@fediverse
Raccoon 1.0 was finally released for Android in recent days, a rather innovative client originally created for #Friendica, but which has now become one of the most innovative apps for the user experience on #Mastodon. The app is available for Android (already on the Play Store and Izzidroid, and will soon be available on F-Droid), but a #Debian package has also been released. An iOS version remains to be seen for its success.
The app introduces some very important innovations to the federated app landscape.
1. Navigate the Fediverse from an app, even without creating an account
Raccoon is the only app that lets you browse the Fediverse even without an account. When you install it, you can select any Friendica or Mastodon instance and "leverage" its local public and federated timelines. This way, users can explore multiple instances before choosing which one to open an account on. Of course, even after adding an account (the app manages multiple accounts), you can browse the timelines of servers other than the one you signed up to.
2. "Browse through" messages: "swipe" navigation
Unlike all other social apps (both those for the Fediverse and those for commercial social networks), #RaccoonForFriendica lets you open a post in your timeline and continue browsing through previous and next posts by simply swiping left and right.
This is a truly interesting ergonomic innovation.
3. Finally a formatting bar in social apps
Since the app was created for Friendica, it features a built-in formatting toolbar reminiscent of Lemmy clients (in fact, the developer @janTeko first experimented with app development with a Lemmy app). The formatting toolbar can also be used for Mastodon instances running the Glitch-soc fork, such as infosec.exchange, tech.lgbt, and my poliversity.it instance, which was the one the developer experimented with.
In addition to being more immediate, writing formatted posts is also made easier by a "preview" function that helps avoid errors in Markdown or BBCode coding.
4. Finally, Mastodon users will be able to enjoy Fediverse groups too.
As you may know, Mastodon doesn't support the display of group posts. Even if you select a group, you'll still see a single timeline where top posts alternate with replies. Searching for a thread on Mastodon is therefore very complicated, but the #Raccoon developer has found a way to enable "topic" viewing across all accounts that are "activitypub groups," be they #Lemmy, #NodeBB, Piefed, Mbin, Peertube, Wordpress, Mobilizon, Flipboard, etc.
This idea also came about thanks to the fact that the developer had previously tried his hand at developing an app for Lemmy and was able to experiment with the formatting bars and display of Lemmy "communities," which are nothing other than "#activitypub groups."
5. Other interesting features
Among other features, you can
6. What's still missing?
The app features all the features found in most other Mastodon apps, except one: the correct handling of Mastodon posts that quote other posts. These are still displayed in a fairly primitive way. The developer is trying to decide whether to adapt to Mastodon specifications or reinterpret the feature in a more personalized way.
It must be said that, unfortunately, the implementation of quoted messages (already present in Friendica for ages) was implemented by Mastodon very late, only in recent months, and in a very "personal" way that many other software developers did not appreciate.
7. Raccoon is an app that will benefit users who already use Mastodon but also those who have never "tried" the Fediverse
This app has been under development for almost two years, and the beta version is just over a year old. However, version 1.0 has resolved all previously encountered issues.
Based on user feedback, the developer will evaluate whether to create an iOS version and even a Windows version.
Anyone who wishes to allow reporting of application errors can enable anonymous crash reports.
8. Links and Resources
This is the developer's profile:
androiddev.social/users/janTek…
This is the app repository: github.com/LiveFastEatTrashRac…
This is the Play Store link:
play.google.com/store/apps/det…
This is the link on IzzyDroid (the app will be released on F-Droid soon, but is currently under review):
apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/a…
Here is the developer's blog:
livefasteattrashraccoon.github…
Finally, from here you can download the .apk or .deb package without using the online stores. line:
github.com/LiveFastEatTrashRac…
One last recommendation
The public's response will be important to enable the further development of this app.
If you want to test it on Mastodon, I recommend using instances running the glitch-soc fork. Among these, I'd recommend the infosec.exchange instance, which is well managed by @jerry. And of course, but only if you communicate in Italian or Esperanto, I'd be happy to host you on my poliversity.it instance.
Regarding Friendica, I recommend two instances: friendica.world, managed by @ruud and featuring a rather lively timeline, and, of course, social.trom.tf, excellently managed by @tio.
