Lemmy v0.18.0 Released! (and some thoughts before upgrading)

Official Announcement: https://lemmy.fmhy.ml/post/263377 Github Release Page: https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/releases/tag/0.18.0

This is a massive upgrade, and a lot of the minor annoyances that users were finding about Lemmy has been fixed. You can check the above links for all the changes implemented but some of the major ones are:

  1. Websockets replaced by HTTP: What this means for you is that instances will feel snappier due to less load, and the annoying sudden flood of new posts when browing hot is also gone. In general hot/active sorting has been reworked and feel much better to browse.
  2. Links that would take you off-instance should now get automatically converted to ones that don’t. And just writing the name should be enough to turn it into a link. So no more manually searching for the linked communities you find in the comments.
  3. Support for 2-Factor Authentification.
  4. Custom emojis for Instances.
  5. Support for PWA.
  6. A Share Button.
  7. Improvements to overall look and feel of Lemmy.

Not to mention many under the hood changes like database optimizations and bug fixes. This is a very big version upgrade that's come at just the right time.

However, some Instance admins encountered errors when trying to upgrade. And captchas, which we rely on to prevent bots from flooding in, will come back only in version 0.18.1.

So our options are to either upgrade now, maybe have some downtime and to turn on registration applications, or wait until v0.18.1 is released before upgrading (which shouldn't take more than a few days). We are leaning towards option 2 for now, but interested in hearing what others have to say.

_totally_toasted_,

is there any update about a native dark mode or user interface upgrade?

lodion,
@lodion@aussie.zone avatar

FWIW I’ve upgraded aussie.zone to 0.18 and encountered no isses, apart from the removed captcha support. But my instance isn’t huge by any means.

riley,

I love it that this instance works. Can you wait for eager people to work out the kinks before updating?

darkmatterstyx,

This is a major Lemmy upgrade, The FYFM server already asked/discussed upgrading taking the server off for a while, or wating another couple days until the full update was ready.

If you're worried about the Jerboa warning, just hit cancel, it still works just fine (still has bugs as is still in Alpha) life is better, smile and have fun!

SirEDCaLot,

I sat wait. Right now Lemmy and this instance are working and usable. IDK why they'd pull captcha given the number of spam bots but that's worth waiting for IMHO especially if it's only a few days.

knowncarbage,

Things are working, no rush for new things or major change. Prioritize ease of administration over immediate need for new toys.

Dee,

I updated my small instance, it worked great. Until I rebooted the server then it stopped working entirely. I tried restarting the database and the app separately, but it never came back up. I had to wipe and reinstall as downgrading didn’t work either. Due to issues with names no longer federating if the instance is recreated with the same domain and name I had to change my subdomain entirely as well. If for example a user was named [email protected] and you reinstall that instance using instance1.tld. If you recreate the user [email protected], it will not federate any comments.

I may be a small use case, but it has made sure I’ll be waiting a good long time before upgrading again.

Repulsa,
@Repulsa@lemmy.fmhy.ml avatar

I'd vote for waiting for 0.18.1 if it's only a couple more days

foni,
@foni@lemmy.fmhy.ml avatar

Updating now and closing new user registrations for a few days is an option? I understand that it would be a problem, but it is supposed to take a few days

In any case what you decide well done will be

knowncarbage,

Seems a shame to close new user registrations during a period of rapid growth and mass exodus from Reddit.

Dee,

Unfortunately none of the comments I've made from my instance are federating anywhere since I update.

Two factor is nice, however having it not create a barcode is a bit of a pain. You can create one locally if you install qr through pip (I'm sure there are many other ways but that one worked well for me). Just pip install qr. Once it's installed just type qr and paste the link given through lemmy. Worked for adding it to Aegis on my phone.

Venutianxspring,

I think it's smart to wait it out the few days. With all of the bots assembling, better safe than sorry so this place doesn't get flooded

Usernameblankface,
@Usernameblankface@kbin.social avatar

I keep seeing stories about the amount of bot accounts flooding in. I think better not have a weakness for bots to exploit at a moment where the site is getting a lot of new attention.

Sabakodgo,
@Sabakodgo@lemmy.fmhy.ml avatar

I would update; no websockets and links are really nice. BUT captcha is really important.

sarsaparilyptus,

It's kind of important, they currently don't work properly anyway and email verification will do the same thing.

rlhe,

I don't see any wrong answer; both options have advantages. Personally, we've already waited this long, what's another few days?

sarsaparilyptus,

It's another few days with websockets, broken sorting, a front-page-breaking bug, and no 2FA. Plus the site is even more broken for everybody running the latest version of Jerboa till 0.18.0 gets installed.

rlhe,

All fine points and I can't argue against those! Just my personal preference where I don't mind being miserable for another few days, particularly in the case where important anti-bot features are missing.

sarsaparilyptus,

I have to disagree with the last point, turning on email verification will do fine at preventing bots, especially since the reason captchas are being removed is that the Lemmy devs say they don't work properly anyway.

rlhe,

Oh, interesting! I didn't know the captchas were crap (how I feel about captchas anyway) on Lemmy. TIL. Seems like upgrading now has more benefit then; carry on and ignore me.

sarsaparilyptus,

No, I'm going to stalk you now.

Also, those cabinets? Really? Not with that backsplash, come on.

SilentStorms,
@SilentStorms@lemmy.fmhy.ml avatar

I just updated Jerboa and now it won't let me login due to us not being on 0.18.0 :( Not the end of the world if its just gonna be a couple of days, the (buggy) web version exists. But damn, was so used to Jerboa.

inventa,

The continuous refresh makes the site mostly unusable for me in browser. I'd prefer updating to fix one of the biggest bugs the site has

Hedup,

To me personally the websockets thing make the site pretty much unusable. So I'd prefer to upgrade earlier.

Snippet0136,

whats the problem with websockets?

Hedup,

The bug where your feed keeps being flooded with posts from the top, thus pushing everything down. You can't click anything while that happens.

AnonymousLlama,
@AnonymousLlama@kbin.social avatar

I'd be keen to hear about how websockets are slowing down Lemmy and how much of an impact this update will have.

kbin works on sockets for it's messing from memory, but I haven't dug to deeply into it

bg10k,
@bg10k@lemmy.fmhy.ml avatar

Waiting for 0.18.1 seems like the safe, smarter option to me

mr_washee_washee,
@mr_washee_washee@kbin.social avatar

yea not all instances are 0.18 sadly :(

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