@benpate@mastodon.social

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Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

@benpate@mastodon.social · Feb 27, 2026

@silverpill@mitra.social @mariusor@metalhead.club @trwnh@mastodon.social I e*love* this idea- especially in principle. I say that because I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this and how it would be used in practice. Do you think you could post an example workflow (or three) to demonstrate how this would work? I get that objects could be added to client-defined collections (very cool) but if object/collection IDs don’t have predefined semantics, how will I know where to look to get the data I need?

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@hollo@hollo.social

The recent Hollo 0.7.3 and 0.7.4 updates have improved interoperability with # Bonfire . The issue where sending/receiving DMs or mutual following with Bonfire wasn't working properly has been resolve

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Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

@benpate@mastodon.social · Feb 24, 2026

@hollo Very cool, guys! Kudos! #Bonfire is also working on encrypted DMs similar to Hollo. They’re using MLS, which is similar, but slightly different from the Signal protocol you’re using. I know it’s a big request, but what are the chances of getting your #E2EE messages to work with Bonfire (and #Emissary) too? It would be great for the Fediverse to have a unified E2EE standard in 2026. Let me know if it’s a possibility. I’m happy to tour you through our work so far!

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Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

@benpate@mastodon.social · Feb 24, 2026

Check this out: https://clip.place/w/ajgJ5Hi69bbbxHCK3nXNdj

I just published a video of the new "end to end encryption" protocol for ActivityPub in #Emissary. The UX is rougher than I'd like, but you can see the client app is coming along nicely.

Today, it sends and receives messages using MLS, a widely used industry standard and successor to the Signal protocol.

By June 2026, it should be ready for you.

For more details on the project and my progress, see: https://emissary.dev/e2ee

#JustBetweenUs #e2ee

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Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

@benpate@mastodon.social · Feb 13, 2026

There's a lot of energy on the #Fediverse right now to discuss/find a #Federated alternative to #Discord using #ActivityPub.

@strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz suggested that I put this out there to anyone who's thinking about it. We could probably rebuild most of Discord's features as an #Emissary inbox without doing a lot of back end code.

I'm too swamped to start on this right now. But if you're a great HTML+CSS designer, I'm able to give some time to a team who wants to take this on.

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Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

@benpate@mastodon.social · Feb 13, 2026

@FediThing@social.chinwag.org

A Fediverse Haiku:

It's unfortunate;
there's weak people of all stripes.
Go smash that "block button"

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Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

@benpate@mastodon.social · Feb 12, 2026

A couple days ago, I saw a post here about a literal nazi newsletter hosted on #Substack. I won't repost it because I don't want red and black swastikas in my timeline.

I sent a note to their "terms of service" team asking for clarification, hoping they would say "oh wow, thanks.." and do something about it.

Or maybe at least, they might say "gosh, this is bad, but they're not actually doing anything illegal."

But so far, no response...

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Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

@benpate@mastodon.social · Feb 11, 2026

@evan@cosocial.ca @tess@mastodon.social

I wish I had a hard number on what I though it'd take "to be a maintainer"

"It depends" *feels* like a cop out, but:

- Is the code stable & well written?
- Or is it spaghetti code that just mostly runs?
- Is it a niche app? Or super-popular that everyone uses?
- Or does Russia *really* want data off one of your servers?

The curve could easily go from negligible (0-5 hrs/week) to being 60 hrs+ for months

My work is 30-40hrs/week, but I'm still greenfield, not maintaining, sooo 🤷🏼‍♂️

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Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

@benpate@mastodon.social · Feb 11, 2026

Hey Fediverse: Does anyone know of a local #Library that has successfully launched a #Mastodon instance of their own?

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Parent @hongminhee@hollo.social Open

@hongminhee@hollo.social

I have deeply mixed feelings about # ActivityPub 's adoption of JSON-LD, as someone who's spent way too long dealing with it while building # Fedify . Part of me wishes it had never happened. A lot of

Current reply

Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

@benpate@mastodon.social · Feb 07, 2026

@hongminhee Great piece of writing, and I agree with lots of what you say here. Building this stuff is super hard, so good for you doing it “the right way.” I hate not being able to trust the data I receive. I’m one of those who’s taking the shortcuts, which has plenty of drawbacks, so I’m glad you’re in here fighting the good fight.

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Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

@benpate@mastodon.social · Feb 04, 2026

I just signed up for the #FediForum "Un-Workshop" coming up in March. Who else is planning to sign in? 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️ "Growing the Open Social Web" was already on my bingo card for 2026. I have my own ideas, but I'm more excited to hear what others have to say. https://fediforum.org/2026-03-growing-open-social-web/ If we blame misinformation on social media for the trouble in our democracies, then growing the #Fediverse (responsibly) may be our best path forward.

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Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social

Howdy! I'm the nerd who's building # Emissary - an ActivityPub server for building custom social applications on the Fediverse. My first app on this platform is a music sharing server for indie bands, called # Bandwagon . And now I'm also working on # Atlas , a social mapping server for adding Federated annotations to places in the real world. If you'd like to talk about any of my projects, feel free to DM me here, or on Signal (@benpate.5280) ⁂

mastodon.social

@benpate@mastodon.social · Jul 09, 2025

So they’re letting me host a session the #Fedicon conference on August 1st in Vancouver, BC 🇨🇦

I’ll probably ramble about: #Music, #UX, and #Commerce on the #Fediverse

What do you all want to talk about?

https://fedicon.ca

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