Skip to content

doc: added more info for admins #16

New issue

Have a question about this project? Sign up for a free GitHub account to open an issue and contact its maintainers and the community.

Sign up for GitHub

By clicking “Sign up for GitHub”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy statement. We’ll occasionally send you account related emails.

Already on GitHub? Sign in to your account

Open
andypiper wants to merge 2 commits into
base: main
Choose a base branch
from
Open

doc: added more info for admins #16

Changes from all commits
Commits
Show all changes
2 commits
Select commit Hold shift + click to select a range
afcb05c
doc: added more info for admins
andypiper Oct 17, 2023
d0d19f0
Added info on customisation.
andypiper Oct 17, 2023
File filter

Filter by extension

Filter by extension
Conversations
Failed to load comments.
Loading
Jump to
Jump to file
Failed to load files.
Loading
Diff view
Diff view
57 changes: 28 additions & 29 deletions README.md
View file
Open in desktop
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,49 +1,44 @@
# Fediwall

Fediwall is a *media wall* application made for [Mastodon](https://joinmastodon.org/). Follow hashtags or accounts and show the most recent posts in a self-updating, screen filling and visually pleasing masonry grid layout. Put it on a large screen and showcase community feedback or social media reactions while hosting your next big event, or use it to look at cat pictures all day. Your choice.
Fediwall is a *media wall* application made for [Mastodon](https://joinmastodon.org/) (specifically, services that offer an implementation of the [Mastodon API](https://docs.joinmastodon.org/api)). Follow hashtags or accounts, and show the most recent posts in a self-updating, screen filling and visually pleasing grid layout. Display it on a large screen, and showcase community feedback or social media reactions while hosting your next big event; or, use it to look at [cat pictures](https://mastodon.social/tags/catsofmastodon) all day. Your choice.

**Try it!** Check out [fediwall.social](https://fediwall.social/) or host your own (see below).


## Features

* **Follow hashtags, accounts or trends** on multiple servers and display all public posts (including boosts) matching your interest.
* **Visually pleasing** and screen filling masonry grid layout that scales well with all types of screens, from tablet to large screens or LED walls at venues.
* **Dark mode** for less eye stain and lower energy consumption.
* **Find new posts** quickly and watch them appear with a smooth animation. The update logic gracefully handles Mastodon server rate limits.
* **Visually pleasing** and screen filling grid layout (using [Masonry](https://www.npmjs.com/package/vue-masonry)) that scales well with all types of screens, from tablet to large screens or LED walls at venues.
* **Dark mode** available, for less eye stain and lower energy consumption.
* **Find new posts** quickly and watch them appear with a smooth animation. The update logic gracefully observes Mastodon server rate limits.
* **Moderation tools** allow you to pin important posts, hide inappropriate posts or block entire accounts if necessary.
* **Customize** everything to your liking without the need to host your own instance. Settings are stored in the URL, so you can bookmark or share your personalized wall with others.
* **Self-host** your own if you want. Fediwall is compiled to a static website with no server side logic. Just put it on a webserver and you are done.

* **Self-host** your own if you want. Fediwall compiles to a static website with no server side logic. Just put it on a web server, load it up in your browser, and you are done.

## Screenshot (dark/light theme)

![screenshot](https://github.com/defnull/fediwall/assets/62740/d838dfa7-b200-42f5-8130-9506da7dba0f)


## Customization

To customize a Fediwall, scroll down and look for the `[customize]` link. Change the settings to your liking and click apply. The dialog will redirect you to a new URL that represents all your changes and can be bookmarked or shared with others.

To customize a Fediwall, scroll to the bottom of the page and look for the `[customize]` link. Change the settings to your liking, and click apply. The dialog will redirect you to a new URL that represents all your changes, which can then be bookmarked or shared with others.

### Changing the defaults (self-host only)

Any parameter that is not defined in the URL will fall back to a sensible default value. If you host your own Fediwall, you can of cause change those defaults:
Any parameter that is not defined in the URL will fall back to a sensible default value. If you host your own Fediwall, you can of course change those defaults:

* Generate a `wall-config.json` (see "Advanced" tab in the config editor) and upload it to the Fediwall folder on your webserver (next to `index.html`). Fediwall will try to download this file and use it as default configuration, if present.
* Generate a `wall-config.json` file (see "Advanced" tab in the config editor) and upload it to the Fediwall folder on your web server (next to `index.html`). Fediwall will try to download this file and use it as default configuration, if present.
* an example file is provided at `./public/wall-config.json.example`. This can be edited and renamed to `wall-config.json` to set default behaviours for your server instead of generating the file using the "Advanced" tab.
* If you plan to build Fediwall from source, you can also change the values in `./src/defaults.ts` directly. Placing a custom `wall-config.json` in the `./public/` folder is easier in most cases, though.


### External configuration

You can link to an externally hosted `wall-config.json` via a special `?load=URL` query parameter. If present, Fediwall will no longer try to download a local `wall-config.json`, but instead fetch default configuration from the specified URL. This is very handy if you want to share Fediwall links but keep the option to change settings later (e.g. to add more hashtags).

