Diaspora

Developer(s)| The Diaspora Foundation
Stable release|

[1] / 15 October 2018; 7 years ago (2018-10-15)

Written in| Ruby[2]
Platform| Ruby on Rails
Type| Social network service
License| AGPLv3,[3][4] some parts dual-licensed under MIT License[5] as well
Website| DiasporaFoundation.org

Diaspora is a free personal web server[3] that implements a distributed social networking service. Installations of the software form nodes (termed "pods") which make up the distributed Diaspora social network.

The project was founded by Dan Grippi, Maxwell Salzberg, Raphael Sofaer and Ilya Zhitomirskiy, students at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. The group received crowdfunding in excess of $200,000 via Kickstarter. A consumer alpha version was released on 23 November 2010.

Konrad Lawson, blogging for the Chronicle of Higher Education, suggested Diaspora in July 2011 as an alternative to corporately produced software.[6]

## Contents

* 1 Concept
* 2 Development
* 3 Release history
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 External links

## Concept

Diaspora is intended to address privacy concerns related to centralized social networks by allowing users set up their own server (or "pod") to host content; pods can then interact to share status updates, photographs, and other social data.[7] It allows its users to host their data with a traditional web host, a cloud-based host, an ISP, or a friend. The framework, which is built on Ruby on Rails, is free software and can be modified and extended by external developers.

A key part of the original Diaspora software design concept was that it should act as a "social aggregator", allowing posts to be easily imported from Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. As Village Voice writer Nick Pinto explained, "the idea is that this lowers the barriers to joining the network, and as more of your friends join, you no longer need to bounce communications through Facebook. Instead, you can communicate directly, securely, and without running exchanges past the prying eyes of Zuckerberg and his business associates."[8] As of 2016, the API for this feature was still under discussion.[9]

## Development

This book may need to be updated to reflect current knowledge.
section

|

Ilya Zhitomirskiy and Daniel Grippi (2011)

After the project raised over $200,000 in crowdfunding via the Kickstarter website by 1 June 2010, the group began working on the software.[3][10] A developer preview with a number of security holes was released on 15 September 2010.[11] On 23 November, a redesigned website was published in preparation for the alpha release, with the old site still available as a blog section. The early security holes were fixed with the alpha release.[12] The early alpha version contained many bugs and security flaws, but feedback on the free software led to quick improvements.[13]

After its foundation was completed, Diaspora's developers intended to concentrate on creating a "battery of add-on modules" in order to "facilitate any type of communication," and planned to offer a paid hosting service for Diaspora seeds.[3][14]

The software's beta release was originally scheduled for November 2011, but was postponed due to the need to add new design features and also Zhitomirskiy’s death.[13] In February 2012, the developers indicated that they had completed work on the software back-end to improve both pod up-time and website response time. The next phase of work involved changes to the user interface and its associated terminology to reflect the way users are actually interacting, as the software moves towards beta status, anticipated for later on in 2012.[15]

By May 2012, development was underway to allow a high degree of customization of user posts, permitting users to post different media, such as text, photos and video with a high degree of personalization and individual expression. The developers felt that allowing individual creativity in posts would differentiate the Diaspora platform from competitors.[13]

In June 2012, the development team was scheduled to move to Mountain View, California as part of work with startup accelerator Y Combinator.[13] In August 2012 the developers focus changed to working on creating makr.io, as part of their yCombinator class.[16]

In August 2012, the founders of Diaspora announced that they would let the community take over governance of the project, while they would stay involved, but take a lesser role. The project was adopted by, and became part of, the Free Software Support Network (FSSN), which is in turn run by Eben Moglen and the Software Freedom Law Center. The FSSN acts as an umbrella organization to Diaspora development and manages Diaspora's branding, finances and legal assets.[17][18][19]

In October 2012, the project made its first community release at 0.0.1.0, dropping all references to the Alpha/Beta branding it had previously used.[20] At the same time development was moved to a development branch, leaving the master branch for stable releases.[21] Additionally, efforts were underway to package Diaspora for Linux distributions and other systems.[22]

