Add Inkwell - federated social journaling platform #315

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opened 2026-03-05 23:09:11 +01:00 by stanton · 3 comments

Hi! Requesting to add Inkwell to the miscellaneous apps listing.

Inkwell is a federated social journaling platform — LiveJournal meets MySpace, reimagined for 2026 with ActivityPub federation. No algorithms, no ads, user-owned spaces.

A PR with the JSON entry and logo is already submitted: #314

Hi! Requesting to add Inkwell to the miscellaneous apps listing. **Inkwell** is a federated social journaling platform — LiveJournal meets MySpace, reimagined for 2026 with ActivityPub federation. No algorithms, no ads, user-owned spaces. - **Site**: https://inkwell.social - **Source**: https://github.com/stantondev/inkwell - **Protocol**: ActivityPub (live and confirmed working — users are followable from Mastodon at @username@inkwell.social) - **Language**: Elixir/Phoenix + Next.js - **License**: AGPL-3.0 A PR with the JSON entry and logo is already submitted: #314
Owner

Thanks heaps for being a squeaky wheel @stanton, please feel free to keep doing so.

One thing I'm trying to remember is to check the license of components, as some formerly libre components (notable MongoDB) are now under proprietary Source Available licenses. I note that you're using Meilisearch, I presume that's the "Community Edition" under an "MIT" license? Not the "Enterprise Edition" under the Business Source License, which is a Source Available license.

Inkwell looks like a fantastic project. I can't wait to try it out. It's already on the AP watchlist I'm in the process of rebuilding on our wiki, but in due course, the info you've supplied in this issue and your PR will allow me to add the level of detail I like to have there :)

Thanks heaps for being a squeaky wheel @stanton, please feel free to keep doing so. One thing I'm trying to remember is to check the license of components, as some formerly libre components (notable MongoDB) are now under proprietary Source Available licenses. I note that you're using Meilisearch, I presume that's the "Community Edition" under an "MIT" license? Not the "Enterprise Edition" under the Business Source License, which is a Source Available license. Inkwell looks like a fantastic project. I can't wait to try it out. It's already on the [AP watchlist](https://codeberg.org/fediverse/fediparty/wiki/ActivityPub-server-watchlist) I'm in the process of rebuilding on our wiki, but in due course, the info you've supplied in this issue and your PR will allow me to add the level of detail I like to have there :)
Owner

@stanton I've made some progress on getting updates to the site pushed to production, but that's mostly been about removing dead parrots. So I'm really keen to push forward on listing Inkwell, which would be the first new app added since I became Lead Goose here! I really appreciate that you've done most of the work for us, opening this issue promptly as requested, and comparing Inkwell against our listing criteria.

The only showstopper I see (aside from the database clarification mentioned above) is that we traditionally wait to see at least one independent instance before we add a new software to the site. This confirms for us that it's actually possible to self-host, rather than being only theoretically possible (as with Signal). I'll do some digging, but if you can point us to at least one independent Inkwell instance, that will speed the plow.

@stanton I've made some progress on getting updates to the site pushed to production, but that's mostly been about removing dead parrots. So I'm really keen to push forward on listing Inkwell, which would be the first new app added since I became Lead Goose here! I really appreciate that you've done most of the work for us, opening this issue promptly as requested, and comparing Inkwell against our listing criteria. The only showstopper I see (aside from the database clarification mentioned above) is that we traditionally wait to see at least one independent instance before we add a new software to the site. This confirms for us that it's actually possible to self-host, rather than being only theoretically possible (as with [Signal](https://nlnet.nl/project/Flatline/)). I'll do some digging, but if you can point us to at least one independent Inkwell instance, that will speed the plow.
Owner

@stanton another showstopper for adding Inkwell to fediverse.party is the vibe coding aspect, see #305. I feel really torn about this, because I've really enjoyed my experience of testing Inkwell, and your communication about it has been really prompt, friendly, and thorough (maybe because some of it is auto-generated but ... 🤷‍♂️). But I hope you'll agree it's important to work through the issues thoughtfully, and come to a principled decision that sets a good precedent. The vibe coding issue is not going away, at least not until the MOLE Training bubble bursts, and maybe takes a few tech companies down with it (I'm hoping and praying for Invidia to be one of them).

Just out of curiosity, and in case there's consensus to list Inkwell regardless of vibe coding, any updates on independent instances?

@stanton another showstopper for adding Inkwell to fediverse.party is the vibe coding aspect, see #305. I feel really torn about this, because I've really enjoyed my experience of testing Inkwell, and your communication about it has been really prompt, friendly, and thorough (maybe because some of it is auto-generated but ... 🤷‍♂️). But I hope you'll agree it's important to work through the issues thoughtfully, and come to a principled decision that sets a good precedent. The vibe coding issue is not going away, at least not until the [MOLE Training](https://disintermedia.net.nz/invasion-of-the-mole-trainers/) bubble bursts, and maybe takes a few tech companies down with it (I'm hoping and praying for Invidia to be one of them). Just out of curiosity, and in case there's consensus to list Inkwell regardless of vibe coding, any updates on independent instances?
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fediverse/fediparty#315
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