Make sure the external webspace allows fetching resources via JavaScript from a different domain (requires proper [CORS](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/CORS) headers). Github hosted [Gists](https://gist.github.com/) are known to work. For example: `https://fediwall.social/?load=//gist.github.com/[USER]/[GIST]/raw/[FILENAME]`
You can link to an externally hosted `wall-config.json` via the `?load=URL` query parameter. If present, Fediwall will try to fetch configuration from the specified URL (instead of using the local defaults). This is very handy if you want to share Fediwall links, but also keep the option to change settings later (e.g. to add more hashtags).

Make sure the external webspace allows fetching resources via JavaScript from a different domain (requires proper [CORS](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/CORS) headers). GitHub hosted [Gists](https://gist.github.com/) are known to work. For example: `https://fediwall.social/?load=//gist.github.com/[USER]/[GIST]/raw/[FILENAME]`

## Self-hosting Fediwall

Fediwall is compiled into a static website and does not require any server-side framework or runtime to work. Just download a recent build from the [Releases](https://github.com/defnull/fediwall/releases) page (or build from source, see below) and upload the files to a public webspace.
Fediwall is compiled into a static website and does not require any server-side framework or runtime to work. Just download a recent build from the [Releases](https://github.com/defnull/fediwall/releases) page (or build from source, see below) and upload the files to a public web space.

You can host Fediwall directly under a dedicated domain (e.g. `wall.example.com`) or next to an existing application from a separate folder (e.g. `example.com/wall/`). To host Fediwall next to Mastodon on an existing server, find your [nginx config](https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/blob/main/dist/nginx.conf) and add a new `location` block:

Expand All @@ -57,7 +52,6 @@ server {
}
```


## Build from source

You need at least [Node 18](https://docs.npmjs.com/downloading-and-installing-node-js-and-npm) and `npm` to build this project.
Expand All @@ -66,37 +60,42 @@ Checkout or download this repository, run `npm install` once, then `npm run buil

During development, `npm run dev` will provide a local development server that automatically compiles and reloads everything on code changes.


## F.A.Q.

### Some posts do not show up. Why?
### I'm a Mastodon admin and I don't want you hitting my server!

Some admins and some communities prefer not to make content available, or have other concerns. Fediwall keeps within the API request limits. The users on your instance can also use their account privacy settings to limit how their posts are shared, so it does not have to be done for the whole server.

Fediwall uses the unauthenticated timeline API to fetch hashtagged posts. You can turn off this setting in your instance preferences (uncheck "Server settings -> Discovery -> Allow unauthenticated access to public timelines"), and Fediwall will no longer be able to retrieve the posts.

### I'm a Fediwall user, and I've configured it, but some posts do not show up. Why?

This can have multiple reasons:

* Fediwall can only find posts that are known to the configured source instances. If you post on a different instance, make sure someone from a source instance follows you or boosts your post.
* Fediwall by default only shows public posts and hides replies, sensitive content or anything with limited visibility. Posts from suspended or limited accounts are also filtered out.
* If all posts from a specific instance are missing, the instance may be down, unresponsive, defederated, or deliberately block anonymous API access.

* If all posts from a specific instance are missing, the instance may be down, unresponsive, defederated, or it may block anonymous API access (see the previous question).

### It's called Fediwall, but only supports Mastodon. What about X?
### It's called Fediwall, but it only supports Mastodon. What about [another Fediverse service]?

Fediwall currently relies on a small subset of the Mastodon v1 API to fetch content, which is also implemented by many Mastodon alternatives. Support for other source APIs (e.g. Pixelfed) is planned, but this may take a while. Pull requests are welcomed, though!

Direct API access is not always necessary. Content shows up on Fediwall no matter on which server or platform it was originally published, as long as it is federated with one of the backing Mastodon servers.
Fediwall currently relies on a small subset of the Mastodon API to fetch content, which is also implemented by many Mastodon alternatives. Support for other source APIs (e.g. Pixelfed) is planned, but this may take a while. Pull requests are welcomed, though!

Direct API access to an individual instance is not always necessary. Content shows up on Fediwall no matter on which server or platform it was originally published from, as long as it is federated with a Mastodon server that knows about it.

### I want to use Fediwall for my next big event. How do I prevent spam or inappropriate content?

Choose a source server with active moderation to reduce the risk of troll-, spam-, or nsfw-posts showing up. If you see something you do not want, you can manually hide individual posts or entire account in the UI.
Choose a source server with active moderation to reduce the risk of troll-, spam-, or nsfw-posts showing up. If you see something you do not want, you can manually hide individual posts or entire account in the UI.

To play it extra-safe, stop following hashtags, and follow a bunch of trusted event accounts instead. Those accounts would then manually boost posts and only allow approved content to show up on the wall.

To play it save, stop following hashtags and follow a bunch of trusted event accounts instead. Those accounts would then manually boost posts and only allow approved content to show up on the wall.
### I want to make changes to the look-and-feel and UI

The range of built-in customisations that are available are intentionally simple. If you want to modify the CSS or add other elements, the best option is to fork and modify the project, and self-host.

## Special thanks

This project was inspired by [Mastowall](https://github.com/rstockm/mastowall), check it out too!


## License

Copyright (C) 2023 Marcel Hellkamp
Expand Down