## Release history

Diaspora uses a semantic versioning scheme that is prefixed with another number which will be increased when necessary to indicate a major milestone for the project.[23]

These are the major software versions released since community development started in August 2012.[24][25]

Version  | Release date  | Significant changes

|
|

0.0.0  | October 2012  | First stable version to be released[26]
0.0.1  | October 2012  | New configuration system[27]
0.0.2  | November 2012  | reduced start-up times and interface updates[28]
0.0.3  | February 2013  | Many user interface changes and upgrades[29]
0.1.0  | May 2013  | Replaced Resque with Sidekiq, removal of Capistrano deployment scripts, many new features, including "deleting a post that was shared to Facebook now deletes it from Facebook too"[30]
0.1.1  | July 2013  | Deleting a post that was shared to Twitter now deletes it from Twitter as well and improvements on how participants are displayed on each conversation without opening them, plus new features and bug fixes[31]
0.2.0  | 27 August 2013  | Many new admin features added, some new user features including Wordpress service ability for posts[32]
0.3.0  | 19 January 2014  | Feature added, bug fixes[33]
0.4.0  | 22 June 2014  | New features like polls and post reporting, refactoring and bug fixes[34]
0.4.1  | 14 September 2014  | Emphasis on porting most of the remaining pages to Bootstrap. Lots of bug fixes and minor improvements. Terms of Service feature.[35]
0.5.0  | 3 May 2015  | Major release focusing on user interface, usability and bug fixes. Major underlying component upgrades.[36][37]
0.6.0  | 26 August 2016  |

* Ability to make a user's entire profile information public so that Diaspora can be used like a blog
* New, more modern and easy to use ‘flat’ design
* An entirely rewritten federation code, extracted into a separate library
* A huge clean-up of the database

0.6.3  | 22 January 2017  | 5 refactors, 6 bug fixes, 2 new features:[38]

* Add links to the aspects and followed tags pages on mobile
* diaspora* is now available in Gàidhlig, Occitan, and Schwiizerdütsch

0.6.5  | 18 April 2017  | 9 refactors, 6 bugfixes, 1 feature[39][40]

* Add links to liked and commented pages
* Increase visual spacing between list items
* Reduce conversation recipient size and add avatar fallback for typeahead and conversations
* Increase maximal height of large thumbnail on mobile

0.7.0  | 19 August 2017  | 22 refactors, 6 bugfixes, 12 features:[41][42]

* Support direct links to comments on mobile
* markdown editor for comments and conversations
* markdown editor for posts, comments and conversations on mobile
* Display @ before mentions
* mention people in comments as well as in posts
* Federation v0.2.0
* support for receiving account migrations

## See also

* Comparison of software and protocols for distributed social networking
* FreedomBox
* Free Software licensing
* Friendica
* List of AGPL web applications
* List of social networking websites
* Social media

