Most of you will say that the succesor to eMule is BitTorrent as it is the most widely used P2P network today, but there are some things that BitTorrent lacks and eMule provides. The most notorious for me are the following:

• Built-in network-wide search
• Easy sharing
• Unique links

Maybe you don’t consider this features important, but the fact is that with the approach BitTorrent takes, we are highly dependent on central points that make the network vulnerable. With BitTorrent we depend on trackers and link listing websites to share content. A torrent client is useless on its own if we don’t have a link listing site to get torrents or magnet-links from. On the other side, with the built-in search eMule provides, one can start downloading without the need for a website to take links from.

Easy sharing is also very important, because it provides more peers to download files from. This is specially important on rare files, because with torrents the seeds to download a file can become scattered between different torrents and there can be 5 different torrents seeding the same data, yet they don’t share peers. It is clear that one torrent with multiple seeds is preferred that multiple torrents with one seed each, for example.

When there is one single way to identify a file on the network (like with ed2k hashlinks) even the less tech-savvy users are able to contribute. Sharing on eMule is as simple as dropping the file you want to share on your incoming folder (even if it is not the optimal way to do it). In BitTorrent, you must download an existing torrent file or magnet link, stop the download, replace the half downloaded files with the ones you already had downloaded, making sure that you use the same directory structure and filenames that are defined in the torrent, recheck the torrent and start it, all this in order to share files you had downloaded previously. Tell a noob user to do that to help you download some rare file…

And now imagine that you have an entire drive full of sharing material, but the directory structure and filenames differ from the ones used on the torrents (because you like to keep things ordered in your hard drive). This scenario makes it impossible to share those files on the torrent network without creating brand new torrents, so you can’t contribute and be one more seed on already existing torrents.

Why not use eMule then? Because it’s slow, inneficient, and there is practically only one client that is no longer actively developed. Searching for alternatives, the most similar program that has various clients and is multiplatform is Direct Connect, but it is not decentralized, and different servers don’t communicate with each other, so peers for the same file are not shared globally and instead are scattered around different hubs.

Is there really no other program that works the way eMule does? Is there no true spiritual succesor to eMule nowadays?

I read there were genetically modified mosquitoes that only bred males. Is that commercially available? What about that laser that zapped roaches, has it been improved to zap mosquitoes too? Maybe there is a guide somewhere on how to build a DIY Anti Mosquitoes Air Defense System?

I'm excited to see the new meme browsing interface feature in PieFed. I expected PieFed to be yet another Reddit clone using a different software stack and without any innovation. I believe there's an opportunity to take things a step further by blending the best elements of platforms like Reddit and image boards like Safebooru.

I wish there was a platform that was a mix between Reddit and image boards like Safebooru. The problem I have with Reddit is the time-consuming process of posting content; I should be able to post something in a few seconds, but often finding the right community takes longer than actually posting, and you have to decide whether to post in every relevant community or just the one that fits best. In the case of Lemmy, the existence of multiple similar communities across different instances makes this issue even worse.

I like how image boards like Safebooru offer a streamlined posting experience, allowing users to share content within seconds. The real strength of these platforms lies in their curation and filtering capabilities. Users can post and curate content, and others can contribute to the curation process by adding or modifying tags. Leaderboards showcasing top taggers, posters, and commenters promote active participation and foster a sense of community. Thanks to the comprehensive tagging system, finding previously viewed content becomes a breeze, unlike the challenges often faced on Reddit and Lemmy. Users can easily filter out unwanted content by hiding specific tags, something that would require blocking entire communities on platforms like Lemmy.

However, image boards also have their limitations. What I don't like about image boards is that they are primarily suited for image-based content and often lack robust text discussion capabilities or threaded comments, which are essential for fostering meaningful conversations.

Ideally, I envision a platform that combines the best of both worlds: the streamlined posting experience of image boards with the robust text discussion capabilities of platforms like Reddit and Lemmy.

I would be thrilled to contribute to a platform that considered some of the following features:

• Slashdot-Style Nuanced Voting System
• Rethinking Moderation: A Call for Trust Level Systems in the Fediverse
• My Dream Social Media Platform
• Lemmy backend issues
• Lemmy frontend issues

I would also like to see more community-driven development, asking users for feedback periodically in a post, and publicly stating what features devs will be working on. Code repositories issue trackers have some limitations. A threaded tree-like comment system is better for discussions, and having upvotes/downvotes helps surface the best ideas. I propose using a lemmy community as the issue tracker instead.

• Embrace Complaint-Driven Development: Let Users Guide You to Better Solutions
• What are your complaints about Lemmy? Developers may want your feedback

I'm excited to see the new meme browsing interface feature in PieFed. I expected PieFed to be yet another Reddit clone using a different software stack and without any innovation. I believe there's an opportunity to take things a step further by blending the best elements of platforms like Reddit and image boards like Safebooru.

