I appreciate that earnest made a post yesterday, or maybe it was the day before, saying that he is not dead and hasn't given up on kbin. It's not on this magazine, so I'm not sure where it was since this seems to be the most appropriate one, but in any case.

Reassuring us that things will improve at some point someday probably isn't enough, and I both moderate and donate to him every month, so I'm a pretty "serious" kbinner. I'm sure we've already lost many people who are less dedicated and just want something that works.

This site has been nearly unusable for days. There was the one day recently where it was entirely unusable. Everybody who uses this platform is an 'internet person". We need a platform which is (mostly) fully functional (mostly) every day.

Kbin needs to be fixed.

Ernest needs to give up on this being a one-man show and invite other moderators and contributors. Even I am looking at mbin because usability has just been so terrible that it's not worth the frustration and disappointment.

/rant

Edit: To make this thread even better, I got an error when I tried to post it. Twice.

I recently made a major update to my Improved Channel Select Menu userscript, which adds your subscribed magazines and liked collections to the channel select button in the header.

Here are the changes:

• The script now works with turbo mode!
• The menu now automatically refreshes when you subscribe or unsubscribe from a magazine. This can be changed in settings.
• An oversight was correct that caused the script to break on kbin.earth. Now, it should work there, and it now even applies there by default.

In addition to that, I also made a version for Mbin instances. So if you're on kbin.run, fedia.io, etc., you can use this if you prefer it over Mbin's native sub menu.

*Note: To get it to run on your Mbin instance, you'll probably need to add the following line of code in:
// @match *://instance.name/*
Add this where the other // @match lines are, and replace instance.name with the name of your instance.

Hope this helps a few people (especially since kbin.social's quite slow rn)!

Download Kbin version here

Download Mbin version here

I check in here quite often, but for now, I'm just focusing on clearing spam and keeping the instance alive. In January, I was working on the AP module, and there has been significant progress in the work, which hasn't been publicly published yet. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the year, I developed a skin condition that worsened from week to week, reaching a point where I couldn't even leave the house. In February, I spent my time visiting doctors and undergoing treatment with medications, which often had very unpleasant side effects. Therefore, I decided to hold off on any major updates to avoid causing even more chaos. Today, I've undergone one procedure, and I have another one scheduled for Thursday, which I hope will be the last.

Just because it's not visible that something is happening doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything during this time. In fact, two really significant things have been successful, which I've been working on for a long time and which I intended to announce soon once I recover.

This weekend, I also plan to work on infrastructure with Piotr, and from next week onwards, I intend to resume committing, provided my health allows it. I understand if you're exploring alternatives, but I hope I've exhausted my bad luck limit for this year, and the remaining time will be marked by gradual, steady progress, especially since new opportunities have emerged, about which I will hopefully write soon.

I don't mind waiting for things to be fixed what with life interfering with things, but I can't find any activity from Ernest lately. He hasn't been, like... hit by a bus or anything terrible like that, has he?

arrgh, just hit report and submitted for spam, then realized I meant to report the post below the one I reported. Sorry about that, I don't see any undo.

#kbinMeta

I don't have a lot to say this time, but here's the biggest Interstellar update we've had so far. This update includes almost full support for Lemmy (notification viewing, direct messages, and post creation don't work yet though), there's a new user/magazine mentions feature, user profile pages now let you view a user's comments and follows, and even more listed below. Additionally, Interstellar is now out on Google Play to the public. Here's the full list of new features and fixes that were included in this update:

New

• General Lemmy support, including account login, feed view, voting, commenting, viewing communities, viewing user profiles, searching, and more. The main features not included in this release are viewing notifications, viewing/interacting with direct messages, and creating new posts. Thanks @jwr1 and @olorin99.
• Support for editing your user profile, including the about and uploading a new profile avatar and banner; thanks @olorin99.
• Huge improvements to the user screen, including being able to view a user's threads, microblogs, comments, replies, follows, and followers; thanks @olorin99.
• A new user/magazine mention feature; if a user/magazine mention is detected in markdown, it tries to fetch the corresponding avatar and name and allows you to click to view the user/magazine page if available.
• Support for blocking users, magazines, and domains.
• Support for reporting posts and comments.
• Show a copy button on the open link dialog.
• Show an option for posts and comments to open them in a browser.
• Add local filter to magazines explore.

