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RFF is entering maintenance/sunset mode.
We've helped empower, amplify and motivate the music community within the Fediverse by celebrating artist consent and agency, direct support, and promoting quality sounds.
If you've participated along the way, you can be proud of the gauntlet we've thrown down for community and vibes and the discovery, collaboration and support fomented.
We'll accept music submissions until mid-Dec and the station will power down in Jan 2025.
1/
Even though some people might say that RFF is just a radio station, so much more went into our operation than simply running some media streams.
I've worked hard for RFF to be relentlessly pro-artist and positive, when offering artist support of all kinds and when framing critical analysis on struggles and dramas we as independent artsts were facing.
The sad fact of the matter is that RFF cannot sustainably stay in operation despite having put out calls for help throughout 2024.
2/
The response to my asking for help for over a year, the pivots I made to be accommodating have been all proven unviable structurally, temporally and now personally. All of this has been considered to N degrees and has been quite a weight.
Please do not add to the many weirdly demanding comms I've been hit with during these desperate attempts to salvage the project. Asking at this time why or how or "what can you do" even if you think your intentions are sincere is not helpful.
3/
This isn't just about finances. The community were fast to answer the call for annual infra drives so that at least was never a burden on the human.
I never wanted to ask, find, take staff funding on principle and was able to wear full-time volunteerism beyond what my health could afford. Sadly that debt has very much come due.
The project was always too big for a lone hamster, and informed friends and colleagues who respect my privacy will understand: we've overshot any handover options.
4/
Assuming I or you will cancel any existing recurring infrastructure donations, we should still be covered for the transmitter over the sunset period.
For those that have specifically supported me if you might delay cancelling to help through this end period, awesome, but no matter what thank you deeply for trying to include the human backstage in the equation of community service.
5/
Since inception, RFF has spoken in a resoundingly positive voice. It is something many of us need to hear and feel, yet often hard to sustain against web and life factors. It's one of most difficult and exhausting roles I've ever endured.
I hope you might help carry the reigns of music and art chief positivity officer(s) in the feed at least around celebrating independent art. I will need to be less available for this during sunset. This wasn't tech, this wasn't a platform, it was people.
6/
I implore you to take what you hopefully have experienced from this project or the community that rallied and build it into other things you do and demand better from the technocrats or just kick them to the kerb. As independent and marginlised artists and as just good humans we deserve better. Rally communities that use tech don't build tech that makes demands of communities.
I'm proud to have helped any and all that have felt seen, at home, connected with community or supported.
7/
Cheers to the friends reflecting and helping to shout out community not just "radio" things that have made RFF different, resonate. Things we can endeavour to carry through our art, our work and our advocacy.
In fairness I can't really apologise for the experiment becoming a victim of success because you are here and ripples have been made. Nor should I field abuse for my ph collapsing (none of your business) and compiling no longer being able to wear other duress of which there's plenty.
8/
Taking flack from some who didn't read this thread or ANY of the State of the Station and progress report blogs over 18+ months stating in increasing desperation please bear with me, a lone volunteer and need help!
"WHY DONT YOU/CAN'T YOU JUST", "GIVE ME THE 'SCRIPTS'", weird ableist/classist noise, or misguided Angelina Jolie Hackers saviour syndrome will never illicit a desire to handoff community trust to that kind of hostility. I broke protocol! There's no positive RFF framing for that. 9/
There's been a colleague team for over a year to vent & plot for the station.
Even more focused for months learning the ethos and manual points of difference that generate the final outputs of RFF.
Through sounding out all the options you might pitch, attempting to engage others for NON-TECH labour, there was some progress but *I* have run out of time struggling with that added job. The shortage has always been time all around, not skill.
I can't envisage a shell of the thing haunting me. 10/
Now's not the time to demand more work. Again, no "script" to just "run" RFF.
Agency, consent, deferring to artists wishes, building community, trust and safety, artist support, platform review, advocacy, vibes are not in the code. The database is irrelevent.
There are costs, timing, consent, decoupling to consider what of RFF might be durable, but much has intentionally and by design already been in the playlists and the artist directory. The legacy is community not a husk of a thing 11/
I'll continue hangouts and live events as we can through the sunset.
New music submissions will be added through mid December! Plenty of time to help hype the drop in, discover then go away and interact and directly support artists vibe.
There may less positivity glitter bombs in the feed while I work out how to untether from the daily comms, feed, stresses and demands that unfortunately are a boat anchor around the neck *I* need to shed.
Gonna need ya'll to carry that positivity torch. 12/
So let's celebrate the ethos and normalisation of agency and consent and as direct as possible artist support we've embraced.
Another behind the scenes effort was trying to get that ethos into other projects out there and in the advocacy and support for many adjacent initatives some of you may have felt.