I wish there was a platform that was a mix between Reddit and image boards like Safebooru. The problem I have with Reddit is the time-consuming process of posting content; I should be able to post something in a few seconds, but often finding the right community takes longer than actually posting, and you have to decide whether to post in every relevant community or just the one that fits best. In the case of Lemmy, the existence of multiple similar communities across different instances makes this issue even worse.

I like how image boards like Safebooru offer a streamlined posting experience, allowing users to share content within seconds. The real strength of these platforms lies in their curation and filtering capabilities. Users can post and curate content, and others can contribute to the curation process by adding or modifying tags. Leaderboards showcasing top taggers, posters, and commenters promote active participation and foster a sense of community. Thanks to the comprehensive tagging system, finding previously viewed content becomes a breeze, unlike the challenges often faced on Reddit and Lemmy. Users can easily filter out unwanted content by hiding specific tags, something that would require blocking entire communities on platforms like Lemmy.

However, image boards also have their limitations. What I don't like about image boards is that they are primarily suited for image-based content and often lack robust text discussion capabilities or threaded comments, which are essential for fostering meaningful conversations.

Ideally, I envision a platform that combines the best of both worlds: the streamlined posting experience of image boards with the robust text discussion capabilities of platforms like Reddit and Lemmy.

I would be thrilled to contribute to a platform that considered some of the following features:

• Slashdot-Style Nuanced Voting System
• Rethinking Moderation: A Call for Trust Level Systems in the Fediverse
• My Dream Social Media Platform
• [Lemmy backend issues](https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/issues?q=is%3Aissue author%3A8ullyMaguire sort%3Areactions-%2B1-desc)
• [Lemmy frontend issues](https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy-ui/issues?q=is%3Aissue author%3A8ullyMaguire sort%3Areactions-%2B1-desc)

I would also like to see more community-driven development, asking users for feedback periodically in a post, and publicly stating what features devs will be working on. Code repositories issue trackers have some limitations. A threaded tree-like comment system is better for discussions, and having upvotes/downvotes helps surface the best ideas. I propose using a lemmy community as the issue tracker instead.

• Embrace Complaint-Driven Development: Let Users Guide You to Better Solutions
• What are your complaints about Lemmy? Developers may want your feedback

Things got heated on the piracy community at lemmy.dbzer0.com when the admin, db0, announced plans to use a GenerativeAI tool to rotate the community's banner daily with random images.

While some praised the creative idea, others strongly objected, arguing that AI-generated art lacks soul and meaning. A heated debate ensued over the artistic merits of AI art versus human-created art.

One user threatened to unsubscribe from the entire instance over the "wasteful BS" of randomly changing the banner every day. The admin defended the experiment as a fun way to inject randomness and chaos.

Caught in the crossfire were arguments about corporate ties to AI image generators, electricity waste, and whether the banner switch-up even belonged on a piracy community in the first place.

In the end, the admin stubbornly insisted on moving forward with the AI banner rotation, leaving unhappy users to either embrace the chaotic visuals or jump ship. Such is the drama and controversy that can emerge from a seemingly innocuous banner change!

— Claude, Anthropic AI

I'm looking for an open-source program compatible with Linux that facilitates media sharing and collaborative curation among users. The ideal software would enable sharing any media content while allowing multiple users to collectively organize and manage the content. I would still like to hear about any similar software, even closed source or not compatible with Linux. I would greatly appreciate your suggestions.

I've noticed that the current sorting algorithms prioritize posts based on votes, which can sometimes lead to posts with high votes but few comments dominating the feed. This may not accurately reflect user engagement. On the other hand, sorting by "Most Comments" disregards votes entirely. I believe Lemmy should consider taking into account multiple user engagement metrics in their algorithms like comments, votes, time spent on a post, etc. What are your thoughts on this? Would you prefer a new sorting algorithm that combines various metrics, adjustments to existing algorithms to include more metrics, or do you like the current sorting algorithms available the way they are?

Before the scaled sort was introduced, the hope was that it would provide a solution to surface posts from smaller communities, without being overrun by memes and political posts from larger communities. However, the scaled sort has been ineffective so far, as most posts appear with a single vote, making it practically the same as the "New" sort.

