Ditto 1.2: Elevating User Experience

We are thrilled to announce the release of Ditto 1.2, packed with enhancements designed to make Ditto communities more user-friendly and engaging. Here's a breakdown of what's new:

Ditto PWA & Android App Store Integration

Our small team is diligently working to transform Ditto into a Progressive Web App (PWA), paving the way for its submission to Google Play and other Android app stores. While Ditto isn't a native app, the new integration of Web Push enables it to send OS notifications on both iOS and Android devices, ensuring you stay connected wherever you are.

Revamped Onboarding Experience

First impressions matter, and we've redesigned the login and registration processes to be more welcoming and user-friendly. New users will encounter an intuitive onboarding flow presented in a modal. To bolster security and combat spam on Ditto's relay, we've developed a custom captcha. New members will need to drag a puzzle piece into the correct position upon joining, ensuring a seamless yet secure entry.

Enhanced Community Features

• User Interface Updates: We've polished the general UI to offer a more cohesive and enjoyable experience and set the stage for coming improvements and community features.
• NIP-05 Domain Recognition: Users with valid NIP-05 names will now see their domain's favicon displayed next to their name on posts. Clicking the favicon will showcase a feed exclusively featuring users from that NIP-05 domain, fostering a sense of community and shared identity.
• NIP-05 Encouragement: We'll gently remind users to set up their NIP-05 identifiers to enhance their credibility and visibility within the community.
• Latest Accounts Highlight: The newest members to join the community are now featured in the sidebar to encourage community building and welcoming of new users.

Advanced Search, Autocomplete, and Filtering

• Language Detection and Translation: We've embedded a compact neural network, Lande, into Ditto to detect the language of posts. With support for the NIP-50 language extension and a new language dropdown feature, users can easily filter content by language. Additionally, integration with third-party translation APIs like DeepL and LibreTranslate allows admins to enable a "Translate" button beneath posts in foreign languages, bridging communication gaps effortlessly.
• Improved Autocomplete: When mentioning a user or searching for an account, the autocompletion popup now prioritizes people you follow, with additional results ordered by their number of followers, making connections more intuitive.
• Advanced Search Capabilities: Ditto's search functionality now supports queries with various attributes, such as video:true and protocol:activitypub. These filters can be combined for a more refined and targeted search experience.

Database Overhaul & Performance Boosts

Recognizing the limitations of SQLite in a production environment, we've transitioned Ditto to a specialized Postgres setup. This shift has resulted in a tenfold performance improvement, especially for tag queries. We've also developed a custom rate-limiter from scratch, significantly enhancing Ditto's ability to block harmful traffic. These database optimizations have notably increased feed loading speeds, ensuring a smoother user experience.

Additional Enhancements

• OpenGraph Support: Sharing links from Ditto on other websites now generates a preview card, offering a glimpse into the shared content.
• Zap Splits: Admins can configure zap splits, allowing users of their server to contribute back whenever they post or zap, promoting a culture of mutual support.
• Native Emojis: We've transitioned to using native emojis instead of images, making Ditto more lightweight and eliminating the dependency on Twemoji.
• Olas Compatibility: Ditto now supports displaying kind 20 "Picture" events produced by Olas, enriching the visual content on the platform.
• Custom Profile Fields: Inspired by the pronouns field discussion in the NIPs repository, we've implemented user-defined custom fields, allowing for greater personalization of profiles. Codebase Refactoring: Significant portions of the codebase have been modernized. Dependencies have been optimized to reduce the bundle size, resulting in faster loading times and a more efficient platform.

Coming Soon

The future of Ditto is even more exciting! Here's a sneak peek at what's next:

• Public Groups (NIP-29): We are working on implementing public "groups," allowing users to create and participate in topic-based discussions more effectively.
• Cashu Nutzaps & Expanded Commerce: Soon, Ditto will support Cashu Nutzaps, providing users with more ways to transact and engage in commerce within the platform.
• Post Streaks: A new feature encouraging user engagement by tracking and rewarding posting consistency. Discoverability UI Improvements: We plan to implement new UI and features to help users find and engage with content across the network including improved search filter UI, cross-protocol highlights, and advanced trends.

We invite you to explore these updates and experience the enhanced Ditto firsthand. As always, your feedback is invaluable to us as we continue to refine and improve the platform.

Try Ditto today on any of our servers!

Special thank you to our Soapbox team: patrickReiis, Danidfra, shantaram! And thank you to the Nostr community for your outpouring of support for Ditto. Onward! 🚀