Planning
Platform overview
As a quick reminder, eom.dev is a suite of free, open source, and self-hosted services deployed to a Kubernetes cluster running on a Dell PowerEdge T640 with Debian OS. The source code for its deployment is available on Gitea:
This platform was inspired by the ones I saw working as a software engineer, and was designed to implement the same infrastructure for communications and engineering one would see at a large corporation. At present, this repository is tailored to my platform’s bespoke needs; however, it could be adapted to be more useful for a general audience. Most people today only ever interact with computers as clients, but is this due to a lack of interest of a lack of accessibility? I wonder if self-hosted services would be more common if a product able to do so out of the box was available for purchase.
WikiDeck
Perhaps due in part to my failure to explain ubiquitous self-hosting as a goal of this platform, I have seen more engagement from my YouTube audience on projects such as WikiDeck:
Two users, @deus and Zevorin, have reached out seeking project experience. Given this platform is modeled after a software company, it is an excellent place to provide such experience, and I intend to focus more on this in Q3. You are invited to reach out on Discourse or Matrix, let me know your interests and coding background, and I will give you a role on the project. You will be working on an open source project using industry-standard tools that can be added to a resume. I am even happy to write references for those who are regularly involved.
Conformity
One of the great things about hosting your own services is that you can do whatever you want; however, in terms of collaborating on a project, it is important to conform to project standards in order to streamline workflows. It is not feasible for me to maintain conversations and code reviews across all the different platforms people might use. On eom.dev we use Gitea, Discourse, and Matrix. I sometimes respond to YouTube comments, but my attention is primarily on the aforementioned services.
Collaboration
I intend to provide one-on-one instruction where needed, but my limited capacity necessitates the use of public channels for questions and comments. The WikiDeck category on Discourse and Matrix room are the best places to reach out. The goal here is to build a community, so please use the search features and help answer one another’s questions!
Monetization
At the time of writing, I manage this platform by myself while also working full-time as a software engineer. As such, the platform receives a limited amount of my attention. If this platform were to provide me sufficient income, then it would receive my full attention. To this end, I intend to focus on platform monetization in Q3. This will primarily take the form of Discourse subscriptions (a paid monthly membership on the platform). Given that my audience is often seeking this information for the purpose of acquiring a job, it is not my intention to put information behind a paywall. In terms of project collaboration and instruction, free members should receive the same treatment as paid members; however, I would be able to give the whole platform more attention with the help of paid memberships. I also intend to document the process of establishing eom.dev as a true business here on Discourse.
Luanti
Finally, I intend to start Season II of the Luanti server in the next couple of weeks. I will post more details in the Season I Megathread when they are ready. For those who are not yet familiar with the game, this is an excellent opportunity to join an established group of players in a fresh world: