Running Mastodon on FreeBSD? Stop using wrapper scripts that break service status.

I've refactored the init scripts for Sidekiq, Puma, and Streaming to be fully production-grade:

- Clean privilege dropping (no su wrappers)
- Native signal handling for log rotation
- Correct PID tracking & status reporting.

I published the scripts and the reasoning behind them in my Codeberg gists:

https://codeberg.org/Larvitz/gists/src/branch/main/2026/20250115-FreeBSD_Mastodon_rc.d.md

I use those to run a Mastodon instance and they're working great so far!

❤️ 🦣

#FreeBSD #Mastodon #SelfHosting #mastoadmin #runbsd #OpenSource

Alt...

Screenshot showing the service status of several Mastodon services on FreeBSD

@MostlyHarmless

Not here, Clippy. Not here.

#mastodon 😉

This message is intended for Canadian #Mastodon admins who are running public instances large and small. If you are an admin, please share with your counterparts. If you are a member of a Canadian instance, please send this to your admin.
A small group of us (Note: really, really small) are in early discussions on how to encourage our government - individual politicians & federal, provincial, and municipal departments - to move their social media presence to Mastodon. This would involve an awareness campaign targeting politicians, party HQs, and departments/agencies.
We are asking for input from admins to help us create a future state vision for this project, and provide us with advice or ideas on how to bring it to a reality. I will set up a web call within the next 3 weeks and hopefully you can participate. We are not asking you to contribute beyond input. Please DM me and I will add you to the invitees.

#mastoadmin
#MastodonCanada
#MastoCanadaGOV (hashtag for this project)

CC: @ZebKing

I've had requests for accounts to follow on here for specific countries/regions. There are many listed at:

➡️ https://fedi.directory/local-and-regional

This has accounts from most European countries, all US states, all Canadian provinces etc. (Some have fewer accounts than others though.)

To follow an account listed on the site, copy-paste its Fediverse address into the search box in Mastodon, then click follow.

To find out more about an account on the site, click its Fediverse address.

#Fediverse #Mastodon

Ferrocarril.net - Servidor de Mastodon, operado por aficionados al ferrocarril, para aficionados al ferrocarril.

https://social.ferrocarril.net

Acerca de: https://social.ferrocarril.net/about
Administrado por: @garridinsi

#FeaturedServer #Ferrocarril #Español #Railways #Railroads #Rail #Mastodon #Fediverse #FreeFediverse

Is there a way to make a #Mastodon post by sending an #email?

That would be really cool.

#tech #question #fediverse

Bologna.one - Questa è un’istanza Mastodon in italiano della città di Bologna. Ma non serve essere bolognesi per iscriversi!

https://bologna.one

Info: https://bologna.one/about
Amministrato da: @victorvandort

#FeaturedServer #Bologna #Italia #Italiano #Italy #Mastodon #Fediverse #FreeFediverse

My #Mastodon instance is going to be moved from #Hetzner to this beaty ^_^

#HomeLab #SelfHost #SelfHosted #SelfHosting #MiniPC #JetKVM

Alt...

An Asus mini PC with JetKVM connected to it

Friendica

Snac

Compared to Friendica, its featureset is basic at best. But compared to other Fediverse tools like #mastodon it does not fare so bad. But how usable is it as an alternative to my peronal Friendica use.

The good stuff

• Setup is really easy for anyone who has self-hosted any services before. The documentation in manpage format might be old school but it is very complete - read it. If you're on Debian you can even use the package from trixie-backports which is kept very current!

• It shows the timeline chronologically but with nested threads. This is the only way that makes sense to me and is exactly what I use in Friendica (where different settings are available). This means every new activity on a thread brings it up again (partly collapsed) so you always see the necessary context to follow conversations. For me this is the most important feature, I would not even have continued testing without it. Snac just does it right!

