add manyfold blog post

Author: Floppy

_posts/2024-01-22-new-beginnings.md

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+---
+layout: post
+title: New Beginnings
+comments: true
+categories:
+- manyfold
+- projects
+---
+Last Thursday was my last day at [dxw](https://dxw.com). I loved it there, it's full of Good People and Good Work, and being a trustee of the Employee Ownership Trust for the last couple of years has been a true honour. But, something came along I couldn't say no to.
+
+Over the last couple of years, I've been building a self-hosted web app called [Manyfold](https://github.com/manyfold3d/manyfold) (previously named VanDAM, because a weak pun is fine to start with). I built it to scratch an itch I had with managing a large library of 3d model files for 3d printing, but over the years, a few other people have started using it and finding it useful.
+
+In the summer, I put in a wild application for grant funding to [NLNet Foundation's](https://nlnet.nl/) [NGI Zero Entrust](https://nlnet.nl/NGI0/) fund, which supports work on open standards, open data, and open source software for the good of the Internet as a whole. To my very great surprise, [they agreed](https://nlnet.nl/project/Personal-3D-archive/), so starting today I get to spend a few months working on Manyfold and the software it's built on, to make something useful for even more people.
+
+The work is in 6 main [milestones](https://github.com/manyfold3d/manyfold/milestones):
+
+1. Core feature enhancements; adding a bunch of things like model format conversion, licence information, internationalisation and translation, and more.
+1. Improved deployment; making the app easier to set up and run in different environments, from personal NASes (NASii?) to full-on cloud deployments.
+1. Security & compliance; making sure the app is secure, accessible, and [sustainable](https://w3c.github.io/sustyweb/).
+1. Documentation; user guides, admin manuals, contributor guides, all that good stuff.
+1. 3D model compression; 3d models can be large and lots of formats are inefficient. I'm intending to create a new format based on the [progressive meshes](https://hhoppe.com/proj/pm/) algorithm that will enable models to be streamed efficiently. This is particularly cool, as this was part of the background I learned about doing my PhD; about time that was useful.
+1. ActivityPub federation; make the site multiuser, build feeds and social features, and then make it federate using [ActivityPub](https://activitypub.rocks) (like [Mastodon](https://joinmastodon.org) and others). If I get this right, then we can create a "decentralised Thingiverse", where it will no longer matter which site your content is on.
+
+Those last two are the coolest, and I'm particularly excited about getting started on those. I've got about 6 months of funding to do this, which is frankly incredible, though I've got no idea what happens after that. I'll also be available for small contracts to build up a diversity of income, so let me know if you have anything I can help with!
+
+If you're interested in the project, you can follow progress in the Fediverse at [manyfold@3dp.chat](https://3dp.chat/@manyfold), and of course if you want to get involved or run your own, check out [the GitHub repository](https://github.com/manyfold3d/manyfold) (better documentation coming soon).