## References

1. ↑ Diaspora Project (15 October 2018). "Diaspora releases". https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/releases. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
2. ↑ Vernon, Amy (12 May 2010). "Striking back at Facebook, the open-source way". Network World (International Data Group). http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/61195. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Salzberg, Maxwell; Daniel Grippi. "Decentralize the web with Diaspora – Kickstarter". Kickstarter. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/196017994/diaspora-the-personally-controlled-do-it-all-distr. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
4. ↑ "Diaspora, Inc. Contributor Agreement". https://wiki.diasporafoundation.org/Contributor_license_agreement. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
5. ↑ "Diaspora Contributor Agreement". https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/joindiaspora.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFdRTnY0TGtfaklKQXZNUndsMlJ2eGc6MQ&ndplr=1.
6. ↑ Lawson, Konrad. "Remembering Diaspora: The Open Source Social Network". Chronicle of Higher Education. http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/remembering-diaspora-the-open-source-social-network/34627?sid=wc. Retrieved 15 July 2011. "Even if they never dominate the field, their decentralized approach and rallying cry to “take back your network” may help maintain a sustained pressure on the Googles and Facebooks of the world."
7. ↑ "Diaspora: A first peek at Facebook's challenger". Computerworld. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9186498/Diaspora_A_first_peek_at_Facebook_s_challenger. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
8. ↑ Pinto, Nick (15 February 2012). "Rise of the Facebook-Killers page 3". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120219221613/http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-02-15/news/the-facebook-killers/3/. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
9. ↑ "Current and future development - diaspora* project wiki". diasporafoundation.org. https://wiki.diasporafoundation.org/Current_and_future_development#Create_an_API. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
10. ↑ Dwyer, Jim (11 May 2010). "Four Nerds and a Cry to Arms Against Facebook". New York Times (The New York Times Company). https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/nyregion/12about.html. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
11. ↑ Goodin, Dan. "Code for open-source Facebook littered with landmines". The Register. https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/16/diaspora_pre_alpha_landmines/. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
12. ↑ "Private Alpha Invites Going Out Today". joindiaspora. 10 December 2010. Archived from the original on 22 December 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101222020913/http://blog.joindiaspora.com/2010/11/23/private-alpha-released.html. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Weise, Karen (15 May 2012). "On Diaspora's Social Network, You Own Your Data". Bloomberg Businessweek. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-10/on-diasporas-social-network-you-own-your-data. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
14. ↑ "join diaspora – the project". Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101126232042/http://blog.joindiaspora.com/project.html. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
15. ↑ Grippi, Dan (3 February 2012). "DIASPORA* grows up". Diaspora Foundation Blog. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120206042623/http://blog.diasporafoundation.org/2012/02/03/diaspora-grows-up.html. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
16. ↑ "Diaspora's Next Act: Social Remixing Site Makr.io – Liz Gannes – Social". AllThingsD. http://allthingsd.com/20120816/diasporas-next-act-social-remixing-site-makr-io/. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
17. ↑ "Les créateurs de Diaspora confient les rênes à la communauté". Numerama. http://www.numerama.com/magazine/23532-les-createurs-de-diaspora-confient-les-renes-a-la-communaute.html. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
18. ↑ Grippi, Daniel and Maxwell Salzberg (27 August 2012). "Announcement: Diaspora* Will Now Be A Community Project". Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120830214049/http://blog.diasporafoundation.org/2012/08/27/announcement-diaspora-will-now-be-a-community-project.html. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
19. ↑ "Diaspora*". Joindiaspora.com. 27 August 2012. https://www.joindiaspora.com/. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
20. ↑ "Diaspora 0.0.1.0 Released!". The Diaspora Project. http://diaspora-project.org/news/sun-10072012-0858/diaspora-0010-released. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
21. ↑ "Define a clear git branching model". Loomio. https://www.loomio.org/discussions/628?proposal=474. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
22. ↑ "Open Call for Packagers". Diaspora Developer Blog. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121021212024/http://devblog.joindiaspora.com/2012/10/18/open-call-for-packagers/. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
23. ↑ "Adopt a versioning scheme and release cycle.". Loomio. https://www.loomio.org/discussions/613?proposal=541. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
24. ↑ Diaspora Foundation (27 August 2013). "Diaspora Releases". Github. https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/releases. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
25. ↑ Diaspora Foundation (4 September 2013). "Diaspora Changelog". Github. https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/blob/develop/Changelog.md. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
26. ↑ Diaspora Project (5 October 2012). "diaspora* 0.0.0.0". https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/releases/tag/v0.0.0.0. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
27. ↑ Diaspora Project (7 October 2012). "diaspora* 0.0.1.0". https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/releases/tag/v0.0.1.0. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
28. ↑ Diaspora Project (20 November 2012). "diaspora* 0.0.0.0". https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/releases/tag/v0.0.2.0. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
29. ↑ Diaspora Project (17 February 2013). "diaspora* 0.0.3.0". https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/releases/tag/v0.0.3.0. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
30. ↑ Diaspora Project (19 May 2013). "diaspora* 0.1.0.0". https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/releases/tag/v0.1.0.0. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
31. ↑ Diaspora Project (28 July 2013). "diaspora* 0.1.1.0". https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/releases/tag/v0.1.1.0. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
32. ↑ Diaspora Project (27 August 2013). "diaspora* 0.2.0.0". https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/releases/tag/v0.2.0.0. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
33. ↑ Diaspora Project (19 January 2014). "diaspora* 0.3.0.0". https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/releases/tag/v0.3.0.0. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
34. ↑ Diaspora Project (22 June 2014). "diaspora* 0.4.0.0". https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/releases/tag/v0.4.0.0. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
35. ↑ Diaspora Project (14 September 2014). "diaspora* 0.4.1.0". https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/releases/tag/v0.4.1.0. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
36. ↑ "Release diaspora* 0.5.0.0 · diaspora/diaspora · GitHub". GitHub. https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/releases/tag/v0.5.0.0. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
37. ↑ "diaspora* version 0.5.0.0 released!". diasporafoundation.org. https://blog.diasporafoundation.org/16-diaspora-version-0-5-0-0-released. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
38. ↑ "diaspora/diaspora" (in en). https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/releases/tag/v0.6.3.0. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
39. ↑ SuperTux88 (Benjamin Neff) (18 April 2017). "diaspora* 0.6.5.0" (in en). https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/releases/tag/v0.6.5.0.
40. ↑ "diaspora* version 0.6.5.0 released!" (in en). Diaspora Foundation. 18 April 2017. https://blog.diasporafoundation.org/40-diaspora-version-0-6-5-0-released.
41. ↑ SuperTux88 (Benjamin Neff) (19 August 2017). "diaspora* v0.7.0.0" (in en). https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/releases/tag/v0.7.0.0.
42. ↑ "diaspora* version 0.7.0.0 released!" (in en). Diaspora Foundation. 19 August 2017. https://blog.diasporafoundation.org/44-diaspora-version-0-7-0-0-released.