• It has the looks! Well at least after applying some stylesheets. Calling the vanilla install basic would already be an overstatement. But have a look at the styles that are linked from snac's Reaedme. I chose the next.css style and have attached an image of how it looks below. The screenshot is from an Android phone and this works remarkably well, even on mobile (some caveats below)!

• It's compatible with Mastodon apps. I have only tested #Fedilab because I use it for other stuff too. Everything just works as expected. Although I have to admit, I like the native Web-UI (next.css) even more.

• Long Text with Markdown formatting. 500 character per Toot - No thank you, I am not chatting here!

What is missing (or is it?)

• There is only the timeline and you can follow Hashtags, that's it. No Channels, no groups, no theme-specific timelines. But honestly, I did not use any of that on Friendica, mainly for performance reasons. So this is a non-issue for me personally.

• Following RSS feeds. This feature I will really miss. In Friendica I could direclty follow Feeds and interact with them from my timeline exactly like with ActivityPub Notes or Articles. I will have to use an external translation service or write my own for that (having written an ActivityPub related tool with tootgroup.py before.)

• Message formatting is somewhat less flexible but this post shows what is possible still. Sometimes I like to put images in between paragraphs but not having that is also not a big deal.

• Event Calendar. This is not a feature I expect Snac to support but I do use it on Friendica and will have to think about how to replace it.

What could be improved

I have already stated how great the mobile experience is when using the next.css stylesheet. The only downside is that I have to login with username/password again and again, every time the mobile browser is sent to sleep by Android.

Optionally enabling the use of a login cookie would make life much easier. Even better would be enabling Snac to be installed as a Progressive Web App, but I have to admit, I'm not sure how hard or feasible this would be.

Overall, I do not see many shortcomings with Snac. Obviously it offers less features than Friendica, but what it does, it does very well and at least in my view, the important stuff is exactly where it needs to be.

Conclusion

Adding grunfink@comam.es because maybe you're interested. Please don't treat this as a feature-request or even critizism. It's mostly meant as info for people who have not tried snac yet.

Alt...

Screenshot of the Snac Web user interface running with the next.css style sheet

I submitted a Pull Request to update MacPorts' snac to 2.87 here:

https://github.com/macports/macports-ports/pull/30679

It's churning through GitHub Continuous Integration checks (1 of 3 passed so far which is a good sign the other two will complete successfully).

It's up to someone else with commit access to merge it.

p.s. the other day I read your napcop proposal and I dig the acronym. ;)

#snac #MacPorts #OpenSource #ActivityPub #Mastodon #NoDatabaseNeeded
#NoJavaScript #NoCookiesEither #NotMuchBullShit #snacAnnounces #FrugalFediverse

The #illumosCafe #Mastodon instance has been upgraded to v4.5.4

#illumosCafeServices #illumosCafeUpdates #illumosCafeAnnouncements

The #BSDCafe #Mastodon instances have been upgraded to v4.5.4

#BSDCafe #BSDCafeUpdates #BSDCafeAnnouncements #BSDCafeServices

I dive into news websites or blog source code to find an RSS link whenever I find an interesting site that isn't on #Mastodon.

Through #RSS and RSS Parrot I can pull them into the #Fediverse and subscribe to their feed right here.

More at: https://rss-parrot.net

Also, thanks to lxo, violette, fruye and to anyone else who may have helped contributed to this release!

I've submitted a Pull Request to update MacPorts' snac to 2.86 here:

https://github.com/macports/macports-ports/pull/30669

Currently one of three Continuous Integration checks passed (which is a good sign the other two will probably pass soon too).

It's up to someone else with commit access to merge it.

#snac #MacPorts #OpenSource #ActivityPub #Mastodon #NoDatabaseNeeded
#NoJavaScript #NoCookiesEither #NotMuchBullShit #snacAnnounces #FrugalFediverse

I know this is already on Mastodon team's radar, but I do want to stress how important this feature is.

https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/14762

We won't get rid of the racism and the mansplaining on the fediverse overnight, but giving people control over their replies would significantly improve everyone's experience, and make this place a lot more inviting.

