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WriteFreely: An open source platform for building a writing space on the web

writefreely.org

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Re: WriteFreely: An open source platform for building a writing space on the web

#21

Post by abdullahkhalids »

WesolyKubeczek wrote: post #3
vouaobrasil wrote: post #2

Looks interesting but it won't work on many shared servers on which the only option is PHP/SQL due to it being written in Go.

Explain how they still survive and are the only viable option for anyone in the day and age where $5 VPSes are a thing.

There are 26 million software developers in the world [1]. Maybe 10 times as many people who understand some programming. There are over 8 billion people in the world.

How do the remaining people create a blog?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_engineering_demograph...

Re: WriteFreely: An open source platform for building a writing space on the web

#22

Post by dingnuts »

WesolyKubeczek wrote: post #14
nucleardog wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shared PHP hosting is a managed service, a VPS is not. Not everyone has the skill set to bridge the gap, and it’s not really economical to hire to fill the gap to support a single site (but it is to support hundreds of sites in a shared hosting environment).

> Shared PHP hosting is a managed service, a VPS is not. Not everyone has the skill set to bridge the gap It has always been very peculiar. You either had very stripped off permissions of what you could do: FTP comes to mind first, and then you still need to understand how Unix permissions work, and then you wish you had SSH; or you get SSH with some stripped off permissions, and then you do need to have the skills t…

the industry is also mostly dead. non technical users now use sites like Wix with a builder. Technical ones get a VPS or cloud solution and probably don't want LAMP anyway

The only non technical people using shared hosting now are people who paid to have a site built for their small business twenty years ago and don't need to update anything, so they just keep paying the bills

The whole industry has been on life support for a long time. just look at all the brands Endurance has bought up. That hasn't happened because all of those hosts were making a ton of money

Re: WriteFreely: An open source platform for building a writing space on the web

#23

Post by dingnuts »

Veen wrote: post #5
WesolyKubeczek wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Explain how they still survive and are the only viable option for anyone in the day and age where $5 VPSes are a thing.

Tens of millions of people want to host a WordPress site and very few of them want to deal with setting up a database, editing config files, securing a server. Most of them have no idea what that stuff means.

That's why companies like WPEngine exist. This doesn't have much to do with the software; non-technical users could use a WPEngine like service for WriteFreely, if someone ran that service

Re: WriteFreely: An open source platform for building a writing space on the web

#24

Post by meiraleal »

vouaobrasil wrote: post #2

Looks interesting but it won't work on many shared servers on which the only option is PHP/SQL due to it being written in Go.

Even worse: it has JS. How dare they not make something that would run in my 1995 computer?

Re: WriteFreely: An open source platform for building a writing space on the web

#26

Post by spencerchubb »

doublepg23 wrote: post #19
troymc wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

WordPress.com is also based on open-source software (WordPress) and can connect to the Fediverse via Activitypub [1]. Similar to WriteFreely, there's even a WordPress.com desktop app [2]. That said, I understand the allure of a simple, minimal, distraction-free writing and reading experience. [1] https://wordpress.com/support/enter-the-fediverse/ [2] https://apps.wordpress.com/desktop/

I think a lot of people may prefer WriteFreely’s Go stack vs. WordPresses PHP - for right or wrong reasons.

why would a writer need to know or care about the tech stack

Re: WriteFreely: An open source platform for building a writing space on the web

#27

Post by doctorpangloss »

spencerchubb wrote: post #26
doublepg23 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a lot of people may prefer WriteFreely’s Go stack vs. WordPresses PHP - for right or wrong reasons.

why would a writer need to know or care about the tech stack

It’s all aesthetic experiences. Some people care, so it matters.

I know what you’re getting at and the world you want to live in. Listen, why do people care if some story they read was written by a bot, for example? The people reading Reddit’s top creative writing venues (AITA comes to mind) clearly don’t know and don’t care. But many people do care. It’s arbitrary. It’s just aesthetic. Nobody needs this stuff, nobody needs Fediverse or ActivityPub.

Re: WriteFreely: An open source platform for building a writing space on the web

#28

Post by BeetleB »

WesolyKubeczek wrote: post #14
nucleardog wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shared PHP hosting is a managed service, a VPS is not. Not everyone has the skill set to bridge the gap, and it’s not really economical to hire to fill the gap to support a single site (but it is to support hundreds of sites in a shared hosting environment).

> Shared PHP hosting is a managed service, a VPS is not. Not everyone has the skill set to bridge the gap It has always been very peculiar. You either had very stripped off permissions of what you could do: FTP comes to mind first, and then you still need to understand how Unix permissions work, and then you wish you had SSH; or you get SSH with some stripped off permissions, and then you do need to have the skills t…

Been using shared hosting for 20 years. It's easily easier than VPS.

Not sure what you mean by stripped off permissions. Yes, I'm not root, but most VPS providers don't give me root access either (at least not for cheap).

SFTP has always worked, and continues to do so.

Of course you need to understand UNIX permissions. You also need to understand what a directory is, what a file is, etc. It's not asking too much.

I've tried 3 different providers, and they all had SSH access. I've not heard of one that doesn't.

The only problems I had with PHP servers is that the admins are doing their job and removing old vulnerable versions. Which is a pain for me but it's why I pay them. The whole point of shared hosting is they're taking care of the zero day exploits for me.

Custom domains? Not sure what you mean. Every provider I looked at it made it painless to use.

Having a simple LAMP stack is dead simple to use (yes, as long as you know basic UNIX). VPS: I suddenly need to set up the web server, and manage DOS attacks, etc? And keep track of all the security vulnerabilities and keep upgrading? I don't want to deal with that pain. With shared hosting, I need to "fix" things less than once a year. My web apps happily work without my needing to log in.

With a VPS, I have to pay more only so that I have to do more work? No thanks.

Re: WriteFreely: An open source platform for building a writing space on the web

#29

Post by riffic »

doctorpangloss wrote: post #27
spencerchubb wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

why would a writer need to know or care about the tech stack

It’s all aesthetic experiences. Some people care, so it matters. I know what you’re getting at and the world you want to live in. Listen, why do people care if some story they read was written by a bot, for example? The people reading Reddit’s top creative writing venues (AITA comes to mind) clearly don’t know and don’t care. But many people do care. It’s arbitrary. It’s just aesthetic. Nobody needs this stuff, nobod…

at some point the ActivityPub protocol with its open interoperability will develop a sort of critical mass with the mainstream and everyone will need it. So you may be correct now, "nobody needs Fediverse or ActivityPub" but in some near or distant future your claim will need adjustment.
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