Ibis is an open-source [7], federated wiki [1][1.1.1][1.2][2][3][4.1].
The backend of Ibis is written in Rust [1.1.2] and built on PostgreSQL [1.1.2]. The frontend of Ibis is written in Rust with WebAssembly [1.1.2]. Ibis is federated using the ActivityPub protocol [1.1.3][1.4][4.2].
Ibis is currently funded through donations [1.7.2][8.2]; however, funding is currently being sought from NLnet [8.1.2][10].
The first prototype of Ibis [1.3][8.1.1][9] was publicly announced on 2024-03-13 [1] by Felix Ableitner ("nutomic") [1][5.1][6].
"Announcing Ibis, the federated Wikipedia Alternative". Felix Ableitner ("nutomic"). ibis.wiki. Published: 2024-03-12. Accessed: 2024-09-15T02:34Z. https://ibis.wiki/article/Announcing_Ibis,_the_federated_Wikipedia_Alternative
I realized that the same technology easily be used to create a federated encyclopedia. As no one else took up such a project, I finally decided to do it on my own and create Ibis.
Just like Lemmy, Ibis is built on a stack of PostgreSQL and Rust, in this case with a frontend written in Rust Webassembly.
Thanks to my previous experience with the tech stack and the ActivityPub library I created, I was able to complete a proof of concept in a relatively short time of four months.
Ibis is still in a very early stage, but it has the potential to completely change the way online encyclopedias work. Instead of individual, centralized websites there will be an interconnected network of encyclopedias.
The proof of concept includes all the necessary core features.
There have also been numerous attempts to create new, centralized Wikipedia alternatives but all of them failed to gain critical mass. The fact is that we can’t rely on any single website to hold the whole world’s knowledge, because it can be corrupted sooner or later. The only solution is a distributed architecture, with many smaller websites connecting with each other and sharing information. This is where ActivityPub comes in, the protocol used by Mastodon, Lemmy, Peertube and many other federated social media projects.
You can use the following channels for communication:
If you don't have the time or skill to contribute personally, please consider making a donation. This signals that it is worth investing more of my time into the project. I am also interested to know about organizations which may provide grants for working on Ibis.
"Main Page". ibis.wiki. Published: 2024-05-23T13:09:01Z. Accessed: 2024-09-15T02:46Z. https://ibis.wiki/.
Welcome to the flagship instance of Ibis, the federated Wikipedia alternative!
"Main Page". open.ibis.wiki. Published: 2024-04-12T10:32:52Z. Accessed: 2024-09-15T02:48Z. https://open.ibis.wiki/.
Welcome to Ibis, the federated Wikipedia alternative!
README.md. Nutomic/ibis. GitHub. Published: 2024-06-11. Accessed: 2024-09-15T21:13Z. https://github.com/Nutomic/ibis/blob/master/README.md.
Ibis is a federated online encyclopedia similar to Wikipedia.
It uses the Activitypub protocol to connect users across different websites
Releases. Nutomic/ibis. GitHub. https://github.com/Nutomic/ibis/releases.
"Announcing Ibis, the federated Wikipedia Alternative". nutomic (@nutomic@lemmy.ml). lemmy.ml. Published: 2024-03-13T13:21:20Z. Accessed: 2024-09-15T22:52Z. https://lemmy.ml/post/13116499.
Nutomic/ibis. GitHub. Accessed: 2024-09-15T11:02Z. https://github.com/Nutomic/ibis.
"How is ibis development going so far?". Binette. Ibis. Lemmy.ml. Published: 2024-07-27T01:49:39Z. Accessed: 2024-10-20T06:26Z. https://lemmy.ml/post/18466667.
[…] I already worked on Ibis for around three months to finish the proof of concept […]
I did apply for funding from NLnet, so if we’re lucky and it gets approved I will be able to work on it more.
or I have to look for funding elsewhere
Donations, perhaps? […]
There are donation options in the announcement post.
nutomic. Ibis (#ibis:matrix.org). Published: 2024-09-17T13:14:41Z. Accessed: 2024-10-20T06:40Z. https://matrix.to/#/!GqiOWLkEoxlcBLTEtv:matrix.org/$KS3PYhIwssoeZw9vab5Nop1fJ6mwO5K_s62iRJa8WUY.
well im not currently working on the project, because the proof of concept is already complete. it doesnt make sense to work on minor bug fixes it remains stuck in proof of concept stage
nutomic. Ibis (#ibis:matrix.org). Published: 2024-09-17T13:15:17. Accessed: 2024-10-20T06:40Z. https://matrix.to/#/!GqiOWLkEoxlcBLTEtv:matrix.org/$FeAYKHngtBo_gMhvFCufj5Ihtn_RcnWtPDKELviUgsk
hopefully nlnet will approve funding for ibis soon, then i will be able to work on it properly and get it production ready (which will take a lot more work)
I'm not sure the best way to format dates in natural language — ISO-8601 works, but it isn't very human readable, in general. Probably should just choose one and keep it consistent. Month day, year? ↩︎