git ssb

title: Patchbay full client invite instructions date: 2016-10-25T22:20-46:00 layout: post.jade

collection: blog

To start the process

λ sudo npm install -g scuttlebot

which gets you the sbot daemon. Then you'll need to run the daemon with

λ sbot server

Accept the invite code which you can do with

λ sbot invite.accept gwenbell.com:8008:@0gUdg/lz6UPavonq8KDmVUPyPxGrMhCFdBGy5h0SoG4=:ThisIsAnExample

which connects you to the pub I run on my server (Arch Linux all the way down).

So now you're in, and you need a client. Patchbay is one of several. Here's the link to that:

λ git clone https://github.com/dominictarr/patchbay

What will happen when you click that link (and it will only work once, so if I've already accidentally clicked it and it's open on my desktop right now, it won't work and that would make the rest of this untrue. So let's assume it works!) here's what happens.

1. A public/private key is generated. It's stored (in this version, the lite client), in your local browser. Social networking in the browser is a new thing, so expect gl itches!
2. When you come on the network I'll see you clicked the link because you'll be thrown naked as the day you were born into the network but you'll be linked to my pub (which I run at gwenbell.com).
3. You can upload a photo of yourself and change your name from the series of numbers and letters to 'BigPinkMonkey' or 'hamsammich' or whatever you want to be called on this network.
4. You will be connected to anyone I'm connected to two 'hops' out -- once I follow your identity. Before that moment you will have a tabula rasa.
5. This is in essence a portable social graph which means that other things can be (and already have been) built on it and the connections you've already made 'travel with' you.
6. You can do anything you'd expect to do with a mainstream social network, except private message people (that can only be done as of October 2016 in the full desktop version).
7. The major difference with this and social as you've experienced is it is owned by the network itself, and there is no 'on high' entity tracking/listening to your eve ry keystroke or mouse push which means it's more prairie or local coffee shop than it is tall identical skyrise boxes.