If your Pump.io server is identi.ca…

…remember the Pump network is much more than that! 😉

Lots of things changed when identi.ca migrated from the StatusNet system to the Pump.io system.

Among others:

• Pump.io is not microblogging. You can post very long texts, with some formatting and line breaks. Well, like this one! You can post short text if you wish, of course. Also, you don’t need shortened URL’s, and you can make pretty links.
• You can follow people from any other public Pump.io server, like microca.st, hotpump.net, fmrl.me, pump.jpope.org, etc.
• If you use the web interface, when you create new posts, they are not public by default. If you want to make a public post (currently recommended due to some issues), you’ll have to add “Public” to the “To:” field. Try to make at least one public post, so people who see your profile can see you’re active before trying to follow you.
• You can use several external web services with your account, like hip2.it, pump2status.net, or the “proof of concept” game, OpenFarmGame, to name a few.
• You can upload pictures, audio, video and other files in your posts, though the officially “supported everywhere” attachments are pictures, for now.
• There are already several pump.io applications (clients), for PC or mobile devices that can do more than what the web interface can at this point. We seriously recommend checking them out: Clients List.
• You can check out a “public timeline” at hubub.e43.eu , hubub.polari.us and equivalent sites, or from a client that supports it.
• If your account was used for some sort of entity, like a free software project or organization, you can take advantage of tools like Spigot, to post to Pump automatically from your RSS feed, or PumpTweet, to automatically send your Pump.io posts to Twitter.

If you have any doubts about any of these points, feel free to ask. You could also check out the Pump.io User Guide.

This list was originally posted as a note on Pump.io, and was modified a few times, and might be modified again, because yes, you can edit your posts and comments in Pump.io, as many times as you want! =)

Some tips for a better experience using the Pump.io network

First things first, it should be noted that Pump.io is software (and the corresponding free and decentralized network based on it) in alpha status. Even so, it has great technical potential, as it already has a powerful API (application interface) which, basically, is what allows third party programmers, not part of the Pump.io project itself, to create applications (web, desktop, mobile-based) which interact with the Pump system.

Since the system is not yet mature, there are some problems which early users should keep in mind. These are a few suggestions and temporary workarounds for them:

1. There is life beyond the web interface. Many people see Pump.io’s web interface, and think the system is very basic and limited. Nothing further from the truth! The thing is that, as we explain in our static page about Pump, the power of this system is based on having lots of different applications built around it, interacting with the “core” of the system: Pumpa, Dianara and Choqok on the desktop, Impeller, Puma, AndStatus and SocialMonkeys in smartphones and tablets, etc.
2. Public posts vs. “Cc: Followers”. Due to some current limitations on how pump.io works, comment distribution in non-public posts doesn’t work correctly, so if you publish something to Followers only, your contacts will not see all replies, causing confusion. Just like other pump.io issues, this is in the process of being fixed.
3. Reply to the note, not the comment. Again, due to some stuff being still under development, it is possible, in certain circumstances, to reply to a comment, instead of replying to the original note. Since replying to a comment (instead of the original post) shouldn’t be possible, if you do it, your contact might end up not seeing your reply. It’s better to avoid doing it, you’ll save yourself and your contact some confusion.
4. Decentralized network. If you used identi.ca in the past, when it was a microblogging system, you’ll probably feel confused about its new appearance and the way it works now. Identi.ca migrated from the StatusNet (now called GNU Social) platform, which was microblogging, to the Pump.io platform, more modular and dynamic. You can use your identi.ca account to communicate with people in any other public Pump.io server, like microca.st, pumpit.info, etc. Registration of new accounts on identi.ca is closed, to promote better federation on the network, that is, to avoid having everyone registering at the same server, which would damage the federated and decentralized nature of the network. If you know people who use identi.ca, simply register in any other Pump server, and you’ll be able to follow them without issues. In fact, your server will probably work better, since it will have less load.
5. Careful when copy-pasting. Some people use copy-paste with stuff they posted to Twitter first. This brings several problems. One of them is the fact that the text format is copied over, including the white background. Maybe not every one of your contacts uses a white background, and by forcing the white background, it might be difficult for your contact to read your post, since it’s easy that those copy-paste end up with white background, and text also white, in the computer of a user who uses dark color schemes for their programs. The other, more serious problem is that the web addresses (URL) posted on Twitter, are replaced by fake ones there. If you post a link to http://something.com, Twitter will show that as text, but it will turn the real link into a link to their http://t.co shortener, so they can monitor who clicks each link. If Twitter users decide to use it despite that, it’s their choice, but please, don’t bring their spying over to Pump 😉
6. Don’t delete the post with your new avatar. When changing the avatar in your Pump.io profile, the image is published as a post. You should not delete that post, since the post contains your avatar. If you delete that post, your avatar will be deleted too.
7. Use titles. If you set a title for your post, references to that post in the Meanwhile feed will use that title, so when someone likes it, or comments on it, instead of the unhelpful “JohnDoe posted a comment in reply to a note”, everyone will see “JohnDoe posted a comment in reply to Some Nicely Titled Post”. It really helps a lot!

We hope these tips and suggestions help you get started with Pump.io on the right foot, avoiding the problems derived from the initial development of the system. If you have questions, leave a comment here, and we’ll expand this entry of the blog with new tips and workarounds.

Pump.io is a very powerful system (even if there’s still much development to be done), one we feel deserves the time investment it requires at the beginning, to get used to it and understand its features.

Happy pumping!

Welcome!!

Communication Freedom is born today, as the international version of our spanish blog ‘Comunicate Libremente‘.
Just like the original, this blog’s mission will be to spread free (in the freedom sense), federated, decentralized Internet technologies.

We believe that communication over the Internet of today is not what it should be. It is controlled by big corporations bent on earning money, while completely disregarding user privacy. In fact, they do just the opposite: they sell their data and have serious security problems. Being able to communicate without restrictions or external control should be one of the fundamental rights on the Internet.

There are realistic, working alternatives. Alternatives based on Free Software, open, and decentralized, built on top of standard protocols, which guarantee privacy and control over your data.

We’ll start talking about these freedom-respecting technologies pretty soon, right here.