2025-08-05T06:09:17Z https://yabu.me Ambassador https://yabu.me/npub125300d4nv483d6fdgwfh0rvefwglfrcrgvx3n3zszrfdz5up9agssgzern https://cdn.masto.host/photog/accounts/avatars/000/000/001/original/e6dcceb27855e9c1.png https://cdn.masto.host/photog/accounts/avatars/000/000/001/original/e6dcceb27855e9c1.png https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsg2zjvu339zph0vng4k6w7x73je9ymk4z849zxdnlk27c6srapf8czyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4zrktwza Update on the instance. We have found a new Ambassador and will be transitioning the role over the coming days. You, however, probably won&#39;t notice anything. <br/>😃 2025-08-06T08:21:15Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsfvs00lcfn8gxuc6343nj3qg66pjv6hjxtnan9censr7u5m9v0edczyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4z29e7qs So, I&#39;ve been your photog.social Ambassador for &gt; 4 years now, and am looking to hand over the reigns to someone else (for various personal reasons). <br/><br/>This therefore is a call for Expressions of Interest, for anyone willing to take up the mantle of instance admin. <br/><br/>PM your interest, and or questions about what is involved. 2025-07-29T00:42:37Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqszmuk0j3l86aaaqjmyuj88vy45aw6pqes5dnmtvc2f0kv9frnejpgzyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4zweqv6n Hi All, We&#39;re now on Mastodon 4.4.0<br/><br/>There shouldn&#39;t be any issues, but sing out if you find something. 2025-07-09T09:24:29Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs0zacgv0rwvdglgn2vdwkyhafmvrqe2zqawcra7zh8aczvy0y825szyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4z5vs3kp Did my semi-regular check of our instance finances, and due to global events, we&#39;re not looking great. <br/><br/>I&#39;d estimate we have approx 3 months of hosting funds left. <br/><br/>Exchange rates, and a fall off in backers has led us to this situation. <br/><br/>So if you enjoy your time here, and can spare a few coins on a regular basis (or even just the odd one-off), it&#39;d be appreciated.<br/><br/>Details of where to contribute are on the about page:<br/><br/><a href="https://photog.social/deck/about">https://photog.social/deck/about</a> 2025-04-29T12:27:58Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqszz2c0pfepvtnyu90c2jtl3r7xwvx0qvl8787nlgtar3kw5gvje6gzyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4zmafmyw We&#39;re back!<br/><br/>We have survived the cyclone with minimal impact (had no power or comms for 5 days). <br/><br/>I see no-one set fire to the place while I was gone. Well done everyone! 2025-03-13T08:35:51Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsd42cczaw95pecn73k3x43lmlmhfqj3waw3pz2w4xxp5pt3p2hdwgzyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4ze3x20t Just a quick note regarding admining in the coming days.<br/><br/>I am in Queensland, Australia. We&#39;re facing an incoming cyclone so I&#39;ll likely be offline for a few days from as early as tomorrow afternoon. <br/><br/>The instance is hosted in Europe, so there shouldn&#39;t be any downtime, and we have mods elsewhere in the globe who are able to action reports, etc. <br/><br/>But if you&#39;re trying to get hold of me in particular, it might take a little while. 2025-03-06T01:22:33Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsdzy4s6dn8qsxa6xym3c9rzpyyy4c9dv8vcu94xz27d0vvvc8vthszyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4z9r7pe3 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqspcjlgwxgn649mluetqfhht95j6x4taym0tm0wv9shkw0a4nmv8dg0er9a6'>nevent1q…r9a6</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>The default is set by mastodon. It is changeable, but not via the web admin interface (which is all I have access to). <br/><br/>Out host, might be able to change it but might not for operational reasons. 2024-12-20T11:24:18Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs29977rfpcgmw9zhlf9vs3lrsnddnvk8s9dxvcvpaz6gs4yrunzmqzyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4ztdw64r In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsflrxqunc2824455xv9ywyuutzvn0q6wul3289hpd3semjpy6r24cclpyn5'>nevent1q…pyn5</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>of Brid.gy has shown themselves on numerous occasions to be a bad actor. We also have no wish to encourage Threads (something Brid.gy is keen to do). 