If you communicate in Italian, I'd be happy to host you on my poliverso.org instance.
Greetings to all and let me know if you need further information, if you have tried the app and how you found it.
Francesco
You can also interact with me through the Mastodon account @informapirata and the Friendica account @notizie
The fact that Lemmy + PieFed + mBin + nodeBB can intercommunicate at all is fantastic, even though yes there are some kinks remaining to be worked out:-).
Joan CiberSheep (ell/això)
in reply to Tio • • •«No pots pretendre que tothom canviï per tu. Ets tu qui t'has d'integrar».
Una dona que ha viscut sempre a regions monolingües.
Després de 15 anys, es discrimina ell tot sol. I ara plora? Au, va!
Tio
in reply to Joan CiberSheep (ell/això) • •Well Joan you reply to a post in English by writing in Catalan. How come?
If you already know English, the best is to write in English. Else communication is either impossible or difficult.
Same is true for the Catalans who know Spanish. If you already know a common official language why not use it? It is a simple question.
Joan CiberSheep (ell/això)
in reply to Tio • • •Jo no som català, però sa meva llengua ho és. Gent que després de viure 15 anys a una nació i ve a imposar l'ús de l'idioma de la colònia (sigui foraster o sigui anglès) i esperant que sempre, sempre, sempre vos contestem en el vostre idioma, és com a poc, de maleducats. I ens hem cansat.
Si el vostre esforç és només per queixar-vos de la llengua pròpia del lloc on viviu, doncs, mira, aquí ho deixam. Adéu
Tio
in reply to Joan CiberSheep (ell/això) • •The article from where the snippet is looks at why groups of people fight with other groups. I also look at the history of Catalonia, the Franco era, to understand perhaps why are the Catalans so hurt when others do not speak Catalan. If you are curious you can read the entire article.
No one forces you to speak another language now. Everyone in Catalonia is free to speak Catalan. School is primarily in Catalan. Everything else is in Catalan only or Catalan primarily. So no one is stopping the Catalans from exercising their cultural traditions or anything else.
This being said, perhaps you should reconsider your anger since no one here wants to attack "your culture and language".
If you know a common language, you should use it. I speak english, romanian, and some spanish. If I knew Catalan I would speak Catalan.
The point is that by having this attitude towards those who do not speak Catalan, all you do is to make them angry and disgusted at your "language and culture". And this is not good for anyone.
If you wonder how come I lived in this region of
... show moreThe article from where the snippet is looks at why groups of people fight with other groups. I also look at the history of Catalonia, the Franco era, to understand perhaps why are the Catalans so hurt when others do not speak Catalan. If you are curious you can read the entire article.
No one forces you to speak another language now. Everyone in Catalonia is free to speak Catalan. School is primarily in Catalan. Everything else is in Catalan only or Catalan primarily. So no one is stopping the Catalans from exercising their cultural traditions or anything else.
This being said, perhaps you should reconsider your anger since no one here wants to attack "your culture and language".
If you know a common language, you should use it. I speak english, romanian, and some spanish. If I knew Catalan I would speak Catalan.
The point is that by having this attitude towards those who do not speak Catalan, all you do is to make them angry and disgusted at your "language and culture". And this is not good for anyone.
If you wonder how come I lived in this region of Spain, Catalonia, for 15 years and I do not know Catalan, then that is a reasonable question. Just make sure you ask it to learn not to insult. So let me know if you are curious and I will explain. After all... you would want to know why people like me do not speak Catalan no?
If we are both respectful we could understand each other perhaps.
Joan CiberSheep (ell/això)
in reply to Tio • • •> I also look at the history of Catalonia
I Galícia, País Basc, Balears, Astúries, País Valencià, Extremadura i qualsevol altra nació dins s'Estat Epanyol, idioma del qual, no fos castellà.
> why are the Catalans so hurt when others do not speak Catalan
Sa incomoditat ve quan preteneu integrar-vos només si vos giram la llengua. Però, repetesc, jo no som català.