Sure none of that is required for an audio stream. I argue it is needed to better lift up artists and improve respectful actual empowering discovery layers, not more silos and skimmers.
13/
Some of you have already pointed to and posted positive points of resonance, thank you.
I hope there will be ample reflections and sharing of the types of experiences and connections the project has fomented. I hope that will be fuel to continue normalising pro-artist community first and tools second.
While that can be hard and may require heaps of extra manual work, the final output does resonate when there is actual love for independent creatives and humans built in!
Stay vertical!
14/
Please do keep following and submitting.
This account will remain a community advocate and conduit after a post holidays fedi break after 2 years of clocking in 7 days /wk. A patron is securing the domain so no donut can yoink it and leaves options for non audio legacy to be discussed LATER.
Idea guys, I need some oxygen as there's heaps moving parts to plan spin down while operating. Any assistance putting positive in the feed for artists while this all happens much appreciated.
15/
@radiofreefedi Thank you for everything you’ve done for artists and music fans.
@radiofreefedi OMG - I feel we have let you down. I should have done more to help but somehow it never happened. Sorry to hear there is no future for the station.....
@radiofreefedi hats off and all the love to radio free fedi 
I wish I had found it sooner, and I'm sorry it's going away. Sincere thanks, and best wishes for the future. 
@radiofreefedi Thank you for all your work
@radiofreefedi I'm really sorry to hear this but as someone who's worked on a number of volunteer/pro bono art projects and platforms over the years, I fully get where you're coming from.
Thank you for the tremendous resource you created and nurtured, and let's hope it inspires someone else to launch their own cool project.
@radiofreefedi this is sad to hear. Your support and work in the fedi music scene has been huge and wonderful. I’m glad you’re able to take care of yourself, though.
RFF will be missed
@radiofreefedi thank you so much for everything. You did something really remarkable with RFF.
@radiofreefedi every radio project pop up I've ever come across has been a delight and I appreciated them for the time they existed. (Probably because of my early experience with HS radio).
Your efforts sit well in my mind as another source of delight.
Thank you and all for everything that you provided, and thanks for airing some Banjo Patterson!
@radiofreefedi
I still remember when first joined the fediverse on .art and you told me your intentions to build a radio and borrowed a track. After a year or two, RFF was announced! I thought: he did it! 
I really appreciate all you've done, your supportive attitude is remarkable. For me, you're an inspiration, so rest assured that I'll continue to do my best.
I also consider you a close southern comrade in regards of country side living and works.
Best regards and wish you well. Stay safe!
@radiofreefedi Thank you for everything. For all the work you did, and for this thread where you shared your feelings. I've loved your project here from the first moment I saw it, and I really wish I'd been able to contribute something. Nothing lasts forever and nobody is entitled to anyone's labor, especially past their point of sustainability. Again, thank you. It's been a genuine inspiration and gotten me through some tough days.
@radiofreefedi ugly news in a month of ugly news.
I respect what you did,. what you're doing, and why you don't feel like doing it anymore.
Love and thank you for everything.
1/2: I was not aware of this thread until now. You've provided a public service for many of us and don't have to justify anything. It's an odd synchronicity for me personally as your initial post coincided with my injury at a new job, from which I've since been terminated, that I took to get out of debt that prevents me from donating anywhere near the level of my obligation.
[ ... ]
2/2: Too many Bandcamp listeners gorging on yum codes without financial compensation, making it difficult to distribute little wealth if any to those who deserve it. I gave up on loss leaders a long time ago.
Take a well-deserved vacation and focus on yourself. Thank you for all you've done.
@radiofreefedi I’m sad to hear this but grateful for your uplifting efforts, thank you. 
@radiofreefedi wow. It is sad that I didnt know of RFF all this time, and missed the whole thing.
It is always sad to see such things, but this is the healthier option and I am glad you chose it.
Thank you for all of your effort.
@radiofreefedi thanks again for your time and efforts!
@radiofreefedi Out of curiosity - what would fediverse APIs or infrastructure would have to have to make projects like yours approachable and maintainable by a single-ish person?
Fedi would be a brighter richer place if there were more tools and low-budget options that are easy to pick up and run with long-term.
A technical writeup would be amazing to read <3
That said - you have done remarkable job and I am truly sorry this amazing project had to end <3
@shved Technology isn’t the limiting factor, it’s meat. Most of the effort in running RFF has been people-type labour. Communicating with artists one-on-one. Vetting their music for adherence to the RFF ethos. Classifying tracks for inclusion in the Comfy or Specialty channels. Adding tags because they’re missing. Writing weekly station update toots. That stuff can’t scale without throwing more humans at it.