The internet — much like real life — isn't all rainbows and unicorns. Written text is prone to misunderstandings. All you say can and will eventually be used against you. You have the right to remain silent.

That being settled, let's begin:

#Seppo! is built for a welcoming onboarding and responsible, joyful and decades-long operation by you! To begin, put a single file (seppo.cgi) on your webspace and visit it with your browser. That immediately unpacks the complete web application and off you go. Do posting and housekeeping via the friendly web-interface. Everything is in files you can inspect, if you are curious or modify, if bold. However neither is mandatory. There is no database, no server-side scripting nor obligatory javascript. You can backup all files and restore in case. There are no dependencies to install nor tend.

🏡 Webspace

To create a www address[1] like e.g.
https://example.org/subdirectory/hello.txt
and publish content, about the simplest way is to

1. rent simple webspace with SSL and a domain name (here: example.org) as offered by numerous shared web hosting vendors,
2. have write[2] access to the server[3] backing your domain (here: https://example.org). Typically via sftp://example.org plus the write credentials you got from your vendor plus e.g. FileZilla[4],
3. inside that space, create a directory named to your liking, (here: subdirectory),
4. into that directory, upload the file (here: index.txt) with the according content.

For #Seppo the webspace must have CGI[5] enabled. If the vendor doesn't mention, you better ask them. Some vendors known to already host #Seppos are seppo.social/vendors.

To seize agency and not being subject to third party terms & conditions, you can't do without owning your place. “If you're not paying for the product, you are the product.”

🌱 Installation

Hooray, you have your webspace. Next are 4 technical steps the billionaire platforms prefer you to be scared of. You only have to do them once — now, as you begin:

1. download seppo.cgi,
2. for the #Seppo server to have the address https://example.org/subdirectory/ do upload[2] seppo.cgi to your webspace into a directory named subdirectory. That name is to your liking. If your webspace requires so, care for the /cgi-bin/ subdirectory requirement,
3. ensure the uploaded file is named seppo.cgi and has file permissions 'read + executable' for all (numeric value 555), e.g. via right-click in the ftp program,
4. enter the chosen #Seppo server web address plus seppo.cgi into your browser's address-bar (at the top, not the search), e.g.:
   https://example.org/subdirectory/seppo.cgi
   hit "enter" and then choose screen/login name and password.

Congratulations, you made it! Welcome, you are now a sovereign citizen of the Social Web. Ready to connect and be connected.

Be kind, enjoy and spread the word!

🤞 Support

If there's something you can't figure out, ask. The 📧 community mailing list and archive may be helpful.

Or open an issue at issues/new.

When #Seppo! runs into a problem, it tells a code number to give a hint what you can do about it. They are explained at 🤕 Codes.

Also there are 💡 Support Pages featuring some housekeeping and troubleshooting tasks.

The sourcecode is published as source.tar.gz next to the binary download or at Seppo.Social/development.

⛑️ security.txt

In case of a security incident, consult our security.txt.

⏱️ Installation Speedrun

* * *

Footnotes

1. URL consisting of the
   1. way to connect (here: https or sftp)
   2. machine name a.k.a. host (here: example.org)
   3. address within that machine
   , back^
2. Your webspace vendor may provide a web interface or further instructions like Wie übertrage ich meine Seite auf den Server? (de), back^, back^
3. ftp and http being different ways to talk to a machine means there may be different (host) names to use in your ftp program and web browser. However, usually they are the same (here: example.org), back^
4. FileZilla, back^
5. RFC3875 The Common Gateway Interface (CGI), back^