I’m curious if there’s a decentralized platform in the Fediverse specifically designed for hosting media, similar to platforms like:
Imgur
Flickr
ImageShack
ImgPile
mgbox
etc.
While I’m aware of fantastic Fediverse platforms like PeerTube and PixelFed, they are more focused on video sharing or image-heavy social networking.
What I’m looking for is a straightforward platform built specifically to host media (images, GIFs, short videos, etc.) for embedding on other platforms within the Fediverse, such as Lemmy, Friendica, Misskey, or others.
Essentially, a decentralized (preferably Federated) service where the main purpose is lightweight hosting for use on external apps, so individual platforms don’t have to shoulder all the storage and bandwidth demands for image or media content.
Does something like this already exist in the Fediverse ecosystem, or is it a gap that still needs to be addressed?
If not, then I personally believe that it could be a fantastic idea for fostering better interoperability and resource sharing across the Fediverse.
Perhaps name it something like:
PixelPort
A playful blend indicating a “port” or gateway for pixels and media.
FediVault
Combines “Fediverse” and “Vault,” suggesting a secure space for media storage.
Mediabox
Simple and straightforward, suggesting a box where media can be stored and shared.
FediMedia
A straightforward approach that ties the platform directly to the Fediverse.
FediHost
FediHoster
FediHostr
A clear and concise name that combines “Fediverse” and “host,” indicating a dedicated space for decentralized federated media hosting.
I’d love to try and create something like this myself, but I’ll admit I lack the knowledge, time, and energy to bring such a project to life.
I’m hoping this post will inspire some discussion or attention from others who might be interested in exploring this idea further.
Would love your thoughts, suggestions, or knowledge about any projects I may have overlooked.
Hubzilla has built-in cloud storage, where you can host anything you want, and you can even determine who can see it. Images, videos, documents, binary files, whatever.
Pict-rs the software that Lemmy uses to serve images is originally intended for this and can be run in standalone mode.
This is a completely solved problem for 24 years now (static data distribution), via torrents.
How do I use a torrent to post a meme on Lemmy?
Youtube, but using torrents: https://joinpeertube.org/
I did add torrent magnet link support to lemmy-ui and jerboa (I think its not deployed yet for jerboa tho). But yes I agree, inline or inplace torrent viewing (for images specifically) is something that ppl should absolutely be working on.
Do you think serving images from torrent would work? This can be done easily in the browser with Webtorrent, but I think it might be a bit problematic in mobile applications (maybe the image_proxy endpoint could come in handy here for a hybrid solution).
If it is in the roadmap, I can add this feature to the web UI as a start. Because it makes perfect sense :)
I think its very possible to do with any native apps, where you can bundle in a small torrent librar. Maybe not iOS, because I think they don’t allow torrents, but android and all desktops its possible to load / preload things like images, audio, and video inline. Its not too possible via the web, because most webbrowsers don’t have any bundled torrent libraries.
I have my own thoughts about webtorrents (they didn’t really survive, while the regular torrent network is still strong). It’d be possible to do with webtorrents solely to solve the fact that browsers don’t have regular torrent support, but seeders would be hard to come by, so I don’t think it’d work too well.
That’s hardly the user-friendly and low barrier to entry tool that the op is looking for.
Maybe you could use Pixelfed for this.
@Teknevra this is an excellent idea, and would also be useful for when an instance shuts down so that not all media are lost and cached posts broken.
Thank you very much.
I thought of it when I noticed that most Lemmy Instances disable media hosting due to storage and bandwidth limitations.
When i asked around, the people who I asked kept recommending me PeerTube and Pixelfed.
But, at least IMO, while still great Fediverse Platforms, not that great at hosting media for other platforms.
Lemmy can host gifs or videos natively, it is just disabled on most instances due to storage and bandwidth limitations.
For short videos, Loops seems like an idea? Unfortunately there is no embedding of loops in other fediverse software yet, but I’d predict that it will come in the future
IPFS and then post a link through an IPFS gateway. Some browser resolve IPFS directly, I have one in mind but I don’t recommend it.
That’s a comment that starts with Th
That’s not decentralized.
Thanks for the suggestion!
