why

Where I live the use of #SmallAds is dominated by former ebay-kleinanzeigen - now called kleinanzeigen.de .

My devices are secured and my browsers delete cookies and try to protect my #privacy. I regularly run into problems logging in to my account at kleinanzeigen.de, because of - I don't know.

With both the Android client and the web-interface I get obviously wrong error messages about the protection of the security and bad things are going on in my IP range(s).

Obviously wrong because it would be too much of a coincidence that I get the same message on a mobile IP, my homes internet connection and my works internet connection using different browsers or the app which runs on my android in its own environment using insular which can be found on fdroid.

The way the platform tries to get my consent to share my data with an incredible number of partners, the way it tries to make me give any measures to protect my privacy and the way it uses dark patterns makes me sit on a mount of stuff I'd long have sold or given away so that someone else could make use of it.

I always wondered if this would not be a good project to integrate into the #fediverse.

the software

...and here it is. It is still in development, but it already works and there are already a few instances online.

In my opinion what mainly is misssing at the time of writing this is documentation on how to use the software and how it integrates into the fediverse.

what is flohmarkt (and what not)

I found a video (originally in german, you can choose the language) taken at ChaosCamp 2023 that explains the concept.

#flohmarkt provides its own http server that can be used stand-alone to show small ads that registered users may publish.

Registration works through the server itself and can be switched off (to run a server for e.g. only one person or only the persons that had been registered until that moment).

To register it is necessary to provide an email address to which a confirmation link is send.

To registered users there's a simple form to publish there small ads that can be looked at by anybody who is able to reach the website.

That's it?!

federation

To communicate with someone who published a small ad the server hints to an unregistred user _"To answer this offer please log in or create an account. OR use another fediverse-account".

The small ad visited turns out to be a note in the fediverse. It's url can be opened with your favourite fediverse client at the server you're already registered to. You then can boost the small ad like any other note you read.

Or you can use your account to answer the author of the small ad if - and only if - you mark your note as 'private' or 'direct'. This way you can contact the person.

It's also possible to follow accounts on flohmarkt servers like any other account in the fediverse.

federation between flohmarkts

At time of installation the software asks for the coordinates of the community it should be for and the radius it should be used in.

This is an offer to help make the goods that might be offered travel less far. A flohmarkt can manually federate with other flohmarkts in its range showing all their goods on its page.

This is not ment to be a restriction, but a nudging to build local communities. These would have the advantage that people could trust each other more, because trades face-to-face could be more common.

follow-up

I'll follow up this article with my how-to install flohmarkt on a Debian Bookworm.

Since there is no support community (forum or channel) beside the issues at the flohmarkts #codeberg page, yet, I suppose that people interested write about flohmarkt using #flohmarkt_support. The hashtag can be followed on some fediverse servers or you could simply follow the account @flohmarkt_support@a.gup.pe that will boost any toots that mention the account or the ones it sees that use the hashtag.