Epiktistes

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Introduction	https://epiktistes.com/introduction
GitHub	https://github.com/toddsundsted/ktistec
Pronouns	he/him
🌎	Sector 001

Todd Sundsted posted Jan 27, 2026

Release v3.2.8 of Ktistec

I didn't think I'd ever pull it off 😀, but the new editor framework is complete and with it support for creating polls. One nice extra—you can now choose which content editor to use (rich text or Markdown) on a per-post basis without updating your settings.

The full set of changes in this release:

Added

Front-end support for creating polls.
Editor selection support for content, polls, and optional metadata (name, summary, etc.).
Poll expiry notifications for poll authors.

Fixed

Poll closed_at handling for drafts and remote polls.

I'll try not to be quite as ambitious for the next release! 😅

#ktistec #crystallang #activitypub #fediverse

Todd Sundsted posted Jan 26, 2026

A couple of summaries of recent polls:

Is building for browsers without JavaScript enabled an antiquated idea?

87% No / 13% Yes

I interpret this to mean 1) progressive enhancement still matters, 2) accessibility and resilience are important (maybe even at the expense of pure convenience).

Which distinctive Fediverse capability would you most like to see added (to Ktistec) next?

Emoji reactions and Quote-posts tied at 37% each

For what it's worth, I'm actively looking into emoji reactions. These seem to be most popular in servers other than Mastodon, and I'd like to encourage more diversity.

I very much appreciate everyone's participation! Please reply if I'm missing nuance.

#ktistec

Todd Sundsted posted Jan 25, 2026

After a hard day in the snow...

A black and white husky mix naps on his mat after a hard day’s play in the snow.

#DogsOfMastodon #Saki

Todd Sundsted posted Jan 23, 2026

Ktistec Theming Hooks

I'm using Ktistec theming hooks to make it easier to spot posts from actors I enjoy reading, to identify posts that are part of conversations I'm in, to identify posts about topics I'm interested in, and to simply expose more information visually.

The hashtags I follow don't require much emphasis, but I want them to stand out a little, so I theme these posts with a bold left border.

Image of a post with a bold left border and the #3dprinting hashtag.

It's helpful when I can spot posts that are parts of conversations I'm in, so my theme styles my replies, and others' replies to me. In the latter case, it also differentiates between cases where I'm one of the actors mentioned vs. cases where I'm the only actor mentioned.

Image of a brief conversation showing background colors that highlight each role.

There are a handful of people I follow who regularly post about topics I love. I've created custom backgrounds for posts from these authors.

Two posts showing themed background images: cobwebs in the first, equations in the second.

(This is also my #FollowFriday post. 😀 If you're not into my theming, but want to see amazing photos of abandoned places around the world and sometimes sleeping seals, follow @ObsidianUrbex. If you love physics, math, music, and related topics, or want to love physics, math, music, and related topics, follow @johncarlosbaez.)

All of this is powered by extensive post metadata that was recently added and is surfaced in classes and data attributes. You can, for example, customize a theme based on actor or object type, object status (sensitive, has replies, etc.), visibility, relationship state (followed by me, mentions me, etc.), the creator/sharer handle, etc. Details are in the theming documentation.

#ktistec

Todd Sundsted posted Jan 22, 2026

Is building for browsers without JavaScript enabled an antiquated idea?

Todd Sundsted posted Jan 21, 2026

I don't love the changes to Lucky in D&D 2024. It probably makes sense from a balance point of view or something, but it also feels like characters with the Lucky feat aren't really "lucky" anymore because there are so many ways to have advantage and Lucky is now just one of them.

#dnd #dnd2024

Todd Sundsted posted Jan 19, 2026

🏆 Yak-shave accomplished!

I tore apart the monolithic editor in #ktistec and replaced it with a configurable framework of editor components—including a component for editing polls.

The Ktistec editor showing buttons for enabling and disabling editor components, including the rich text editor, the Markdown editor, optional fields (such as title, summary, etc.), and polls.

I'm planning to work on an editor component for managing attachments next.

Todd Sundsted posted Jan 17, 2026

sometimes i feel like building software is akin to throwing myself off a cliff and then hoping i can build the thing i envisioned a moment ago before i hit the ground. does anyone else get that?

i decided to tear apart the monolithic editor in #ktistec and to replace it with a configurable system of editing components. how hard could that be, i thought... well, the ground approaches and i only just got a just-about-works proof-of-concept complete!

Todd Sundsted posted Jan 17, 2026

I just upgraded litestream on my epiktistes.com server from v0.5.3 to v0.5.6 and I am cautiously optimistic. v0.5.3 had a bug that filled up my storage, pegged the CPU, and generally broke my server by locking my ktistec database for 10-20 seconds at a time. I am posting this to deliberately test fate! C'mon... if you're gonna fail again, then fail and get it over with!

#litestream

Todd Sundsted shared a note by CrystalLanguage Jan 16, 2026

What about a shiny Crystal 1.19.0 release for the new year?

The compiler now uses execution contexts and parallel LLVM codegen on all targets (including Windows) a new Time::Instant type, compile time flags with values, and many runtime improvements and fixes.

See all the details in the release notes: https://crystal-lang.org/2026/01/15/1.19.0-released/