stefano

🎊 Happy Birthday, BSD Cafe! 🎂

It's been exactly one year since I decided to announce my idea to the world: the BSD Cafe.

The name was chosen in December 2022, but the project had been in my mind for quite some time. I envisioned a virtual space of serenity, well-being, constructiveness, and inclusivity. A place where we are all FOR something (the BSDs, exchanging ideas, growth, community, mutual support), not AGAINST something – a sentiment far too common in today's polarized world.

And on 20 July 2023, almost impulsively, I launched the project, migrating my account from my previous private Mastodon instance and announcing it on Mastodon and Twitter.

I never imagined what would happen next.

The reception was incredible – many people joined, numerous registrations, and a lot of encouragement. The BSD Cafe has become a wonderful virtual place. Every time I open Mastodon (I use the PWA on my phone, not an app), or Element, or one of the BSD Cafe tools, I think of something good, constructive, and beautiful.

The BSD community is fantastic – people who are mentally and technologically mature and balanced, eager to exchange ideas and opinions, ready to teach and learn something new every day. Minds thirsty for knowledge.

I believe we have an extraordinary passion and that open source allows us to do everything without significant financial outlays. And this, in my opinion, is truly democratic and revolutionary in this stark world.

My contribution aims to be precisely this: a place where all patrons, BSD users or not, can feel relaxed and fulfilled. There's a table for everyone at the BSD Cafe, and many friends ready to spend quality time together.

After exactly one year, I can draw some conclusions. Managing the BSD Cafe has not been complex. Users are always ready to advise and test, and their behaviour is generally very good. Occasionally, I receive some reports – some exaggerated, others I try to understand and resolve. In a year, I had to, reluctantly, remove only two users. One in the very early days: they had an exclusively negative attitude – even against me – and we risked being defederated by many instances I care about. Fortunately, the admin friends at BSD.network gave me an overview, and I understood the situation well. The second user I had to remove was...a bot. So I feel at peace with my conscience.

Throughout this year, many friends have joined, and now the BSD Cafe hosts many people and projects. The Mastodon instance, Matrix, Brew (git), the RSS readers and other services are fully active and used daily by hundreds of users. The BSD Pub Meeting, managed by @[email protected] and now part of the BSD Cafe menu, has also allowed us to talk and see each other in a relaxed context. Like friends at the Pub. Like friends in a Cafe.

So, happy birthday, BSD Cafe!

Happy birthday to users, friends, and supporters. I hope the BSD Cafe has brought even a fraction of the joy, well-being, and positivity to you all that it has brought to me in this past year. And all this is thanks to you all because a Cafe without people is a sad and lonely place.

Here is a link to the original project announcement, exactly one year ago: https://mastodon.bsd.cafe/@stefano/110746126447161217

cross-posted from: https://blendit.bsd.cafe/post/140936

cross-posted from: https://blendit.bsd.cafe/post/140935

Since migrating many servers from Proxmox to FreeBSD, we have consistently felt that the VMs are more responsive. It's time to conduct some concrete tests.

Since migrating many servers from Proxmox to FreeBSD, we have consistently felt that the VMs are more responsive. It's time to conduct some concrete tests.

Hello BSD Cafe Community!

I'm thrilled to announce the launch of Brew, our very own Git service tailored specifically for our BSD Cafe family. As you sip your morning coffee, why not brew some code as well? Brew is now available at https://brew.bsd.cafe, a platform where our community's projects will live and thrive.

What is Brew? Brew is a dedicated space for you to host, manage, and collaborate on software projects. Powered by Forgejo, it is designed to be simple, fast, and effective, meshing perfectly with our community’s ethos of freedom and innovation.

Why Brew?

• Community-Centric: Created for BSD enthusiasts by BSD enthusiasts. It's our own cozy corner of the internet to build and share.
• Open Source: Fully open-source, ensuring transparency and the ability to contribute to the improvement of Brew itself.
• Private and Secure: We respect your privacy and the integrity of your work. Brew is committed to maintaining a secure environment for all your projects.

Get Involved

• Start a Project: Have an idea? Launch your repository today!
• Collaborate: Join existing projects and contribute to building something great.
• Learn: Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, Brew is a place to grow your skills.

Come for the code, stay for the community. Let’s build something incredible together at Brew. Visit us now and start your first repository!

Happy Coding!

Dear friends of BSD Cafe and the Fediverse, today marks exactly 8 months since the BSD Cafe was announced to the world. Our community has grown and is made up of wonderful people who add tremendous value to the content seen both on our Mastodon instance and other channels (primarily Matrix).

For this, I am truly grateful!

One of the first services we launched was Miniflux, but, in fact, it never really "took off." The main reason, in my opinion, is that registrations are not open but require contacting me directly, which (I am aware) greatly limits the freedom to sign up. The reasons why Miniflux is not open for immediate registration are various, but the main one is that the developers offer paid hosting that helps fund the project. By offering a free service with immediate access here, I risked undermining them - something I wanted to avoid.

Therefore, I have decided to introduce another RSS Reader, namely FreshRSS. Registrations are open and free, and the tool, like the others, runs exclusively on BSD systems (currently, FreeBSD).

I will update the wiki page with information and instructions as soon as possible, but the server is already active and operational for a few days - and is now on the Status page.

So, point your browsers to https://freshrss.bsd.cafe and... happy reading!