This guide helps new users to start using Hubzilla.
Choice between different servers
Like on all fediverse services, as a Hubzilla user you have the choice between different servers, called hubs. Some of them are not open for registrations (these are also called "private" hubs), others allow registrations only by approval through the administrators, and again others are completely open for registrations (these hubs are also called "public").
Choose the right hub
It is primordial for a Hubzilla user to choose the right hub. It may take some time to find the hub you can rely on and trust its administrators, to be sure your data is safe. Best is if you know the administrators' principles and how they work. After having selected potential public or approval-requiring hubs which might fulfill your needs, try to inform yourself about their administrators: What's their purpose to run that hub and how do they get a remuneration for their commitment? The best case is when administration is done by a team instead of by only one person. Observe their communication style: How do they announce updates and changes concerning their hubs and how do they handle support requests by users?
When not knowing an administrator in person, it might be best to start – before building up your channel, profile and connections seriously – as a reluctant / guarded user to test the hub's functionalities, while being still careful with your sensitive data.
Checklist for choosing a hub
- Check the Terms of Service which are indicated under the page
/help/TermsOfServiceof any hub, i.e. hubzilla.org/help/TermsOfService. - Find the contact information of the administrators under the page
/siteinfo.jsonof any hub, i.e. hubzilla.org/siteinfo.json. - What's the uptime of the server? The higher, the better. For that information, the sortable (non-exhaustive) list hubzilla.fediverse.observer comes in quite handy. Be aware that running a good public hub is a tough job, so public hubs might have lower uptimes. hub.hubzilla.de is a hub administered by a larger team of several well-known Hubzilla actors, so this might be the most stable public hub at the moment.
- Is the software always kept up to date? You can always compare the latest release number announced under hubzilla.org/channel/info with the version of the hub you're looking at, indicated on its page
/siteinfo, i.e. hubzilla.org/siteinfo. - Beside the built-in protocol Zot, do you want to use other protocols? The provided protocols by a hub are always listed on its page
/siteinfo. - Which apps do you want to use? Hubs usually provide only a specific set of apps. These are always listed on the page
/siteinfo.jsonof the hub.
Lists of public hubs
Beside hubzilla.fediverse.observer, there's also the sortable table the-federation.info/hubzilla, which doesn't provide infos about the protocols the hubs use and the uptime though. Both lists are non-exhaustive.
You also find less detailed lists of hubs which are open for registrations under
- the page
/pubsitesof any Hubzilla server, for example hubzilla.org/pubsites - the page
/communities?project=hubzillaof any Streams server, for example unfediverse.com/communities?project=hubzilla
Register and build up your Channel
When you have chosen your hub, read the basic concepts in the user help pages which you always find on the page /help/member of any hub, i.e. hubzilla.org/help/member, and start with the registration and setting up your channel. See the tutorials and how-to's for how to do that in detail.
Backing up your data
Your should be concerned about loosing your data due to a not premonished out-of-service of your hub. To prevent that, perform manual exports of your channels as local backups or clone your channels. See the user help pages or the tutorials and how-to's for how to do that in detail.
Prepare for getting help in case your hub is down
One easy way to be prepared for temorary intermittents of your hub is to clone your channels to another hub.
In addition to that, the admins of your hub should offer on the /siteinfo page beside a link to the admin channel a way of getting into contact with the admins by other means, e.g. a clone of the admin channel on another hub and/or something outside Hubzilla like an e-mail address. Write down this info somewhere outside Hubzilla, so you can contact the admins even when your hub is temporarily unavailable.