Fixes

• Add post/comment deletion confirmation.
• Fix account list sorting to go by host, then the local name.
• Fix the coloring for the subscribe button so it's easier to tell when you're subscribed or not.
• Hide the error snack bar for several common errors, including render layout issues and image loading issues.
• Fix empty search error from the search screen.

---

GitHub: github.com/jwr1/interstellar
Magazine: https://kbin.earth/m/interstellar
Matrix: #kbin-interstellar:matrix.org
Google Play: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=one.jwr.interstellar

---

Just as a side note, those who have the app previously installed will need to re-signin into their accounts and might need to clear their app data if the app doesn't start up, as a few changes have been made with the way accounts are stored.

Looks like Kbin is running a pretty huge federation backlog, as it's taking several hours for comments to federate out. I'm not knowledgeable about how these servers work, but is it teetering on collapsing or something?

First off, I want to say I appreciate all the hard work that goes into kbin - it can’t be easy running this.

Are there any updates regarding the kbin API? Just asking because I have not heard anything about it for a while and I know the API is a big step to get some good apps for kbin.

"EXIT" -- Export Across Instances Tool

This is a simple and self-contained tool that helps automate the process of exporting your magazine subscriptions from one instance to another, provided you have accounts on both.

Could also be used to copy subscriptions from one named account to another named account on the same instance, or to back them up for later.

Instructions and tool available here

Code runs locally in your browser only.

I receive an error when I'm trying to delete a comment.

EDIT: I tried deleting again later and I think the duplicated comment was gone.

#kbinMeta

I still like posting here.

The spam's a bit much at times and it goes down for days a stretch but I didn't find any instance during this latest outage even worth considering jumping ship to.

When .social is up, that's wha'sup.

@ernest, we love you man, and we're grateful for the service you provide. But this site has needs that can't be met by one person: community mod approval, emergency status communication, spam management, and account management are just a few that immediately come to mind.

I know it has been rough lately, and I sincerely empathize. Internet hug You have a community of loyal people willing to help shoulder the burden if you let them, so please...if you truly want this place to be successful, let us help you. Hope you are okay, man.

Kbin seemed tio take a nice long sleep there. I almost assumed it had fallen over for good. I Really hate the generic, undated 'over the next few days we are working on servers' mesesage.

I'm moving over to Mbin (hopefully ernest can sort kbin out, but until then), and id like to bring my subscriptions over without manually doing it. any methods? thanks

Since the beginning of the year, there's been a bit of a pattern over on @kbinDevlog:

• Ernest posts, saying he'll get back to regular devlogs in 1-4 days;
• Absolutely nothing happens for the next 2 weeks or so;
• Ernest posts again, saying he'll get back to regular devlogs in 1-4 days;
• etc.

Now, it's understandable for your plans to change in response to unforeseen events popping up or foreseen events taking longer than expected. From what I can tell, the delays have been due to formalities and medical issues, and I absolutely believe that Ernest should prioritize his physical health over Kbin.

That being said, if you can't go back to the usual pattern of development within the time frame you promised, then it's best for people to know sooner so they aren't left wondering what's happening. If you said 2 days but you need to delay, I'd like to know soon after those 2 days as opposed to getting silence for 2 weeks.

This time around, the culprit of the silence may be complications in a hospital procedure he recently underwent as per his most recent devlog. However, that doesn't explain the periods of nothing before then, so I'm still left wondering why quick updates have been so infrequent over a 2-month period.

Additionally, there are some major problems being caused by Ernest's absence:

• Big magazines that Ernest moderates, like @tech, are riddled with spam.
• Abandoned magazine moderation have been unanswered, so people can't pitch in to deal with spam even if they wanted to.
• Nothing has happened on the Codeberg for over 2 months (except for one translation-related change which wasn't done by Ernest), so we're in the dark as to what progress is actually being made.
• Kbin is still, well, in an undeveloped state, meaning issues like poor microblog federation have persisted for months.

So, @ernest, if you're in a position to answer, what's going on rn, and could you have someone moderate the instance or work on the project in situations like this where you're absent? I hope this doesn't come across as unnecessary whining, but I think this pattern is becoming a genuine problem.