2024-10-26T22:08:34Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsxyghu9td72jyradtm88yw5njv8y24c6zxtr44fnr52ppets4k8ugzyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4znalylj There&#39;s another spam wave happening. We&#39;re doing out best to limit exposure, but the tools available aren&#39;t great on that front. <br/>Repeat domains will be limited to cut down on new spam. 2024-10-08T21:06:56Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsf83m3uqpwsg2jc8hv5tj9f5y54ma2xhar0640pra4pnp53qrw69qzyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4z8w09ps In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs9d5p0dt3gureacwlxwza48285cxk9fm037yfwg4sz4xyxgvp73yc48fndw'>nevent1q…fndw</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>2 days left:<br/><br/><a href="https://photog.social/@ambassador/112905836064942413">https://photog.social/@ambassador/112905836064942413</a> 2024-08-09T07:29:13Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsv6xfsa8rxyz2kl2tqgxhhv4vng4qtv4q3sm93sqsj483jxqvrq4qzyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4z695yjp In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsgx3kr2r0x6nf5xkv5z65xqska3s65urdpr30kylnqxzd05ndrcsc6j4394'>nevent1q…4394</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I don&#39;t think so. It&#39;s a side effect of the way mastodon works. Federation means that a certain amount of information is cached locally from other instances, over time that information builds up, and I don&#39;t thing Eugen fully thought through the design of mastodon when he started. Admittedly, this instance is about 8 years old now, but even so, 100Gb of database is pretty damn big. 2024-08-08T19:59:16Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqswmklydwhthckm2q3x7t337r0y2rhc3ts9y3mq7dkarz3nep4j2ngzyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4zsh4hgz In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsxprglpwhq20u2vqg7evsvkmvaea8afgsneeghkm57qcdkt2me8gcqza5rs'>nevent1q…a5rs</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Currently, the hosting is $US239/mth (or $365 AU). So yeah, if every active user chipped in $US1/£1/€1 / mth it should cover the costs. (active users fluctuate a bit, but we are at 328 active users this month).<br/><br/>There&#39;s no per-user cost, just Database and Media storage. The media storage is fine, it&#39;s the database storage that keeps expanding. <br/>I&#39;ve run a cleanup task and clawed back some space, so we don&#39;t need to jump to the next plan this month at least. 2024-08-08T09:18:22Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqspxecu4f4mrrvtxq2u42cl3ek9x6w99rfcw0czzacvrcsc7fdlrsczyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4zeesaxl We&#39;ve had a few people from other instances who appreciate the photography here give comments of support and some have even sent donations, which is super generous and greatly appreciated. <br/><br/>Since we&#39;re still in a bit of a hole here financially, I&#39;ve also created some (available to anyone, not just subscribers), Support Packs on Patreon. For those that want to chip in some funds, and get some pretty desktop backgrounds in the process:<br/><br/><a href="https://www.patreon.com/photo_social/shop">https://www.patreon.com/photo_social/shop</a> 2024-08-07T11:32:18Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsz2f80r0nku3nkz3gtdkygs7jre64j4cxr3qnvvr9ndu3uzyn4fsgzyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4zjnx433 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsv0vxezexgzdg5mkq5x8gzna4m5njexwxcfqvrmc4hwp2uhmpyy7skpvls7'>nevent1q…vls7</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Oh it&#39;s not announcements that get culled, it&#39;s ALL external content after the cutoff period. So conversations you&#39;ve taken part in elsewhere, DMs, any favourites, boosts, bookmarks of toots on other instances. <br/><br/>I don&#39;t think many people would be bothered by a 1yr retention, but any shorter than that and I think people might notice and not be impressed. 2024-08-05T07:17:01Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsxlpwqdlkvn6xv8p2plaewulmste9qw5sfflqsqqsc03ccjwntkmqzyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4zeckvue In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqswfyev2dt0p0v2pu0ra8u52p8dfuy8u22s37u55rhsn4vrdmc8wxgpdcjgj'>nevent1q…cjgj</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Been doing a bit more digging on this option - apparently it isn&#39;t meant for general instances, but for specific announcement type instances. <br/><br/><a href="https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/pull/27733#issuecomment-1796021422">https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/pull/27733#issuecomment-1796021422</a><br/><br/><a