Matt Baer

Photos, words, privacy, and the open web. Dreaming of another future. 📍 NYC

Founder @write_as :writeas: / https://musing.studio
Lead dev @writefreely :writefreely:
Co-organizer @nycphotostroll
Admin @ https://Writing.Exchange

Toots are searchable. #fedi22 #writing #stories #poetry #software #fediverse #web #photography

Public Key

npub1eh33dlkkp8kgj6w8jffsn5wqpte8wwfavxl90xq0huu8h7qvdh5sk6ysfx

NIP-05 Address

matt@writing-exchange.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsvmccklmtqnmyfd8rey5cf68qq4unh8y7kr0jhnq8m7wrmlqxxm6gpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds6z9y4n

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1eh33dlkkp8kgj6w8jffsn5wqpte8wwfavxl90xq0huu8h7qvdh5sk6ysfx

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Last Notes

2026-09-27 16:12:53 UTC

Something very weird happening with @nprofile…wy7n DNS / name servers at the moment, seemingly out of nowhere.
I could use some help debugging / discussing privately, if anyone has a little more expertise with this. Boosts appreciated!

2026-08-15 01:49:49 UTC

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@nprofile…p6sd the path of peace is correct 😅

2026-08-13 21:10:48 UTC

Spam is one of the biggest issues @nprofile…wy7n and other @nprofile…n7l8 instances face -- especially in the age of LLMs.
I've wanted to build a spam classification system for a while, and I'm finally getting to it this week. It'll be made especially for #WriteFreely, and plug into it to help with moderation, both manual and automatic.
Will share more details soon!

2026-08-13 15:15:49 UTC

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@nprofile…r5ff Really glad it got the point across! I definitely think seeing it in action helps show what's possible. Maybe only improvement could be showing how you can follow profiles on a couple different platforms all from the same place. @nprofile…v4er

2026-08-11 20:37:22 UTC

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@nprofile…6mr0 Nice! I think we need to do a little more work on our end with @nprofile…wy7n to make blogs work with Bridgy Fed, but would love to make it happen! @nprofile…0wmn

2026-08-06 16:53:16 UTC

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@nprofile…238a thanks!

2026-08-05 22:30:57 UTC

On my way to Vancouver for #Fedicon and #FOSSY! I'll be giving a talk on Saturday at 3pm Pacific about blogging on the open social web / #fediverse.
https://2026.fossy.ca/schedule/presentation/475/
Looking forward to seeing everyone!
#fedicon2026 #Fossy26

2026-07-18 18:25:22 UTC

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The new WriteFreely user moderation features are up as a pull request now! Any feedback is welcome! As soon as we get that, I'll put out our v0.17.1 release.
https://writing.exchange/@writefreely/116942358055397806

2026-07-18 15:32:45 UTC

In case you missed it, there was a critical #WriteFreely release sent out yesterday -- all admins should upgrade as soon as possible.
I'm working on another release today that patches one regression and makes it easier to clean up spam users on affected instances.
https://writing.exchange/@writefreely/116937920745292055
#fedidev #WriteFreelyDev

2026-07-16 22:04:12 UTC

Thanks to everyone for the recommendations here!
We ended up working with @nprofile…a8ww to drastically reduce our database storage, which brought costs down a ton (almost $200/mo).
Now we're looking at more options, like removing old remote content that hasn't been interacted with, to further reduce storage. But at least for now, we're back in a sustainable place here on #WritingExchange 🙌

2026-07-09 21:36:57 UTC

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@nprofile…69n4 appreciate the advice, but that's too much work when we already have enough sysadmin work to keep us busy, which is why I'm looking for managed hosting.

2026-07-09 21:18:03 UTC

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@nprofile…4hde It's all a flat cost every month, so not sure of specifics. I just know that our database continuously grows at a rate that means we either need to further limit our data retention or upgrade every 2 or 3 months, since that's what the subscription price is connected to.
(Also glad you enjoy WriteFreely!)

2026-07-09 21:11:57 UTC

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We've already had to adjust our content retention settings to stay within our storage limits -- we currently delete content older than 5.5 years, which isn't ideal for an instance that's been running for 9 years. Still, our database grows constantly, currently exploding past 220 GB.
If you have any leads on a host that could accommodate us at a decent price, it'd be much appreciated!

2026-07-09 21:08:52 UTC

Can anyone recommend some relatively affordable managed #Mastodon hosting?
We've been with the absolutely fantastic Masto.host since starting Writing.Exchange in 2017, but it's become prohibitively expensive -- especially for a community of only ~250 active users, as our hosting costs are about to increase another $50 to $589/month this month.
#MastoAdmin #WritingExchange

2026-05-12 20:28:36 UTC

I finally deleted #Threads recently because their algorithm is annoying, they gave up on #fediverse support, and their app is loaded with UX dark patterns.
I still use #Instagram because the people I meet in person do, and organizing https://photostroll.nyc kinda requires it.
Fedi is the only place I really feel good about posting on, because I know where data lives and how it's distributed, it's community-run, and usually it's by the type of people I'd want running my virtual social space.