For the love of God, please delete my fucking account. It's been over a month. Please.

I just want to not have it be here anymore, I want to stop having my votes public and just make a new account on another site that has more privacy and better features (like automatic account deletion).

Do I need to log out first? What's taking so long? Why does it even go into a manual queue?

Please just delete my account.

#kbinMeta

kbin.social is being overrun with spammers. Can we disable registrations on this instance so they can't keep creating new accounts? Every day I log on, I have to spend the first 20-30 minutes, reporting and blocking a bunch of new accounts.

Here are some that were just created today:
https://kbin.social/u/dfgdfgfdfgfdh
https://kbin.social/u/nyfejevy
https://kbin.social/u/vepotal774
https://kbin.social/u/ayman01
https://kbin.social/u/MariaesNichols
https://kbin.social/u/nidhiroute
https://kbin.social/u/dcesdff
https://kbin.social/u/mauntehilss
https://kbin.social/u/nidhirout
https://kbin.social/u/noraharris0

I still don’t really understand crossposting or the multiple link options on kbin. What should kbin users know about crossposting and linking?

Hello everyone,

It's already been more than a month since I started Interstellar, and it's far from perfect, but it's definitely very usable for someone who's just browsing around and voting or replying to random things, so I thought now's as good a time as ever to "officially" publish it.

I'm currently in the process of uploading Interstellar to the Google Play Store, but before it's considered "Production", I need to meet the following requirement: "you must run a closed test for your app with a minimum of 20 testers who have been opted-in for at least the last 14 days continuously". If any of ya'll would like to help test the app, please send the Google Play email address you'd like added to the test list through either a dm to jwr1 (on kbin.social or kbin.earth), a dm to [email protected] on matrix, or email [email protected].

I haven't done this before, but you might have to wait a few hours (or days) before anything shows up in your account once your added. If you do encounter any bugs please let me know on the GitHub page.

Thanks for the help; let me know if you have any questions.

I have not seen an option so replying to a thread seems to be the only way that I can tell.

So when someone submitted a url at least at one point it would show up on the right and you could block it. So if someone posted a newsweek link you could block any link postings from like newsweek.com or maybe reddit.com or google.com. Lately though I have not been able to. It seemed to disapear at some point. I have not seen it as an option in a long time.

Have been thinking about what kbin can do to combat spam accounts, which are currently on the rise again on kbin.social.

In the past this prevalence of spam has caused issues with federation, so it's potentially a major problem not just for kbin.social but the fediverse overall if spam accounts aren't identified and blocked/deleted quickly.

USER LEVEL

Individual users can block accounts, which is good for blocking accounts that annoy you but which might otherwise contribute positively, but not so good for addressing instance-wide spammers.

MAGAZINE/COMMUNITY LEVEL

Moderators can block accounts at a magazine/community level, which is good for addressing trolls or bots that infest a single magazine, but not so good for addressing instance-wide spammers.

The other downside is that as most magazines only have a single moderator it may take days for mods to block spammers, depending on how active the mod is. In addition there are thousands of magazines on kbin which are abandoned (ie not being actively moderated), so spammers posting to these communities won't be blocked at all.

Increasing the number of mods would help (especially if they could ensure 24/7 coverage) but it's important to keep in mind that the fediverse is still tiny compared to places like reddit and there are very few people who are willing and able to take on these roles, especially on a volunteer basis.

INSTANCE LEVEL

Reporting spam

There is a "report" function, and presumably these generate messages for the instance administrator (@ernest in the case of kbin.social) to action.

I don't know what the admin interface for this is, but it may influence how easily spam accounts may be blocked. For example, if users report 100 posts belonging to 10 different accounts as spam, does this generate 100 separate messages which ernest has to review and action (which could be laborious), or does it group them into 10 different "queues" for the 10 different spam accounts (which would be less laborious to review and action).

The other limitation of course is that, like for magazine-level modding, we're constrained by the fact that kbin.social currently only has one administrator who has a job, a personal life, and is also working hard on further developing the platform.

Tools/approaches that could be used/developed to manage spam at an instance level

I'm not sure what spam combatting abilities are built into (or envisaged for) kbin at an instance level, over and above the "report" function, but some ideas I had are:

A) Appoint more administrator (or other system roles with the ability to block/delete spam accounts)

Ernest could appoint administrators (or other system-level roles, ie not necessarily a full administrator) with the ability to deal with spam.

