After two months of work, a new release of the decentralized social network building platform Hubzilla 6.0 has come out. The project provides a communication server that integrates with web publishing systems, equipped with a transparent identification system and access management tools in decentralized Fediverse networks. The project code is written in PHP and JavaScript and is distributed under the MIT license, supporting MySQL and its forks as well as PostgreSQL as data storage systems.
Hubzilla has a unified authentication system that works as a social network, forums, discussion groups, wikis, article publishing systems, and websites. Federated interaction is based on its own Zot protocol, which implements the WebMTA concept for content delivery through the WWW in decentralized networks and provides a number of unique features, including transparent end-to-end authentication 'Nomadic Identity' within the Zot network, as well as a cloning function to provide fully identical entry points and sets of user data across various nodes in the network. It supports interaction with other Fediverse networks using the ActivityPub, Diaspora, DFRN, and OStatus protocols. Hubzilla's file storage is also accessible via the WebDAV protocol. Additionally, the system supports working with events and calendars through CalDAV, as well as address books using CardDAV.
The key change is the discontinuation of support for the previous version of the Zot protocol in favor of the current version Zot VI. Among other significant changes, besides the usual fixes and improvements, it is worth noting:
- The abandonment of personal message support via the corresponding application and the transition to using the now-standard direct messaging mechanism similar to that used in the Activitypub protocol. Messaging with Diaspora is also now functional.
- The user interface HQ has been redesigned and is now the default interface. Unlike traditional representations in the form of an activity stream, it allows data to be displayed by topics, making it easier to view updates.
- The ability to receive notifications about new activity through the corresponding browser mechanism has been added.
Most of the work was done by the lead developer Mario Vavti with the support of the NGI Zero open source funding.
Source: opennet.ru
