some other Dreamwidth services

[mellowtigger]

Besides the official feature list here on Dreamwidth, there are some other services available to bloggers here, like the official community list.

I'm already a member of some Dreamwidth groups, like dw_news, dw_maintenance, and dw_suggestions. That last one seems to have been abandoned, though. The idea I submitted never appeared, and the last published suggestion is from 2018.

I also looked at the available beta tests with dw_beta, and I turned on the "Create Entries" beta. It has some nice improvements, like being able to pick custom urls for your post. I used that feature yesterday for the first time. See this nice readable url?

https://mellowtigger.dreamwidth.org/2022/12/19/the-problem-with-plastics.html

But this new editor also leaves a lot to be desired. There is currently no gui version. You have to know site-supported tags, either HTML or some old Markdown codes. It's convenient for me, since I like using DETAILS/SUMMARY and BLOCKQUOTE tags. It definitely won't suit some people, though, who want the simpler approach to clicking icons for functions. I don't know yet if Embed code from other sites works directly this way, or if it needs some Dreamwidth wrapper before it functions properly. I'll have to test that out at some point.

Question 1: Is there a group for asking Dreamwidth questions like a newbie? I don't know of one. :(

Question 2: Has anyone else noticed that Dreamwidth has been extra cranky lately? Things failing to load or respond. I'm sure it'll pass, but it's just unusual.

Oh, and I just learned that there's a non-zero chance that Dreamwidth could join the Fediverse, with the appropriate tech infrastructure.

Comments

[watersword]

(here via /latest)

You may like getting_started.

[mellowtigger]

Thanks, yes! I've now joined. :)

[frith]

The unusual 'failure to respond/load' crankiness of late is due a marked surge in people using Dreamwidth while Twitter melts. See the latest post on dw_maintenance for details.

[mellowtigger]

Now that you mention it, I remember that post. But the Mastodon servers had surges that didn't last so long. Their trends easily matched Musk's particular fascist/stupid moments. Maybe it's a good sign that long-form blogging interest is more robust? Maybe we'll stop getting "threads" on microblogs, and people move toward full blogging again! I'd sure welcome that change to the human social network. :)

[shimmerwine]

That Fediverse link on Mastodon is from 4 years ago; does it still apply? And what, in Captain Dummy Speak, does it mean if they do?

[mellowtigger]

Yes, there's a November 11th post from a Dreamwidth co-owner which gave 2 important caveats:

* It must be opt-in for our users ("I choose to be part of the fediverse, people may message me/ping me/syndicate my public content")
* We will only export public content (unless you choose to DM someone else in the 'verse, which I guess is technically non-public)

That means people could direct message you here, at a Dreamwidth.Org address, presumably. You could also share your blog content here, but only the stuff that is Public. They aren't going to fiddle with figuring out security access for fediverse accounts, only security for native Dreamwidth accounts. Given the text character limits of Mastodon microblogging, it's not clear how these "shares" will appear elsewhere. The first [x] characters, plus the link?

Regardless, they say they don't have developer hours to devote to this, but they'd happily accept help from volunteer coders.

[shimmerwine]

Thank you for making it clear. :)