Gregory's ServerI have decided to commit to a limit on the maximum number of instances or percentage of the Mastodon network that I will host on Masto.host.
You can read about it here: https://masto.host/the-25-percent-commitment/
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Masto.host
64 comments
Masto.host
@FediThing These topics are always tricky but I think it makes sense to make this commitment. Thanks for your good words :)
sophia
@mastohost Cheers for all you do for us, it's greatly appreciated. Do what you feel you need to do for you!  
BoosterFive 🚀
@mastohost makes sense, and thanks for your thoughts. It has been a pleasure using your service! 
Masto.host
@derek Thanks! Trying to reach what I think could be a reasonable balance. The goal is to help.
ocertat
@mastohost In my opinion you should charge us more, if you need to. I want it to be sustainable for you, Hugo! Your work is hugely appreciated
Masto.host
@mark I understand your point but I want people with less resources to also be able to run their own instance. It's hard to know what is the right answer. But thanks :) 
Chris Partridge
@mastohost @mark Maybe a pay-what-you-can model with a minimum purchase? I can only speak for myself but your work is fantastic and chipping in some extra to help keep the fediverse diverse would be viable!
Masto.host
@tweedge Never thought about that. That is something to consider. Thanks and appreciate the good words.
Douglas Creager
@mastohost @tweedge @mark Do larger instances entail more work or higher costs for you? I like Chris's suggestion of pay-what-you-want / tip jar, but in the meantime I can upgrade my instance even if I don't "need" the extra oomph. I've avoided that so far because I've worried that larger instances have higher costs, and so the delta wouldn't actually go to you.
Masto.host
@dcreager Well, if you don't actually use the resources there is less costs for me. In terms of app processing server resources I do allocate per size of the instance but things like database or media storage, backups I can control the resources needs and so only allocate as needed. In terms of work for me the smallest instance gives me as much work as a large one if there are no support requests :) Large instances normally do have more support needs.
Michael Kazarnowicz
@mastohost I really appreciate the transparency, and the service you're providing. Thank you!
Michael Kazarnowicz
@mastohost hey, a question about images: when I create images in the recommended formats, they end up weirdly scaled, or positioned. You can see the weird positioning here: https://unstraight.club/about/more Am I doing something wrong?
Masto.host
@kazarnowicz Sorry but I really can't help you with that. The best place to ask that is probably on https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/discussions I don't develop Mastodon and haven't done any testing with image position and size on those locations. Sorry.
Michael Kazarnowicz
@mastohost Thanks, I'll check with them. It's likely a bug, at least in one case. 
Ondřej Pokorný
@mastohost How many instances in total there are currently? What do you use as a source for the number?
Masto.host
@ondra There are no accurate numbers and it will always be difficult to be exact but an approximation can be achieved by combining multiple sources. Currently I estimate Mastodon should be around 3500 active instances.
Ondřej Pokorný
@mastohost So you'd be over 90% capacity, weren't for the 6000 rule.
Masto.host
@ondra Not really, I am currently struggling for time just to keep up with the maintenance, day to day and things I need to do on Masto.host and most of it is automated on my end. I really don't have more hours left in my day :)
ars goatse
@mastohost this is a totally reasonable boundary to set for yourself. i've had nothing but good experiences using your service and just wanna extend my appreciation for what you do
Ursalzona :wecan: :Ryyca:
@mastohost mas uma hora o @arles nos ensina a manter a instância sem abusar do seu trabalho. Obrigada, Hugo. 
David Chartier
@mastohost That makes sense. And I hope the project grows or improved to make it worth your time. Your work is appreciated. 
Ramses Revengeday :revengeday:
@mastohost You are doing a great job! I have really great respect for you to host such a huge project! 
Fedilab Apps
@mastohost I have personally always deeply appreciated your work. Thank you.
Masto.host
@apps Thank you so much for everything. Your help and support is also greatly appreciated. 
Raphael Lullis
@mastohost Hugo, if you really meant it, why don't you just open source your code? Not only it would make it easier for you to delegate the things you don't want to do, it will also lead to a number of people coming up with similar providers.
Masto.host
@raphael Raphael, I really don't think that starting a message with "if you really meant it" is the best way to communicate with someone. Still, I will share my thoughts on that with you. If you ever used my service, you know that there currently there is no code to share. Everything is done manually on my platform. People sign up and I receive an email, I pick that email and manually do the installation on my servers.
Raphael Lullis
@mastohost sorry, it was indeed bad form. I thought there was some form of automation. The fact that you have been doing this manually is quite impressive!
Masto.host
@raphael No problem, I understand. I have been doing this manually for 5 years. Basically it's just a custom infrastructure https://masto.host/infrastructure/ with a bunch of cron jobs and some batch files, that is my "automation". It works but it depends on me being online. Currently working on a web interface to allow for automated installs, hoping to get that done by the end of the year.
Masto.host
@raphael And yes, I will open source any thing that I feel is relevant, no point of sharing an automation installation script that requires 3 servers for a Mastodon install like my setup does. Still, installing Mastodon with Docker is so simple and if one cannot do that then even a script that automates the install will end up leaving a non technical person in a no update place, like is the case for non tech people with https://marketplace.digitalocean.com/apps/mastodon one click install.
DM me the word "bread"
@mastohost I have a similar question I've been considering: would you be willing to share insight with others who want to set up similar services? That might help distribute the load by enabling people to set up alternatives. I've been interested hosting a similar service for a few years now, but have been hesitant due to the prospect of having to manage hundreds of servers without spending time to maintain each one. I love your work. Thanks for all you do at masto.host!
Wilmar Igl
@mastohost I respect your decision, however, it would be good if you could provide rejected customers with alternatives in terms of appropriate existing instances, alternative providers, or ready-to-install mastodon images/software (eg https://yunohost.org). I would not want to hurt the success of Mastodon because of being too "ethical" ...
Wilmar Igl
@mastohost BTW, thanks for your huge contribution to the fediverse and your excellent service!
Masto.host
@wiligl Don't worry, if ever I close sign ups an alternative will be provider :) But appreciate the comment and good words
kit 🍵🌦
@mastohost I love this, I think it's important, and I think it's a perspective on project goals and governance more projects could use.
Rafael Caricio
@mastohost@mastodon.social I commend your commitment. :blobcatheart: Sounds like a healthy choice for the community to grow in more directions farther away from centralization. ❤️ 
charlag
@mastohost wow, I never realized it is a side project. Huge kudos for providing such an awesome service, we wouldn't be here without you  
Evelyn fra denne andre øya
what about the number of users, and why are you defining the limit by mastodon software specifically? 
Cedric
@mastohost fair. Thanks a lot for the work ! So it is possible to export (migrate) an instance from your service ? This could be really interesting for me (and my colleagues). What is the format of this export ? Or maybe it's documented somewhere...
Masto.host
@cedric Glad to help. About the migration, sure. I have instances that migrate in and out of my service regularly. I even had instances come in, out and in again :) About the export format, is exactly like mentioned in the Mastodon documentation: https://docs.joinmastodon.org/admin/migrating/ Any doubts let me know. |
@mastohost
That sounds like a pretty responsible plan! 👍
And it's great you're raising the topic and discussing your thoughts on it.
And wow... I didn't realise it was such a huge number you host! 😮 Thank you for helping so much of the Fediverse to exist.