Upsides:
- Probably relatively easy to implement (depending on what system level roles already exist)

Downsides:
- As for community moderators, there's potential issues of coverage and commitment.
- We may decry corporate-owned social media platforms like reddit, but - being a business with plenty of money coming in - they can at least pay some people to keep an eye on the community (by which I mean admins, not mods), ensure the stability and uptime of the site, and develop enhancements. These are all more difficult in small, privately-funded systems. But that's a much bigger topic, and best left for another day.

B) Limit accounts by IP address

Most spammers create multiple accounts. Limiting the number of new accounts for an IP address could help with this, although that limit shouldn't necessarily be as low as 1 (as you wouldn't want to prevent genuine alt accounts).

Upsides:
- Prevents too many accounts being created from a single IP address (ie most likely from a single person)

Downsides:
- Can be bypassed relatively easily by using VPNs (though it adds an extra step that spammers have to take)
Could prevent genuine users from registering (eg if multiple genuine users share an IP address)

C) Manually review and approve new accounts

Some instances require new accounts to answer some questions to allow admins to assess their suitability (and humanity). kbin could institute something like this.

Upsides:
- This could at least limit the creation of new spam accounts, which currently seem to spring up like weeds.

Downsides:
- This approach requires time and resources to set up and keep going.
- It impedes the sign-up experience for genuine users (especially if it takes hours or days to be approved).
- It could be bypassed by sophisticated responses to the challenge questions.

D) Rate limit new accounts

New accounts could be throttled so that they can only post one thread / reply per (let's say) 15 minutes. This limitation could be removed after a certain time or number of posts.

Upsides:
- Limits the "productivity" of spam accounts, making it more difficult for spammers.

Downsides:
- Requires time and effort to build
- Impedes user experience for genuine users
- Depending on how the posting throttling is relaxed, this system could be gamed. For instance, if the throttling is removed after (say) one week, all a spammer has to do is wait a week for the spamming to start.

E) Tie posting limits to reputation or mod reports

The above "rate limit new accounts" approach could be supplemented with an approach whereby posting limits are only removed if the account has neutral or positive reputation, and/or if the account has not been repeatedly reported for spamming.

So, for example, someone registers a new account. For the first week (or whatever time set by an admin-definable parameter), that account can only post once every 15 minutes (or whatever interval set by an admin-definable parameter).

After that first week the system reviews the status of the account. (Alternatively this review could be run "after the first X number of posts" rather than "x number of days".)

If the overall net reputation of the account is less than an admin-definable value (let's say, lower than negative 5), then the account restrictions remain in place, and the account is flagged for an admin (or similar role) to manually review and either block/delete or approve. If the net reputation is above this threshold, the posting limits are removed automatically, ie without manual intervention being required.

Alternatively (or additionally) the system could check how often posts by that account have been reported. If it has been reported more than an admin-definable value, posting limits remain in place and the account is flagged for an admin to review.

Upsides:
- Limits the "productivity" of spam accounts
- Uses the collective user base to identify spam accounts in a more sophisticated way than just reporting these to mods/admins, ie by creating a dataset which can be used by an inbuilt system to more easily help throttle/block spammers

Downsides:
- Requires considerably more time and effort to build
- Still requires a level of ongoing manual administration
- Could be "gamed" by malicious users who downvote/report even worthwhile posts (which is why I think the system should not outright block users automatically but only rate limit them, and why I think an admin should have the ability to manually approve users for normal posting. Ie, just because someone posts unpopular opinions doesn't mean they're posting spam, and a manual review could accommodate this)

THE WAY FORWARD

The above are only some potential ideas, I'm sure there are others. And I'm sure there are issues that I haven't identified either.

Perhaps the way forward is to look at what can be done:

• short term
• longer term

As what's required right now to stomp the current spammers on the head may not be an long-term optimal solution

This has been an issue since the beginning of Kbin tmk, but when you make a post, it won't appear under sort by hot unless it has an upvote. This means that if someone forgets to upvote their own post, it just won't appear on the default sort. There are plenty of posts I've missed because of this.

Any idea when something like this might be changed?