1/
Joan CiberSheep (ell/això)
in reply to Joan CiberSheep (ell/això) • • •> No one forces you to speak another language now
Sí, si ho feu. Amb lleis, amb publicitat, amb diners i vivint a un lloc negant-vos a aprendre el seu idioma propi. O «exigint» contestar en anglès un tut. Estau massa avesats a que vos girem la llengua.
> no one here wants to attack "your culture and language"
La primera cosa que has dit és justament fer servir qualsevol altre idioma, un de comú.
2/
Joan CiberSheep (ell/això)
in reply to Joan CiberSheep (ell/això) • • •> If you know a common language, you should use it.
Mai aprendràs català (o cap altre idioma) si vos ho parlam.
> I speak english, romanian, and some spanish. If I knew Catalan I would speak Catalan.
El romanès s'assembla molt al català. No pots aprendre català si no te'l xerram.
3/
Joan CiberSheep (ell/això)
in reply to Joan CiberSheep (ell/això) • • •> The point is that by having this attitude towards those who do not speak Catalan
Esteim cansats d'haver d'explicar cada dia perquè volem viure la nostra vida en la nostra llengua. Per exemple, a gent que després de 15 anys, no vol aprendre català perquè ja li poden xerrar en anglès o espanyol.
4/
Joan CiberSheep (ell/això)
in reply to Joan CiberSheep (ell/això) • • •> Just make sure you ask it to learn not to insult.
No t'he insultat. Demanar que giri la llengua és maleducat.
> you would want to know why people like me do not speak Catalan no?
Això, m'ho trob cada dia. Ja em sap greu.
5/5
Tio
in reply to Joan CiberSheep (ell/això) • •The rude part is to know a common language and refuse to use it. If I do not know Catalan, only Spanish, and you know Spanish but refuse to speak Spanish to me, who is the one who is rude? Spanish, is again, one of the 3 official languages of Catalonia - and that should even be besides the point.
So have you looked into why many people come to Catalonia, live here for many years, and do not learn Catalan? What did you find? Because I can tell you from my perspective and the people I know.
And if you can please reply in English to an English written post. This is quite unbelievable and it kinda shows why the situation with the Catalans in Catalonia is cancerous. You simply create an annoyance for both of us. Quite astonishing you decide to reply only in Catalan to an English post - you inserted yourself into "my world" and make it so hard for us to communicate. Use a common language or better not reply.
But honestly I am not surprised...
pomubieng
in reply to Tio • • •Tio
in reply to pomubieng • •Ok so more Catalans who see an English post and reply only in Catalan. Proves my point in the article. You say people don't respect your language when they come to Calatonia, well do you respect my language when you comment on my english posts? No.
English and Spanish yes were imposed to many parts of the world due to those native speakers conquering those parts of the world. Same as the Catalans did with the Catalonian region that was inhabited by Muslims with their own language. Only the scale may be different, but not the scope.
You should try to see beyond these past traumas and use what language you know in order to communicate. Else you only create corrosion between people.
Tio
in reply to Joan CiberSheep (ell/això) • •As far as I have observed the Catalans speak Catalan with their Catalan friends and family. No one forces them to speak Spanish. All Catalans can happily live in Catalonia and speak Catalan. Why do you feel so tired? Tired of what? In Nederlands, Andorra, Moldova, Canada, and so on people are perfectly fine to speak 2 or more languages without hating on those who do not speak one or another.
The more languages you speak the better, no? Be happy you know Spanish too, which is spoken by hundreds of millions of people. Isn't that an advantage?
Tio
in reply to Joan CiberSheep (ell/això) • •Idk what you mean. But the translation is correct perhaps: I will never learn Catalan just becuase you force it upon me and only talk Catalan to me.
Again, so far it did not work on me and so many other people to speak Catalan with us and we suddenly to get in loved with the language and speak it. Doesn't work. Is impossible if you are so rude and have this passive-aggressive behavior to make people want to learn your language. And is more to that.
pomubieng
in reply to Tio • • •Tio
in reply to pomubieng • •Languages yes are learned by need, force, etc.. I wrote a 600 pages book about languages tromsite.com/books/#flipbook-l… - so the Catalans want to force it then? Is that a good thing or does it even work? Because they try to do that in a region of Spain (as catalonia is now), in EU, and in a very touristic zone.... I don't see any chance you are making those poor South Americans, Romanians, Bulgarians, or the British and French tourists want to learn Catalan. Spanish, maybe....since it is useful. But Catalan, for the vast majority of people who come from outside, is not very useful at all. For better or for worse.
