# Federated Blogging with WriteFreely > [! note]- > The content of this page is generated by audio/video transcription and text transformation from the content and links of this source. Source: [https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-6017-federated-blogging-with-writefreely/](https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-6017-federated-blogging-with-writefreely/) <video src="https://video.fosdem.org/2025/ud2208/fosdem-2025-6017-federated-blogging-with-writefreely.av1.webm" controls></video> ## Summary & Highlights: **Introduction to WriteFreely** WriteFreely is a minimalist, open-source blogging platform designed to enable writers to publish long-form content on the social web. It is licensed under AGPL and written in the Go programming language, making it easy to install and maintain. The platform supports various content forms, including web, RSS, email subscriptions, and ActivityPub, allowing it to integrate seamlessly into the fediverse. **Functionality and Features** WriteFreely can be configured for single or multiple users, making it suitable for personal blogs or community-driven platforms. It offers a distraction-free writing experience with support for Markdown formatting. The platform allows posts to be federated as Notes or Articles and integrates with external services for authentication and email distribution. **Challenges and Growth** The integration of ActivityPub into WriteFreely was challenging due to limited documentation and varying platform implementations. The platform has grown to support over 500,000 users and 5.5 million posts, necessitating solutions for caching and request handling to manage large followings and maintain uptime. **Future Directions** WriteFreely aims to enhance two-way communication within the fediverse, improve long-form article support, and continue making incremental improvements. The project seeks contributors to help shape its future development and ensure it remains a reliable platform for writers. ## Importance for an eco-social transformation WriteFreely plays a significant role in eco-social transformation by providing an open-source, community-oriented platform for sharing long-form content. It emphasizes privacy and simplicity, aligning with sustainable and ethical values. Eco-social designers can use WriteFreely to create spaces for community dialogue and knowledge sharing, fostering a more inclusive and democratic web. Challenges include ensuring interoperability across diverse platforms and addressing moderation and safety concerns in federated environments. ## Slides: | | | | --- | --- | | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_001.jpg\|300]] | Matt Baer, the lead developer of WriteFreely, introduces the platform as a federated blogging tool designed for the social web. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_002.jpg\|300]] | WriteFreely is introduced as a platform that emphasizes simplicity and ease of use for writers. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_003.jpg\|300]] | WriteFreely is a minimalist blogging platform focused on writing. It is open-source (AGPL), written in Go, and supports various formats like web, RSS, and ActivityPub. It operates on minimal resources and uses plain text/Markdown. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_004.jpg\|300]] | WriteFreely can be set up for individual users, making it ideal for personal blogging. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_005.jpg\|300]] | WriteFreely can also be configured for community use, supporting multiple users and collaborative environments. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_006.jpg\|300]] | Installation instructions for WriteFreely are available on the official website, highlighting its simplicity. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_007.jpg\|300]] | The slide likely provides further details on configuring WriteFreely, though specifics are not provided. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_008.jpg\|300]] | The slide likely continues the configuration discussion, though specifics are not provided. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_009.jpg\|300]] | The slide likely continues the configuration discussion, though specifics are not provided. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_010.jpg\|300]] | The slide likely continues the configuration discussion, though specifics are not provided. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_011.jpg\|300]] | WriteFreely offers further configuration options, including rich text editing, multiple blogs per user, and different sign-up modes. It supports OAuth providers and can be made completely private. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_012.jpg\|300]] | WriteFreely integrates with the fediverse, allowing Mastodon users to follow blogs and interact with posts directly. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_013.jpg\|300]] | The slide likely illustrates WriteFreely's integration with the fediverse, though specifics are not provided. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_014.jpg\|300]] | The slide likely illustrates WriteFreely's integration with the fediverse, though specifics are not provided. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_015.jpg\|300]] | Posts with hashtags in WriteFreely appear in searches on other platforms within the fediverse. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_016.jpg\|300]] | WriteFreely allows mentions of fediverse users, and interactions like likes are visible to authors. Images can be included in posts. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_017.jpg\|300]] | WriteFreely's journey into the fediverse is highlighted, marking its integration into the broader social web. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_018.jpg\|300]] | WriteFreely was launched in 2015 with a focus on simplicity and privacy, serving as the foundation for the current platform. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_019.jpg\|300]] | ActivityPub was implemented in WriteFreely in 2018, enabling its integration into the fediverse. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_020.jpg\|300]] | The slide likely reiterates WriteFreely's core features and goals, though specifics are not provided. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_021.jpg\|300]] | Implementing ActivityPub was challenging due to limited documentation and varying platform implementations. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_022.jpg\|300]] | The implementation of ActivityPub faced challenges such as limited documentation and the need to conform to Mastodon's implementation. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_023.jpg\|300]] | The go-fed library was used to aid in implementing ActivityPub within WriteFreely. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_024.jpg\|300]] | A blog post provided guidance on the basics of implementing ActivityPub, aiding WriteFreely's development. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_025.jpg\|300]] | Despite initial challenges, WriteFreely successfully integrated with the fediverse, though it was not straightforward. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_026.jpg\|300]] | WriteFreely hosts a large number of users and posts, highlighting its scalability and the challenges faced. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_027.jpg\|300]] | Growing pains included downtime due to large followings, solved by caching on commonly-requested endpoints. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_028.jpg\|300]] | Issues with varying server uptimes and response times were addressed by lengthening timeouts and parallelizing requests. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_029.jpg\|300]] | New platforms joining the fediverse with compatibility issues are addressed through bug reports. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_030.jpg\|300]] | Future plans for WriteFreely include enhancing two-way communication with the fediverse. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_031.jpg\|300]] | WriteFreely aims to support full two-way communication with the fediverse, including moderation and safety measures. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_032.jpg\|300]] | WriteFreely plans to improve long-form article support and collaborate with other platforms for better integration. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_033.jpg\|300]] | WriteFreely will continue to improve gradually, maintaining its reliability and simplicity for users. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_034.jpg\|300]] | WriteFreely invites contributors to join its forum and contribute to its development roadmap. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/Federated-Blogging-with-WriteFreely/preview_035.jpg\|300]] | Matt Baer thanks the audience and provides contact information for further engagement with WriteFreely. ## Links [Video recording (AV1/WebM) - 64.5 MB](https://video.fosdem.org/2025/ud2208/fosdem-2025-6017-federated-blogging-with-writefreely.av1.webm) [Video recording (MP4) - 612.0 MB](https://video.fosdem.org/2025/ud2208/fosdem-2025-6017-federated-blogging-with-writefreely.av1.mp4) [Video recording subtitle file (VTT)](https://fosdem.org/2025/events/attachments/fosdem-2025-6017-federated-blogging-with-writefreely/slides/238091/Federated_7jGJ0d7.pdf) [Chat room(web)](https://fosdem.org/2025/chat) [Chat room(app)](https://fosdem.org/2025/chat/app)