Buddycloud is a federated social network protocol, which is intended to provide a better alternative to facebook, google plus and so on. This page is an index page for information on this wiki about it.

The things that make buddycloud different from facebook et al. are:

• It is a federated protocol, so anyone can set up a server on the network. If a user on one server wants to talk to someone on another server, the messages are sent from one server to another, in a way that is seamless and transparent to the user.

• This means users can choose who they trust to look after their data. If you find out that the server you are using has been abusing that trust, for example by selling your data on to a third party, you can make a decision to move to another server without losing all your friends on the network. This should help keep the server admins more honest and in touch with what people want.

• The protocols by which messages are sent between servers, and the programs which the developers have written to implement the protocols, are free and open, so that anyone can contribute to the development of the network by contributing code or writing their own implementation of part of the system.

• Buddycloud uses a different social logic to mainstream social networking sites. Instead of personal streams connected by friendship links, it's based on the idea of a 'channel'. A channel is more like a place than a person. Although it may belong to one person, more than one person can go there and post messages.

• I think this is likely to make it easier and more intuitive for people to see who they are posting to and who else can read their posts, than the mainstream model. It could also encourage people to communicate in a way which is less 'spammy' and more fluid and conversational than Facebook or Google Plus. Because someone has to go to your channel to talk to you or see what you've posted, the posts you do get from other people will be because they are interested in talking with you, rather than just because you're on their list of friends.

• Channels can either be personal channels, which are the 'home' of one user, or topic channels, which are centered around an idea rather than a person. For example, if you want to say something to a particular person, you might post something in their channel. If you are interested in food, you could set up or join a food channel where people could post recipes, pictures, restaurant reviews and so on.

Here are some links with more information about buddycloud.

• My notes on how I installed buddycloud on my web hosting account.
• Notes on the work I'm doing on packaging buddycloud for debian.
• The main buddycloud website.
• The buddycloud developers wiki.
• An article from the Electronic Frontier Foundation site giving some background on the reasons why various people are setting up projects like this at the moment.
• The Wikipedia page on distributed / federated social networking systems.
• A working group of the World Wide Web Consortium which is looking at possible common protocols for these kinds of networks. (The w3c is a nonprofit body that is mainly responsible for setting standards for HTML and CSS - the protocols which govern the World Wide Web).

I have set up a small buddycloud server on my webspace. This is mainly meant for myself and friends to use, and as a test of what the system can do. If you don't know me personally and you would like to join, please send an email to 'buddycloud at highfellow dot org' with a brief intro saying who you are and why you would like to join, and I will most likely be happy to add you.

You can reach my server at https://buddycloud.highfellow.org/. My buddycloud username on highfellow.org is andy.

You can also set up your own server, or join one of the other ones that are being set up at the moment.

• Viewing the site: You can reach the buddycloud web client for this server at https://buddycloud.highfellow.org/. The first thing you will see is a warning from the browser that it's using an untrusted security certificate. The reason for this I decided to use the free certificate which comes with my hosting account, rather than one specifically certified for my domain (highfellow.org). A proper certificate costs about 10 pounds a year. The connection should still be secure in most cases with the certificate I'm using, but you'll have to tell your browser to recognise it before you can view the site. In Firefox you do this by clicking 'I understand the risks', then 'Add exception'. Having done this once, you shouldn't have to do it again.

• Logging in: You can log in by going to https://buddycloud.highfellow.org/, pressing 'login', typing your username (the bit after the '@' will be filled in for you), and password in, and pressing 'login' again.

• Your channel: The first thing you see is the posts in your channel. On the left of the screen, there is a list of buddycloud users you are following (just yours if you've just joined), and a search box. Your channel is a bit like the front room of your house - it's your place, and you can say things there, but so can other people. This is different from facebook's system of individual streams connected by friendship links.

• Finding users: You can find a user (on this server or any other) by typing their full username (e.g. andy@highfellow.org) into the search box in the left sidebar. If the user is found, their channel will appear in the main window. Other ways to find a user's channel are through the underlined link above any post or comment they have made, or in the list of followers in the information panel at the bottom of the channel listing.

• Following channels: If you want to go to a channel frequently, you can 'follow' it by pressing the button above the channel listing. The channel will then appear in the left sidebar. Channels you follow are also cached on your local server, which should make them quicker to load.

• Switching channels: You can jump between channels by clicking the channel name in the left sidebar.

• Filtering channels: You can also use the search box to filter the list of channels down to a subset of all the ones you have listed, by typing in a portion of a channel name. E.g. '@highfellow.org' to show just the channels on this server.

• Posting a new topic: To start a new topic, in your channel or someone else's, just type into the 'New Topic' box at the top of the channel listing. You can only start new topics in someone else's channel if you are a follower of that channel.

• Comments: To comment on something someone has said, type something into the 'post a comment' box at the bottom of any topic.

• Instant messaging: Because buddycloud is based on the jabber (XMPP) instant messaging protocol, your buddycloud username is also automatically a username on that network. This means you can talk using live text chat with any of 40-50 million users, whether or not they use buddycloud, for example anyone who uses Google talk. You just need to run a suitable client program on your computer. See here for a list of suitable clients.

• Who can post: At the moment there's no way to restrict who can post where, so please use your common sense. The developers are working on the code which will let you limit who can post to and view your channel, if you want to.

• Topic channels: Another planned feature is 'topic channels', which are about an idea or subject rather than a person. E.g. 'food@highfellow.org', etc.

Here is a list of the current users on highfellow.org. You can find a user's channel once you've logged in by typing their full username into the search bar. The users are:

• andy
• test (a test user)
• dave
• miles
• gully
• nina
• zoe
• ralph
• satori
• suw

Put '@highfellow.org' after the username to get the full buddycloud ID.

If you don't want your channel to appear in this list for any reason, let me know and I'll remove you.

These are a few things I need to say about how I'm planning to run this server:

Firstly, please be aware that the buddycloud software is still in an early release stage, so some features may be missing, I may have to take the server down unexpectedly at certain times, and I can give no guarantee that data will not be lost or stolen.

This is a hobby project for me, and I am not providing a commercial service, so I also reserve the right to delete or suspend anyone's account if I decide that's necessary. This would be a last resort, and I would try if possible to resolve any conflicts in other ways, but in the end it's my decision.

Webfaction, who run the hosting account through which this buddycloud server runs on also have their own Acceptable Use policy and Privacy Policy which you should look at before joining. According to the last clause in the AUP, I'm responsible for the behaviour of all users on my server, so please bear that in mind when posting.

That said, I intend to abide by the following privacy policy when running this server:

• Private data you submit to the buddycloud network that is kept on this server will not be resold or willingly given to third parties.
• However, the account on the web host I am using is subject to the condition that I abide by the laws of the United Kingdom, the USA and Texas. There may be circumstances in which I am forced to give relevant data to these authorities. If this does happen, I will if possible notify all users of this buddycloud server. Please bear this in mind when using the buddycloud network through this server.
• If you wish to take a backup of your personal data and channel posts, I will try to provide this in a suitable format as soon as is reasonably practical.
• You may request at any time that your account be deleted. I will honour such a request as far as the software supports it at the time. However, I have no control over content held on other servers - for example posts made in a channel hosted on a different server, and will be unable to remove these.
• If your account is removed for any reason, I will provide you with a backup of any data you have submitted to this server, again within a reasonable time.
• I may need to change this policy from time to time. Any changes will be notified in advance, and I will aim to give at least two weeks' notice.
• This is not a legal contract - just a statement of intention.