Tio
in reply to Joan CiberSheep (ell/això) • •No, no one is forced in Catalonia to speak any other language than Catalan. But the Catalans may try to force others to only speak Catalan despite Spanish also being an official language in Catalonia and uderstood by more people in Catalonia than Catalan.
Tio
in reply to Joan CiberSheep (ell/això) • •Even this conversation is an example of the terrible way to try and communicate. If the post is in English, and you translate in Catalan, why can't you at least translate your response to English so I have to do all of the work? That only creates discomfort...
Actually from my experience when you try to force Catalan on people you only make them hate that language. Why do you think if you refuse to speak a common language and force Catalan people would feel like they need to learn Catalan? I and the people I know truly hate this attitude and feel insulted by it. Isn't it something you should consider?
spla
in reply to Tio • • •Els catalans parlem català a casa nostra, és la nostra llengua pròpia i és llengua oficial. Respecte.
Tio
in reply to spla • •Another one who sees a post in English and decides the best is to reply in Catalan. Can't make this shit up...perhaps my article is far more on point than even I thought...
I understand very well that Catalan, Occitan and Spanish are the official languages of Catalonia.
I also speak Romanian at home with my parents. English with my friends who are from different parts of the world. And Spanish in Spain, including Catalonia, as much as I can. You see, the advantage of knowing multiple languages and using them as we should. The purpose of language is to communicate, no?
I ask you kindly to reply to this English post in English, else you are making communication very difficult. And you are the one inserting yourself in this conversation.
selmins
Unknown parent • • •15 years and not understanding that is what i wrote.
I think that to be 15 years here, being a speaker of Romanian and also Spanish (in addition to English, as it seems) and still maintaining that you are incapable of parsing (let alone speaking, but merely understanding) Catalan, and using that flimsy a pretext to force a Catalan speaker speak to you in Castilian is *not understanding* Catalonia at all.
Plus, I would adventure, taking some sadistic authoritarian pleasure in it.
Tio
in reply to selmins • •Thanks for writing in English. Makes more sense to communicate like that.
I understand some Catalan, a little, but have no practice speaking so I cannot reply in Catalan. Even Spanish is difficult for me to speak. Yes my case may be quite unique since I am not integrating even in Romania or other environment, I prefer to be alone. I have my online projects in English, which are all about providing free services for everyone.
But my family and so may others who come here come because they are poor and want to make money. And they either already know Spanish or will learn Spanish because for them is more useful since they may end up working in other parts of Spain outside Catalonia. These are the forces that make many people come to this region and not learning Catalan for example.
Is not their fault...it is an unfortunate situation for everyone. This is what the main article is about if you have time to read it.
So I do not want to force any Catalan to speak any particular language...I am only trying to use a common language. If you come to Romania I won't a
... show moreThanks for writing in English. Makes more sense to communicate like that.
I understand some Catalan, a little, but have no practice speaking so I cannot reply in Catalan. Even Spanish is difficult for me to speak. Yes my case may be quite unique since I am not integrating even in Romania or other environment, I prefer to be alone. I have my online projects in English, which are all about providing free services for everyone.
But my family and so may others who come here come because they are poor and want to make money. And they either already know Spanish or will learn Spanish because for them is more useful since they may end up working in other parts of Spain outside Catalonia. These are the forces that make many people come to this region and not learning Catalan for example.
Is not their fault...it is an unfortunate situation for everyone. This is what the main article is about if you have time to read it.
So I do not want to force any Catalan to speak any particular language...I am only trying to use a common language. If you come to Romania I won't ask you to speak Romanian if you don't know Romanian. If we both know Spanish/English we will speak that language. Is as easy as that....unsure why this would be such a big issue.
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