2026-04-30 02:26:25 UTC

The point I'm at in life right now is that I'd rather be in real life than virtual. I get more satisfaction from human interactions than cyber ones. It's making it hard to exist in cyberspace, which overwhelms me, than meatspace, which is where I'm finding peace right now.

2026-03-05 17:15:26 UTC

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@nprofile…rly9 Ah, but of course the vast advertising machine knows us better than we know ourselves! /s
Mine has put me in the "surely you're starting to go bald by now" camp 👴

2026-03-03 22:49:50 UTC

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(and my creaky bones)

2026-03-03 22:49:40 UTC

Only remembering my age these days thanks to the shifting targeted advertisements I receive on my personal ad device.

2026-02-24 05:10:44 UTC

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@nprofile…3qgh and are you trying to publish a blog post while logged in? Or an anonymous one? Then I can take a closer look at what might be going on.

2026-02-24 04:31:49 UTC

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@nprofile…3qgh hey what error are you seeing? Mind sending a screenshot / error message?

2026-02-23 18:23:06 UTC

Who else is in Montreal for #FediMTL? Let's meet up! I'm around until Wednesday.

2026-02-23 04:20:21 UTC

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@nprofile…834j yeah! Just got in tonight. Gonna explore in the day but would love to catch up then

2026-02-23 03:32:21 UTC

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@nprofile…834j hey I'll see you there!

2026-02-09 18:30:01 UTC

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@nprofile…mstk omgg I had forgotten that one!! thank you 🙏

2026-02-02 23:35:03 UTC

Posting to the masses instead of texting a friend who would understand is just crowdsourcing human connection. Send toot.

2026-02-02 02:23:10 UTC

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@nprofile…08fc looks like it was a yearly contribution towards our community on writing.exchange, through Open Collective. Did you still want to pay that?

2026-01-16 18:27:55 UTC

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Saying this mostly from using Threads and Substack, and just how I use social media as a consumer.
On these platforms, plus Mastodon etc., I just want to mindlessly scroll. Short-form is great for that.
Then when I see a link to an interesting article, I'm happy to click on it and be taken away to a place where I can read the thing in peace.
The feed is the chaotic city street, and the long-form article is the quiet nook in your apartment; the video is the screening in a dark theater.

2026-01-16 18:21:44 UTC

A thought I've been stewing on for a bit. But I feel like microblogging as a format is meant for short blurts of thought, pointing at something ("look at this article!"), and sharing photos. Anything else needs to live outside of it.

2026-01-14 17:38:54 UTC

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@nprofile…uqjq
AI: *sobbing* you've made me so sad
me: *reaching for the power cord* there, there, it'll all be better soon

2026-01-14 17:13:18 UTC

Actually can all tech companies just make AI a premium feature so I never have to even risk touching it?

2025-12-27 00:36:21 UTC

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@nprofile…737z 👀👀

2025-12-15 21:09:22 UTC

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@nprofile…hum9 #WriteFreely uses Markdown by default too, but of course sends out HTML to the fediverse

2025-12-08 22:09:11 UTC

We've officially hit our plan limit again here on Writing.Exchange, so on Friday this week, we're going to adjust our settings to only retain remote content from within the last 7 years (after Dec. 2018).
For everyone who's been around for that long, this means you'll lose older *remote* content (not your own posts), such as bookmarks and favorites.
If you want to back those up and you are comfortable getting technical, this tool can help export them: https://github.com/kensanata/mastodon-archive?tab=readme-ov-file#installation
#WritingExchange

2025-11-19 17:39:15 UTC

A few of us are hanging around the @nprofile…30hg IRC chat again today. Come say hi if you're a @nprofile…v3ah user!
https://remark.as/cafe

2025-11-18 19:16:14 UTC

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@nprofile…9jal It would help a bit if you have a ton of posts, but ultimately I think most space is taken up by content from other instances -- especially stuff that is pulled in and no one ever interacts with.
So I'd rather try to delete the old remote content instead of putting the burden on everyone here to delete their old content.

2025-11-18 19:10:02 UTC

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However, I wanted to hold off on this option, as it means that old statuses people have bookmarked or liked here that live on *other* instances would be erased.
This is just to announce a potential right now. We would give everyone a warning before committing to this, just in case people want to archive that content (still seeing how that might be possible).

2025-11-18 19:09:13 UTC

As our hosting costs continue to outpace our budget (https://opencollective.com/writingexchange), we may soon have to start deleting very old *remote* content here on Writing.Exchange.
This is an option available to us that would remove content from other instances past a certain age -- for example, 6 years ago (which we'd likely start with for our 8-year-old instance). Doing this should reduce our storage use and keep our costs from growing uncontrollably.

2025-11-18 18:13:57 UTC

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@nprofile…aya8 Absolutely! At this point, I think a lot of it comes down to finding communities of people that appreciate it, especially. Thinking of this a lot in regard to Write.as

2025-11-18 18:06:20 UTC

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@nprofile…yfxr That's so awesome to hear! I had another zine-making friend (who combines words and photos) tell me something similar recently, about it being a slower but really rewarding process.
It's really inspiring to know you've done it for a while too. Okay this is making me want to start now 😄

2025-11-17 23:55:48 UTC

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Now I just want to make a little handcrafted zine that I give to friends in real life, with my real stories and poems -- and maybe a little anonymous blog where I can shout into the (bot-infested) void.