## External links

* Project Website
* Diaspora GitHub repository
* Kickstarter pitch
* Diaspora*-Wiki with current state of development

* v
* t
* e

Microblogging

Websites|

* Facebook
* Twitter
* Tumblr
* LinkedIn
* Sina Weibo
* Tencent Weibo
* Diaspora
* Edmodo
* Fanfou
* Gab
* Identi.ca
* micro.blog
* migme
* Myspace
* Plurk
* Solaborate
* Qzone
* Tout
* Viadeo
* VK
* XING

Defunct|

* App.net
* Google Buzz
* Google+
* Heello
* Jaiku
* Meme
* Me2day
* Natter
* Posterous
* Pownce
* Qaiku

Platforms|

| OStatus-compatible|

* Friendica
* GNU social
* PeerTube

|

ActivityPub-compatible|

* Friendica
* Pleroma
* Mastodon
* PeerTube

* Diaspora
* OpenMicroBlogging
* pump.io
* Twister
* Webfinger

Features|

* Reblogging
* Activity stream
* Lifestreaming
* Hashtag
* Backchannel
* Mention/Replies

Other topics|

* Microblogging in China
* Microblogging novel
* Micropoetry

Comparison of microblogging services

* v
* t
* e

Free and open-source software

General|

* Alternative terms for free software
* Comparison of open-source and closed-source software
* Comparison of source-code-hosting facilities
* Free software
* Free software project directories
* Gratis versus libre
* Long-term support
* Open-source software
* Open-source software development
* Outline

Software
packages|

* Audio
* Bioinformatics
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* Collaboration
* Configuration management
* Device drivers
* Graphics
* Wireless
* Geophysics
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* Operating systems
* Programming languages
* Routing
* Statistics
* Television
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* Web applications
* Content management systems
* E-commerce
* Word processors
* Android apps
* iOS apps
* Commercial
* Trademarked
* Formerly proprietary

Community|

* Free software movement
* History
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* Organizations
* Events

