I got a request from @thearstainventor over on the bugs and suggestions reporting cafe !bugs that I wanted to reply to in a more open, and easy to find way. So I am posting it to my site. ### Part 1: Open source the API ### I don't think people really understand what it's like to open source something, especially a network. Not only is there many legal challenges and data privacy concerns but we also have fact that open sourcing the API would result in few to little updates and wont do what you expect. Open source means everything needs to be rebuilt especially when dealing with server side stuff. But it would require a lot more work on my front to test, check all details, debug and would need to be built completely in a different way. I deploy changes to the live servers when I make changes (they go to BETA access only as I don't run stuff local as I do not want user data on my system or for it to have direct access to that data) and to change this to fit a fully open source model would result in making it take so much more time before I can deploy any changes. It's not as simple as running a local test system as it could never have real user data on it and would never help to find and test on known content and edge cases. I am the only developer, I am the only person running everything, I make $0 from this. To double my work load for nothing is not fair. The reason the web side is open source is because it requires NO extra steps on my part. I am not against open source, and I will open source more and more of the backend in time in parts AS there becomes a need to do so and it does not increase my work load. It's also useless, as I cant and would never legally be able to open source the database, so how does that work? Nobody can just run an "instance", and nobody can just spin up a version and why would I want that, why would I as the only developer want others to clone my service and not help this service if they could not access and interact with people on here? If someone says it's so I cant make the API paid down the road, ok so I could just make the database access paid, and BOOM it's the same thing. Not only that but the latency would make it not usable, I would not be able to encrypt the traffic between the database systems and the API, and I would not be able to run it on a closed LOCAL access ONLY system, making the database accessible on the internet. The API is just hooks to access the database after all, nothing is special about it, you make a call, it see is if you can see that data (otherwise no cafes or chats could be private) and if you can it will show it, it would make no difference if that "IF statement" is open sourced. I just don't see how any of this would help me at this time, and it would cause WAY more harm to my ability to get ANYTHING done. ### Part 2: Make a voting system ### This is 100% against the service from the start, there is a reason stats are hidden by default. Systems that make users vote against each other and try to be "edgy" AKA usually really bad people is not something I want. I am going to add a way to remove reactions, but they are only that, a reaction, NOT a voting system, not something to be used in some kind of ranking. Things will always be displayed in post order by the people and groups you are following, no algorithm, no random posts in your feed, none of that. I have 0 use for a system like that. ### Final comment ### To be honest feedback is great, I am not going anywhere and this is not a comment on you, it's a comment on the expectations. I have been building social networks and services longer than Reddit has been around. I don't use reddit, I don't like FB, I like user privacy and protecting users. The feedback I received with this post was basically I should stop doing what I am doing and re do everything how somewhere else does it and thats so against my ideals. This is NOT to be hurtful, I am not trying to be mean at all, I am trying to let you and others know I am building this place to build the service I want to use. If you pay me enough to make a reddit clone maybe I would as a different service. Thats NOT what I am doing with Hey.Cafe, a service and tool that respects privacy and user safety that I am building FOR FREE. ### Original suggestion ### https://hey.cafe/conversation/5tud42cfmw8prfz
Anthony’s Café