2025-11-17 23:54:28 UTC

Lately finding it hard to want to write anything on the internet anymore, between AI gobbling everything up and just the general state of social media. I still write, but nothing substantial.

2025-10-11 10:58:29 UTC

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@nprofile…favx I appreciate it! 🙏

2025-10-01 21:31:13 UTC

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@nprofile…ekkm awesome to see this launched!

2025-05-19 17:10:03 UTC

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@nprofile…74c4 I'm in!

2025-05-07 21:24:33 UTC

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@nprofile…ywdy Hey, thanks for letting me know! And sorry it took a while to get back to you.
Just fixed and opened a PR for this: https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1372

2025-05-05 17:30:15 UTC

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Also, if you're on @nprofile…f2am (open to all Write.as Pro users), I'll be hanging out in the chat room all day today. Feel free to pop into the Cafe and say hi!
https://remark.as/cafe

2025-05-05 17:28:48 UTC

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@nprofile…gpke Hey Cheri, thanks! Had a lot going on, but things are much better now :) Hope you're doing well, too!

2025-05-05 16:35:46 UTC

Hello again 👋 I'm back, getting caught up and back to work on @nprofile…jw23 & @nprofile…05t9. More updates soon!

2025-04-26 00:25:40 UTC

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@nprofile…mre3 that's absolutely possible! Would just need to put it on its own domain (E.g. blog.yoursite.org), and then link your menu item over to that site. You can even style it to match your main site, if you want

2025-03-26 19:10:15 UTC

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@nprofile…m54a @nprofile…mhq4 @nprofile…h5lw @nprofile…q0wx ah was wondering about that. Thanks, will check it out again!

2025-03-01 00:35:03 UTC

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@nprofile…009v thank you so much!!

2025-02-28 23:03:40 UTC

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@nprofile…afu9 appreciate it, but no need! All maintenance is handled by our host, masto.host

2025-02-28 21:52:36 UTC

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@nprofile…qng8 absolutely, that's a great help! Thank you so much!

2025-02-19 01:55:30 UTC

Just a quick test: https://micro.baer.works/its-been-a-productive-month-released-writefreely-v0-15-1-our-sub-club

2025-02-01 15:41:01 UTC

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@nprofile…74c4 @nprofile…05t9 thank you Elena!

2025-02-01 15:40:38 UTC

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@nprofile…32kp @nprofile…05t9 thanks!

2025-02-01 15:39:36 UTC

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@nprofile…m2eu thanks! Would love to get first-class support built in. I have other priorities at the moment, but will reach out when ready

2025-01-31 18:51:02 UTC

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And if you want to grab coffee or just chat in the new couple days, let me know! Would love to meet up.

2024-12-04 21:54:32 UTC

just testing something!

2024-06-14 00:26:46 UTC

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@npub1zrk…2n6q I personally don't think it's far off, it's just a matter of them adopting the protocols. With all the energy behind it, if it's as easy as HTML, it could happen.

2024-06-14 00:23:00 UTC

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@npub12jg…0gha absolutely. I've seen "the social web" pick up too and I really like that. The less nerdy / esoteric the language the better

2024-06-13 22:07:48 UTC

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Of course think the fediverse is the only real solution to #1. It's a long-term solution to an old problem. And every day it's great to see new people and orgs commit to it (especially in the US, where we're sooo slow to adopt anything that isn't VC-backed and marketed down our throats).
I think the human-powered web will stand in even more stark relief as AI proliferates. Less automation, more messy shit. The *real* becomes more valuable

2024-06-13 21:46:37 UTC

Nice interesting splintering on the web generally happening:
- The social web splitting into a hundred pieces; people used to one "home" still looking for a new one (or living between many)
- The AI web with rocks for dinner vs. the human web where it's the same ol' but the bots just feed on our interactions now

2024-04-24 16:04:09 UTC

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@npub1chs…ezjw Yep, to start off we'll only publicly show Public and Unlisted posts on Remark.as. The others (Followers-only and Private) are dropped completely, but maybe I can make those visible only to the author 🤔

2024-04-17 18:20:32 UTC

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Ah, and replies-to-replies.
Right now there's no way to directly reply to a comment on Remark.as, so I'll have to add that in the UI. Then I have to figure out how to handle replies from the fediverse to other fediverse replies.
They're ignored for now, but I'm keeping the `replies` info on the original replies so ideally we can do something there.

2024-04-17 18:00:11 UTC

Still in development, but got #ActivityPub replies working! Once it goes live, replies from the fediverse will show up on Remark.as.
Last major issue is to add some basic moderation. Already got instance-level blocking done so I can easily defederate from bad servers, but want to make sure we can handle any potential abuse from individual users too.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/112/287/833/809/866/123/original/c11110099d483cd6.png

2023-07-21 13:55:42 UTC

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@npub1rky…88qf Hey, what kind of link do you mean? Just to your profile from your blog? Or mentioning it in your posts? Or verifying your Mastodon profile?