#mastodon #fediverse #SocialMedia

How do I add empty alt text to images on mastodon?

#mastodon

Consider #Snac2 as a cheap (in both resources and money) alternative to #Mastodon.

You don't even need a vps: it can run as a (fast) cgi.

You can check its accessibility on https://comam.es/snac/grunfink (that's one of the public instance view, obviusly the interface to post is different: your browser needs to properly support details/summary tag to works fine)

Have you already grown tired of waiting for #Mastodon to implement some proper #Markdown support ?

You still can't believe to be waiting for such a simple feature on 2026?

Well .. you can keep waiting until you grow varicose veins on your legs, or just move to #snac2 , call it a 9 years old and be done with it! 🥳

https://comam.es/snac-doc/snac.5.html

May 2026 be the year we can finally use some #Markdown for our posts on #Mastodon. 9 years since it was first discussed [1], never really rejected nor endorsed by @MastodonEngineering – It is about time to finally add it now. Boost if you agree ;)

[1] https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/761

While I don't want to switch to a Mastodon fork and prefer to stick to the official releases, I really miss the ability to post in Markdown.

#Mastodon

You can simply use relay instances to be interconnected with other instances to exchange posts and it works seamless with #Mastodon, #Pleroma, #snac / #snac2 and many other ones! If you're in tech, you might want to use:

https://fedi-relay.gyptazy.com

You can simply add it to get a bigger reach but also to get more interesting content into your own timeline which becomes even more important on single user- & smaller instances.

#activitypub #mastodon #fediverse #opensource #bsd #runbsd #freebsd #openbsd #netbsd #dragonflybsd #debian #proxmox #xcpng #talos #coding #programming #fediwall #relay #fedirelay #acitivitypubrelay #selfhost #homelab #community

Alt...

Activity Pub / Fediverse Relay

Two Fediverse clients I like are Elk and Phanpy, but both had the same issue: the inability to filter "replies" and "boosts" from the timeline. For me this is essential. I can't keep up with my timeline, and if I also see replies to posts unrelated to what I follow, it just becomes chaos. So I tried to implement these filters and opened a PR.

The Elk developers have already merged it into the main branch, so we should soon see the two hide options appear in Elk. Hopefully the same will happen in Phanpy as well, because this greatly improves the experience on two excellent Fediverse tools, which are also compatible with snac.

https://github.com/elk-zone/elk/pull/3482

https://github.com/cheeaun/phanpy/pull/1400

#Fediverse #snac #Mastodon #elk #phanpy

#OverUnder 046 with @stefano

He's a #Unix enthusiast, he hangs out at the #BSD cafe, and write about various systems.
If Unix tips interest you, you should definitely check him out.
Today, he shares his thoughts on #DragonFlyBSD, #AWS, #TuxedoComputers, #zsh, and #Nespresso.

#terminal #shell #opensource #coffee #blog #cloud #Tuxedo #fediverse #mastodon

https://lazybea.rs/ovr-046

#fediverse #activitypub

My friends, I'm so excited and happy to introduce a new project: the illumos Cafe!

The positive and constructive spirit of the BSD Cafe, created and maintained by all the friends who participated from day one in building a strong and friendly community, deserves to spread to other operating systems. Because there are other OSes that deserve attention, certainly more than they're getting right now.

Operating systems based on illumos (like SmartOS, OmniOS, Tribblix, OpenIndiana, etc.) are mature, stable, secure, and perfectly usable for a wide range of tasks. ZFS is native, zones are an excellent method for containerization, and bhyve and kvm coexist beautifully - and so much more, too much to list in a single post.

So from today, the illumos Cafe will stand alongside the BSD Cafe in creating a positive, respectful, and growth-oriented (but also relaxing!) environment, starting right here in the Fediverse with a Mastodon instance and a snac one.

