Frequently Asked Questions About Hubbub
Hello,
there is currently no free, running hubbub server around to register, and no screenshots...
Can you show the GUI? Why does no-one host this?
We had a couple of public test servers running the prototype, but after testing we shut them down again and asked the testers to do the same. They will be available again when the time is right. While the prototype did really well, but after a while it became clear that the project had to be redesigned. You can follow this effort on GitHub. When a runnable version of Hubbub emerges, we will give you servers and screenshots and unicorns :-)
We had a couple of public test servers running the prototype, but after testing we shut them down again and asked the testers to do the same. They will be available again when the time is right. While the prototype did really well, but after a while it became clear that the project had to be redesigned. You can follow this effort on GitHub. When a runnable version of Hubbub emerges, we will give you servers and screenshots and unicorns :-)
Can I run a Hubbub server on my local Laptop/Desktop with dynamic DNS?
Yes. While it's recommended that your Hubbub server is always available, you can run your server instance on your home DSL line with DynDNS providing the domain name. When your server is not reachable from the outside, it cannot receive direct message updates in realtime. However, as soon as your server comes back online and you log on with your account, it will poll all your contacts for new information (which may take a while if you have a lot of friends/pages). In theory, you could also install a Hubbub server on your laptop and move around with it, though this is not recommended.
Yes. While it's recommended that your Hubbub server is always available, you can run your server instance on your home DSL line with DynDNS providing the domain name. When your server is not reachable from the outside, it cannot receive direct message updates in realtime. However, as soon as your server comes back online and you log on with your account, it will poll all your contacts for new information (which may take a while if you have a lot of friends/pages). In theory, you could also install a Hubbub server on your laptop and move around with it, though this is not recommended.
Is Hubbub the right social network for me?
That depends. Hubbub is for people who want to own their data, people who want control over their privacy settings and who don't trust some company to be "not evil". However, this comes at a price: installing Hubbub on your own server requires quite a bit of expertise. Finding your friends is not as easy as on Twitter or Facebook, since Hubbub has no search feature: you have to know the Hubbub URL of a friend to add them (if you don't have a common friend already). Finally, a word of caution about scale: Hubbub works best if you have a few hundred friends and mostly have regular conversations with about twenty of them. This is the social networking experience of most users and Hubbub works well in this environment. It may not work so well for people who run massive information sharing nodes, such as Ashton Kutcher or Oprah.
That depends. Hubbub is for people who want to own their data, people who want control over their privacy settings and who don't trust some company to be "not evil". However, this comes at a price: installing Hubbub on your own server requires quite a bit of expertise. Finding your friends is not as easy as on Twitter or Facebook, since Hubbub has no search feature: you have to know the Hubbub URL of a friend to add them (if you don't have a common friend already). Finally, a word of caution about scale: Hubbub works best if you have a few hundred friends and mostly have regular conversations with about twenty of them. This is the social networking experience of most users and Hubbub works well in this environment. It may not work so well for people who run massive information sharing nodes, such as Ashton Kutcher or Oprah.
What about spam?
The explosion of spam content is partly made possible because anyone can send email to everyone. In Hubbub, you have to authorize (="friend") someone before they can send you stuff.
The explosion of spam content is partly made possible because anyone can send email to everyone. In Hubbub, you have to authorize (="friend") someone before they can send you stuff.
What about privacy?
Privacy and the social web are not mutually exclusive. Most people choose very carefully who they share what personal information with. The need for privacy and control over your own data was one reason why Hubbub was invented. Hubbub is designed not to give out any information about you to anyone who was not specifically authorized by you. Since Hubbub can run on your own server, you do not have to trust an external company with your data either. And, as a side-effect, you don't have to put up with any ads.
Privacy and the social web are not mutually exclusive. Most people choose very carefully who they share what personal information with. The need for privacy and control over your own data was one reason why Hubbub was invented. Hubbub is designed not to give out any information about you to anyone who was not specifically authorized by you. Since Hubbub can run on your own server, you do not have to trust an external company with your data either. And, as a side-effect, you don't have to put up with any ads.
What does "Open Source" mean?
You are probably already using lots of Open Source software: Firefox, OpenOffice, Linux and many others are part of a huge software library. Most of the basic infrastructure of the internet is built on Open Source software and open concepts. Open Source doesn't only mean that you get a program free of charge, but also that the developer intended for others to re-use and improve the original program as necessary. The Hubbub reference implementation is available under the GPL v3 license and the Hubbub protocol itself is in the public domain.
You are probably already using lots of Open Source software: Firefox, OpenOffice, Linux and many others are part of a huge software library. Most of the basic infrastructure of the internet is built on Open Source software and open concepts. Open Source doesn't only mean that you get a program free of charge, but also that the developer intended for others to re-use and improve the original program as necessary. The Hubbub reference implementation is available under the GPL v3 license and the Hubbub protocol itself is in the public domain.
How do I install Hubbub on my own server?
Go to the Download page and get the Zip file that contains the software. To make it work, you'll need an Apache webserver (with mod_rewrite support) and MySQL. Those are pretty basic and it's the standard package of most hosting plans. Follow the instructions in the install.txt file. Support for Windows-based servers is coming.
Go to the Download page and get the Zip file that contains the software. To make it work, you'll need an Apache webserver (with mod_rewrite support) and MySQL. Those are pretty basic and it's the standard package of most hosting plans. Follow the instructions in the install.txt file. Support for Windows-based servers is coming.