Colibri – chat platform built on the AT Protocol for communities big and small
52 points
1 hour ago
| 7 comments
| colibri.social
| HN
avtar
53 minutes ago
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Please consider adding screenshots of the UI that provide an idea of what the experience will be like without having to log in using Bluesky or other credentials.
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singpolyma3
24 minutes ago
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I assume it looks the same as literally every other chat app
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louisescher
21 minutes ago
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Done! Thanks for the suggestion, that's a good idea.
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isodev
36 minutes ago
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“Your data isn’t trapped on our servers” - where is it then? Who can access it?

“Open social” is so much bs compressed in a couple of buzzwords.

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tjuene
18 minutes ago
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> where is it then?

it might be on https://bsky.social, https://npmx.dev/pds or sitting next to your router in your living room in the form of a raspberry pi (https://atproto.com/guides/self-hosting)

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isodev
10 minutes ago
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But that’s not where you want your chats now is it? E2EE? And how does it keep it all private since apparently the Bluesky bros haven't figured that part out?
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louisescher
3 minutes ago
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https://colibri.social/faq#where-is-my-data-stored I've just added a new FAQ entry to explain this in a bit more detail.

> But that’s not where you want your chats now is it? E2EE? And how does it keep it all private since apparently the Bluesky bros haven't figured that part out?

It honestly depends. Right now, Colibri is meant to function for communities that are public anyway. If you're a streamer, an open source dev community, Colibri can help you with talking to people who don't want to be locked in by big corporations. As the E2EE and private data, the Bluesky people have posted a new proposal for that only a few days ago, which I'm already thinking about how to implement: https://dholms.leaflet.pub/3mhj6bcqats2o

But, yes, for now, chats are public. Private data will hopefully be a thing soon on the network.

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jonashus
7 minutes ago
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Where is data stored? Bluesky? My PDS? Your PDS, for free?
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louisescher
2 minutes ago
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Hi, I've just added an FAQ entry about this: https://colibri.social/faq#where-is-my-data-stored

Also, feel free to DM me (@colibri.social) on Bluesky if you want to migrate to the Colibri PDS! We do host one ourselves.

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sensen
1 hour ago
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This looks neat, but should I be concerned about the permissions this is requesting for my account? Bluesky: Manage your profile, posts, likes and follows
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louisescher
1 hour ago
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Hi! We're doing that to allow you to update your profile from within the app. Not doing anything else besides that. If you have concerns, take a look at the source code: https://github.com/colibri-social/colibri.social
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czbond
19 minutes ago
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Very interesting project.

From a product uptake perspective, I could suggest that since a user is still building trust when they begin use - to only require as few permissions as needed. I'd punt that profile update requirement out personally for another method later.

An example might be when a user has used your app for N sessions, or after N months.

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iamnothere
15 minutes ago
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They should prompt the user for permission when they use a feature that requires it, explain why, and allow them to cancel if desired. Have seen this pattern used many times elsewhere.
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iamnothere
11 minutes ago
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Thanks for building this, UX is nice and should encourage people to switch from Discord. Bsky only is a bit disappointing as it is still heavily centralized. I would love to see a system like this that can also set up channels over Nostr and the Fediverse. Fragmentation is starting to become an issue with decentralized and federated social.
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louisescher
31 seconds ago
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We've taken a look at co-supporting ActivityPub as well actually! And yeah, the fragmentation is an issue. But I honestly think we might see at lease some level of interop between these fragments in the coming years, even if it's just some parts of the protocols and specs going in the same direction.
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louisescher
1 hour ago
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Hi, person behind the project here, thanks for the cross-post!
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todotask2
1 hour ago
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You're welcome! Cool project!
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louisescher
1 hour ago
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Ty!
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imiric
1 hour ago
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Interesting project, but...

> BUILT ON OPEN STANDARDS. PRIVATE WHEN NEEDED.

> Running a private group chat? As soon as the AT protocol supports private data, we'll work on implementing it and giving you the option to create private communities.

Not exactly "private when needed" then, is it? It's disingenuous to even mention this in the marketing copy.

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louisescher
1 hour ago
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Valid point! I'll get that section removed for now and either reword it later, or re-add when the protocol supports it.
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