I've written an introductory article about the project, including some technical details. I invite everyone interested to read it: https://it-notes.dragas.net/2025/08/18/introducing-the-illumos-cafe/

Choose your table, take a seat and enjoy your time at the illumos Cafe!

#SysAdmin #IT #BSDCafe #illumosCafe #Community #OpenSource #OSS #illumos #SmartOS #OpenIndiana #ZFS #bhyve #kvm #Fediverse #Mastodon #snac #ITNotes

#CrazyFediverseAnalogies

Announcing FediMeteo – Weather in the Fediverse!

UPDATE: I have created an account for updates and other information on FediMeteo - follow the account @admin to stay updated!

UPDATE: Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland have just been added

Weather has always influenced our lives: from agriculture to outdoor activities, to extreme events that, thanks to modern technology, can now be predicted with greater reliability. Personally, weather plays a significant role in my daily decisions, which is why I decided to create a service tailored for the Fediverse.

FediMeteo uses Open-Meteo data to publish updates every 6 hours, including current weather conditions, forecasts for the next 12 hours, and predictions for the upcoming days. Each country is served by its own dedicated instance (e.g., it.fedimeteo.com for Italy), managed through snac to ensure simplicity and efficiency in publishing.

You can follow FediMeteo directly in the Fediverse (on Mastodon and compatible platforms), via RSS, or by visiting the dedicated page for your city (e.g., fr.fedimeteo.com/paris).

Currently supported countries include:
Austria, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, – with many more regions coming soon!

FediMeteo is hosted on a FreeBSD-based VPS, with each country isolated in its own jail to ensure security and scalability.

Visit the main site to explore the national instances and start following your local weather updates today:
https://fedimeteo.com

Happy weather monitoring to all! 🌦️

FediMeteo is dedicated to my grandfather, who every evening would give me the weather forecast based on TV, radio, and his personal experience. He would convince me that the weather would be bad, so he had an excuse to accompany me to school instead of me going alone.

#FediMeteo #Announcements #FreeBSD #FediMeteo #WeatherForecasts #Weather #Meteo #snac #Fediverse #Mastodon

This afternoon, an acquaintance joined a Mastodon instance and asked me which "celebrities" are present in the Fediverse, as if it were important to determine the value of a social network based on that.

I told him that the most important user in the Fediverse is him. Just as it’s you, reading this. Someone who has decided to interact with others freely. Who has chosen to trust their administrator (or create their own instance) more than they trust those who run traditional, monolithic, centralized social networks.

So, I want to thank all the friends of BSD Cafe, whether local or not, for being here and making this place what it is. And I thank all my friends in the Fediverse, who make my timeline lively, interesting, intelligent, fun, and thought-provoking - every day, at any time.

#BSDCafe #Mastodon #Fediverse #SocialNetworks #SocialMedia #Community #Trust #OpenSource #DigitalFreedom #JoinTheFediverse

I want to launch a hashtag where, every Tuesday, I'll post a message and it would be great if it became a habit for many.

In a world full of conflicts, selfishness, and egocentrism, it would be nice to focus on the good that others do, what makes our lives better thanks to the contribution of others.

My first #ThankYouTuesday to the friends of #BSDCafe - both within the community servers and beyond - who have undoubtedly contributed to making my life better, more stimulating, and richer. So, I extend this gratitude to all those who, here in the fediverse or elsewhere, are present and positive, giving me inspiration and motivation.

Truly, thank you!

#ThankYouTuesday #gratitude #positivity #community #fediverse #mastodon

15 million users in the Fediverse, now.

No ad-blocker needed.
Zero ads.
My data stays on my server.
Interactions are genuine, driven by people's desire, not an algorithm pushing for conflict to boost engagement (and ad sales).
Nobody's here just because it's trendy. If you're here, you want to be here.
The best social media experience I've had in years.

Thank you to all of you, among these 15 million accounts, who have helped make this a wonderful place to be.

#Fediverse #Privacy #NoAds #GenuineInteractions #Decentralized #ThankYou #Mastodon