href="https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@aras/111351365012735094">https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@aras/111351365012735094</a><br/><br/>This user was somewhat less than impressed:<br/><a href="https://lapcatsoftware.com/articles/2023/10/1.html">https://lapcatsoftware.com/articles/2023/10/1.html</a><br/><br/>I think with a long enough retention period (1-2 years) it might be ok. There&#39;ll still be weirdness, and I suspect some users will still be a bit peeved when it happens. hmmm... 2024-08-05T06:18:26Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsfvpu70audneve8hend3hlypl239u3h4snf2sylf50uz694snqhxczyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4zdc7yda In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsxgl2k6ga2u08gm9v2n9mjwp9vr9umeuu34xtjfcjwmyjwmh9hzsce6fl5e'>nevent1q…fl5e</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>not sure in pinned posts. From reading the (somewhat crappy) docs, it seems the date based retention is pretty “all or none” when it comes to retaining external content. So I’d guess pinned posts would be included in the cull. 2024-08-04T22:44:29Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsqttfyaec2pmzzd6gt5k59rvnzewlappzfcrc388w9hezdpwkdrrczyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4zkk2t2z Morning Photog.Social denizens.<br/><br/>Since the continued growth of the database that backs this instance is unsustainable, I am now considering turning on Content Retention settings. <br/><br/>Posts, Favourites, Bookmarks from OTHER instances would be deleted after a period of time, and maybe not recoverable. <br/><br/>What say you? Should I set the retention period to delete after: 2024-08-04T21:18:56Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsxv5a2f6q952xr8u9x4zayagtm7ka9lq7tyl9ya9upxn5j9ardatgzyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4zqvymvm In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs9nkzfddzg5kcywjhsrzmmj7954gecpl55tyex0lh046s9zvu225c5wecyd'>nevent1q…ecyd</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>The database goes back to the start of the instance (so around 2016ish iirc). <br/><br/>The big scary warning on the setting says:<br/><br/>&#34;Content cache retention period<br/>All posts and boosts from other servers will be deleted after the specified number of days. Some posts may not be recoverable. All related bookmarks, favourites and boosts will also be lost and impossible to undo.&#34;<br/><br/>Which is less scary than it used to be, I admit. I might put a poll up. 2024-08-04T21:16:00Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsfnn3zayccywuplhqfnqdx8ge3ajum6w0llryfgchhec3j93mhp7szyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4zp75crr In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqspmz4yrumlqkm02hgrq3fak3fehzqfkuzrm9l8f42w2ul2wrjgnncmmgns9'>nevent1q…gns9</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>possibly. There&#39;s another drastic measure that can be taken as well, which is to nuke data in the database older than a certain date, the problem with that option is, it isn&#39;t re-fetched if someone tries to access that information (which seems less than ideal) 2024-08-04T20:50:47Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsw86lappfkpjjdujk9p9ngxxzx7d239qjr3vnkugpnhgnh54gvkkgzyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4zg5z6r9 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs0zsxd8lc2mf0wkflj43vtc50kygc569pskv7uvnwzqzqa9c7rq4s4ud52r'>nevent1q…d52r</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>It doesn&#39;t seem to be. The photo storage is fine (we have tons of that to spare), but the database for Mastodon holds everything related to the instance (posts, posts from other instances this instance has seen, user lists from other instances we know about, etc). <br/><br/>Frankly, I consider this a flaw of the way Mastodon works, but the Devs don&#39;t seem to think so. 2024-08-04T11:48:32Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs857gkup5f805yst50cejhje7j8z6dpkr9acxl3zhujkctq6k6swgzyp2j9aakkdj579hf94pexaudn99eray0qdps6xwy2qgd952nsyh4zu96vty We are once again about to hit our database quota on the hosting. <br/><br/>This will result in a plan increase, which comes in at an additional $50USD/month. <br/><br/>Currently we&#39;re slowing going backwards (income is less than costs), and this increase is going to put further pressure on that. <br/><br/>(how much pressure you ask? doing some quick maths - I reckon we have 2-3 months in the kitty before we&#39;re in dire straits)<br/><br/>Times are tough, but if you can afford to donate, I&#39;d appreciate it :) 2024-08-04T11:08:44Z