Now that the beta is out, I can start showing some of the changes I'm making! Let's start with the redesigned posting form, where I finally got to implement a design that I had first drafted back in Firefish (or was it Calckey?). At the top is the current Sharkey posting form, at the bottom the redesigned, more minimalistic Catodon posting form. This will also give you a general idea of my approach to UX design, and the direction of the new platform.

1. The "Post" button (with a larger font, and without the icon) is at the bottom right corner, closer to where your post would usually end.

2. The posting form expands as you write, a feature I ported from Firefish - which makes moving the Post button more useful, since it was in a kinda awkward position when writing longer posts.

3. The "X" closing button is at the top right corner, where most people would expect it to be.

4. Only the most frequently used icons are visible by default, decluttering the posting form for a cleaner look. The lower "..." menu opens on hover, meaning no extra click from desktops and laptops.

5. When you click "Show preview", the bottom row buttons stay between the typing area and the preview, instead of going all the way to the bottom. This makes it easier to access the buttons while having the preview open, and also keeps the "Show preview" button at the same point, so that you can expand/collapse the preview without having the button jump lower, as in Firefish and Sharkey.

#Catodon #Sharkey #Firefish #Misskey

Now that the beta is out, I can start showing some of the changes I'm making! Let's start with the redesigned posting form, where I finally got to implement a design that I had first drafted back in Firefish (or was it Calckey?). At the top is the current Sharkey posting form, at the bottom the redesigned, more minimalistic Catodon posting form. This will also give you a general idea of my approach to UX design, and the direction of the new platform.

1. The "Post" button (with a larger font, and without the icon) is at the bottom right corner, closer to where your post would usually end.

2. The posting form expands as you write, a feature I ported from Firefish - which makes moving the Post button more useful, since it was in a kinda awkward position when writing longer posts.

3. The "X" closing button is at the top right corner, where most people would expect it to be.

4. Only the most frequently used icons are visible by default, decluttering the posting form for a cleaner look. The lower "..." menu opens on hover, meaning no extra click from desktops and laptops.

5. When you click "Show preview", the bottom row buttons stay between the typing area and the preview, instead of going all the way to the bottom. This makes it easier to access the buttons while having the preview open, and also keeps the "Show preview" button at the same point, so that you can expand/collapse the preview without having the button jump lower, as in Firefish and Sharkey.

#Catodon #Sharkey #Firefish #Misskey

Yesteday I said #Catodon is returning, and I'd like to say a few more things.

Let me get this out of the way: I am building it with LLMs. To a big extent I don't know what I'm doing, and I am very aware of that. This will be an experiment. If any of this outrages you, please move on, this project is clearly not for you. If you are disrespectful in the comments, you will be blocked. Please don't tell me what I should or shouldn't do with my time. Thank you.

Those who have followed me for a long time, know that I used to be in #Firefish, then its lead dev moved on to different things leaving the project hanging, then we tried to start Catodon with another dev from the core team of Firefish, and I know that created great expectations and excitement to a lot of people (including me), until our lead dev also realized in the process that they couldn't dedicate the time needed for such a project. Then I was involved in Iceshrimp for a while, which was... let's say not a good fit, and since then I have been trying to find a dev who would like to work in a team effort. It has been years now, and I had no luck. But I still loved the first period of Firefish, I'm still interested in fedi, I still have a lot of ideas that I would like to bring to life. I am also still involved in a greek community server, and I want to build something for my friends and comrades there as well.

But I am not a software engineer, and this is not my calling. What I'm drawn to is design and UX. So I had more or less given up on the idea of Catodon, until I recently started experimenting with LLMs. Mind you, this whole AI craze left me cold until now - I had no use for it, so I stayed away. But for coding, in my case, it turns out to be an invaluable tool.

Would I have preferred to do this with an actual human instead? A thousand times yes. However, I know I really, really tried.

I also know it's bad for the environment. Planes are too, but we use them when needed. And anyway, I am not rich, I will be more or less as screwed as anyone by the ongoing destruction of the planet by the bourgeoisie. So I refuse to be victim blamed. The sad truth is that it's not an individual issue, it's a collective issue. No matter what they have told you, you will not stop the climate crisis if you stop using LLMs, airplanes, plastic straws or electricity altogether.

1/2

Looking on @opencollective, and I notice that #Firefish (fka. #Calckey) is still receiving funding from users and yet the project has been dead for nearly 18 months.

Kainoa handed the project over (and has dipped from Fedi, only on Bsky now) to naskya who announced its closure in September 2024 (https://fediversereport.com/last-week-in-fediverse-ep-83/)

I think most server admins moved to #IceShrimp or #sharkey

It was such a great project and I miss using it.