Licenses|

* AFL
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* Artistic
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* Boost
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* Python
* Python Software Foundation License
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* Unlicense
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* zlib

| Types and
standards|

* Comparison of free and open-source software licenses
* Contributor License Agreement
* Copyleft
* Debian Free Software Guidelines
* Definition of Free Cultural Works
* Free license
* The Free Software Definition
* The Open Source Definition
* Open-source license
* Permissive software license
* Public domain
* Viral license

|

Challenges|

* Digital rights management
* Firmware security
* Hardware restrictions
* License proliferation
* Mozilla software rebranding
* Proprietary device drivers
* Proprietary firmware
* Proprietary software
* SCO/Linux controversies
* Secure boot
* Software patents
* Software security
* Trusted Computing

Related topics|

* Forking
* GNU Manifesto
* Microsoft Open Specification Promise
* Open-core model
* Open-source hardware
* Shared Source Initiative
* Source-available software
* The Cathedral and the Bazaar
* Revolution OS

*   * Category
* Commons
* WikiProject
* Book

* v
* t
* e

Social networking services

Personal|

* 23snaps
* Amikumu
* aNobii
* AsianAve
* Ask.fm
* Badoo
* Cloob
* Cyworld
* Diaspora
* Draugiem.lv
* Ello
* Facebook
* Foursquare
* Gab
* Hello
* Hi5
* Highlight
* Houseparty
* Idka
* Instagram
* IGTV
* IRC-Galleria
* Keek
* LiveJournal
* Lifeknot
* Likee
* LockerDome
* Marco Polo
* Mastodon
* MeetMe
* Meetup
* Miaopai
* micro.blog
* Minds
* MixBit
* Mixi
* Myspace
* My World
* Nasza-klasa.pl
* Nextdoor
* OK.ru
* Parler
* Path
* Peach
* Periscope
* Pinterest
* Pixnet
* Plurk
* Qzone
* Readgeek
* Renren
* Sina Weibo
* Slidely
* Snapchat
* SNOW
* Spaces
* Streetlife
* StudiVZ
* Swarm
* Tagged
* Taringa!
* Tea Party Community
* TikTok
* Tinder
* Tout
* Tuenti
* TV Time
* Tumblr
* Twitter
* Untappd
* Vero
* VK
* Whisper
* Xanga
* Yo

Professional|

* Academia.edu
* Brainly
* BranchOut
* Edmodo
* IBM Connections
* LinkedIn
* Moodle
* ResearchGate
* Sciencescape (Metaα)
* Solaborate
* Viadeo
* XING
* IdeaPlane
* Yammer

Defunct|

* App.net
* Avatars United
* Bebo
* Bolt
* Capazoo
* eConozco
* Emojli
* eWorld
* Eyegroove
* FitFinder
* Formspring
* FriendFeed
* Friends Reunited
* Friendster
* Grono.net
* Google+
* Google Buzz
* Heello
* Hyves
* iTunes Ping
* iWiW
* Jaiku
* LunarStorm
* Me2day
* Meerkat
* Mobli
* Mugshot
* Multiply
* Musical.ly
* Natter Social Network
* Netlog
* Orkut
* Pheed
* Piczo
* PlanetAll
* Posterous
* Pownce
* Qaiku
* SixDegrees.com
* So.cl
* Spring.me
* Surfbook
* tbh
* Tribe.net
* Tsū
* tvtag
* Vine
* Windows Live Spaces
* Wretch
* Yahoo! 360°
* Yahoo! Kickstart
* Yahoo! Mash
* Yahoo! Meme
* Yik Yak

Services|

* Software comparison
* White-label
* Ning
* Wall.fm

Tools|

* Social network analysis software
* Diaspora (software)
* Web 2.0 Suicide Machine

Concepts|

* Online identity
* User profile
* Virtual community
* 1+ million users
* Small-world experiment
* Small-world network
* Social network
* Cybersectarianism

Applications|

* Social network advertising
* Social network hosting service
* Online dating service (comparison)
* Mobile

User interface|

* Activity stream
* Brand page
* Like button
* Hashtag
* Groups
* Reblogging
* Polling
* Online petitions

Implications|

* Privacy issues
* User gender difference
* Use in investigations

Protocols|

* ActivityPub
* Distributed Social Networking Protocol (defunct)
* Micropub
* OpenSocial (defunct)
* OStatus
* Pump.io
* XMPP

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