The developers have closed all issues related to the scaled sort, even though it fails to address the issues raised in several discussions:

1. Rework "Hot" sorting to show posts from more varied communities
2. The rank of a post in the aggregated feed should be inversely proportional to the size of the community
3. Is there any way to reverse degrowth of the niche communities on Lemmy?
4. I hate to say it but I haven't been very active on lemmy, but I want to be

Personally, I believe the best way to address this issue is through the implementation of tags and custom feeds. With post tags and custom feeds, users could create separate feeds tailored to their preferences by subscribing to a few communities and blocking specific tags or keywords. However, this would require an incentive system similar to imageboards like Safebooru, with a leaderboard to encourage accurate post tagging by users, as also mentioned in The Great Monkey Tagging Army: How Fake Internet Points Can Save Us All!

Although I've blocked the largest communities, I still want to see some of that content occasionally.

Do you have any ideas or suggestions on how Lemmy could better surface content from smaller communities?

Edit:

Potential Solutions

Several potential solutions were discussed:

1. Tagging System and Custom Feeds Implementing a tagging system could allow users to create custom feeds by subscribing and blocking specific tags across communities. This could surface niche content by filtering for relevant tags. An incentive system like leaderboards could encourage accurate user tagging.

2. Community Grouping Similar to Reddit's "Multireddits", allowing users to group multiple smaller communities together into a single custom feed could boost visibility for those niche communities when browsing that grouped feed.

3. API for Client-Side Sorting Providing an API endpoint that shares metadata for recent posts like post ID, post votes, and comments would allow third-party clients and plugins to experiment with custom sorting algorithms on the front-end tailored to user preferences.

4. "Unanswered" View Having a view that surfaces posts with little or no engagement yet, specifically from smaller communities, could help discover underrepresented niche topics that may need more attention.

5. Server Plugin Architecture If sorting algorithms must be implemented server-side for performance, having a plugin architecture where different instance owners can test out new sorting implementations and formulas could allow faster iteration.

Ideally, a combination of tagging, custom feeds, and improving sort algorithms to factor in community size could provide a multifaceted approach to better surface content from niche communities on Lemmy. Encouraging open discussion around desirable features is valuable to guide development efforts when resources do become available.

https://bsky.app/profile/atproto.com/post/3kmnthuhrha2m

👋 Hello to the 260+ self-hosters that have joined the network over the last week! (Notice how nothing has changed about the in-app experience? 😎)

Developers, in case you missed it, we enabled federation for self-hosters last week. Read this guide to learn how to set up your own server!

I'm seeking a website where I can ask any programming or tech-related questions without the risk of it being closed. It would be nice if the platform allowed linking similar problems for better organization. Previously, I found HeapOverflow to be useful, but unfortunately, it is no longer available. Another platform I tried was Wotas.net (Wisdom of the Ancient Souls Q&A Tech Website), but it didn't last long either. These platforms were not very active, often leading me to post solutions to my own questions. Despite this, I prefer them over websites with an army of moderators trying to find any excuse to close your post. My preference leans away from platforms like StackOverflow or Codidact, which focus mainly on bug-related questions. When dealing with troubleshooting bugs involving Minimal Reproducible Examples and error logs, I find seeking help from an LLM more beneficial than those kinds of websites anyways, due to their clear and concise responses.

I like open-source projects with transparency and community-driven approach to development. How does Sublinks ensure transparency and community involvement in its development process? Could you shed some light on the guidelines or process by which feature requests are evaluated, approved, rejected, and prioritized for inclusion in the roadmap?

As someone with a background in Java from college and a newfound interest in Spring Boot, I am eager to contribute to the Sublinks codebase. However, transitioning from small example projects to a large, complex codebase can be intimidating. Could Sublinks have a mentorship program or opportunities for pair programming to support new contributors in navigating the codebase? Having a mentor to guide me through the initial stages would be invaluable in building my confidence and understanding of the codebase, enabling me to eventually tackle issues independently. Then I could mentor a new contributor. I believe it's a nice way to recruit new contributors.

I've been pondering the idea of creating a community right here on Discuss Online that mirrors the activity from the GitHub issue trackers across the various Sublinks repositories. My goal is to establish a space where both a bot and community members can share updates on issues, as well as provide feedback and suggestions in a more discussion-friendly format.

Previously, I set up a similar system for the Lemmy issue tracker at [email protected], but unfortunately, bot accounts were banned due to excessive activity. I'm seeking approval beforehand to avoid setting it up only to face potential bans later on.

This community would serve as a real-time mirror of the GitHub issues from repositories like sublinks-api and others within https://github.com/sublinks. It would not only facilitate better visibility for the issues but also allow for a more structured conversation flow, thanks to the nested comments feature. Plus, the ability to sort comments by votes can help us quickly identify the most valuable ideas and feedback.

Before moving forward with this initiative, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Do you think this would be a valuable addition to this community? Are there any concerns regarding the potential activity levels from bot postings?

Looking forward to your feedback and hoping to make our collaboration even more productive and enjoyable!