difference is "i-whatever" is because i means internet and it's a single letter. What sets the feddit brand and reddit brand apart is the fact it begins with "f" and not "r". Feddit.DE hasn't been taken down YET. But it's inevitable if it keeps growing.
Disclaimer: not a lawyer
Reddit is an American company and this degree of similarity is not close enough to violate USPTO law.
Now, it's close enough that their legal team could try to argue it in court and then sure, the Lemmy instances might be sunk because who is going to fight them? But I don't think an American judge would even hear this case. And if they go after feddit.de that would be interesting because I think their users could rally together to save it/fight back.
Plus, if Reddit were to win a USPTO case over the Feddit name that would have chilling effects so I could see advocacy nonprofits jumping in to provide legal support in that fight. But again, probably will never even get there.
Also, I probably should have used KFC as a better example: