Advisory:
Please do not harass anybody who was involved in Artemis, no matter what. Everyone’s got their own lives going on and nobody knows the full extent behind actions or lack thereof. If any does occur, we vehemently condemn it without question.

Let’s get straight to the point:
@Lilkev and I (@w8l) are formally stepping down as moderators of the Artemis app communities (Discord, Matrix, and kbin), due to a lack of communication from project lead and founder @hariette.

Many people in the Artemis community have been patient and understanding of the lack of activity, ever since a prior period of radio silence was justified by Hariette saying that she was recovering from chronic pain. However, this has gone on for long enough that the official Artemis Camp instance has failed over and never recovered. This is a problem for Artemis app users, since it is the only instance that is supported. We are also unable to continue performing our duties as moderators in the Camp instance as a result. This effectively means that the entire project is dead.

We also want to deeply apologise for not pushing open-sourcing the application code sooner. The original rationale for not doing so immediately (according to Hariette) was a fear of showing poor quality code in public. In hindsight, bad quality code in the open would’ve been preferable to nothing at all; this would’ve allowed the app to continue in some form in an event like this. And even if the project remained active, the code quality would’ve likely improved with contributions anyways.

Multiple attempts at communication from us and the rest of the OG squad, both publicly and privately, have occurred with the founder to no avail.

We advise moving to directly using kbin or mbin on web, using Lemmy with its many clients, or supporting Lunar for iOS. Lunar is a Lemmy client currently in the process of implementing support for the kbin/mbin API and is already open-source, so it is considerably less likely to meet the same fate as Artemis. There is a kbin community for Lunar at m/lunar on the main kbin instance.

The journey was great while it lasted, but all journeys come to an end. We hope to see you all somewhere else, on some other day…

  • ernest@kbin.social
    77·
    11 months ago

    Thank you for the work you’ve put in, guys. Life can really knock you off your feet sometimes, and I’m pretty sure Hariette has a good reason to be offline now. II really hope everything works out for her and one day she’ll be able to come back.

    As for myself, at the beginning of the year, I plan to dust off the drawer and return to my mobile client that I started some time ago, and develop it in my free time. If someone likes /kbin feeling, I’m pretty sure they’ll also enjoy this app ;)

    • FaceDeer@kbin.social
      11·
      11 months ago

      Thanks. In the meantime I’ve been getting by with the mobile website well enough. I’ve actually become used to not having notifications any more, perhaps it’s better not being immediately informed in the middle of my day that I need to drop everything to go argue with people on the Internet. :)

    • brotkel@kbin.social
      7·
      11 months ago

      Will the API be opened on Kbin.social prior to the release of your mobile app, so that other app developers also have a chance to try it out before there’s an “official” solution? I feel strongly that having a single developer in control of the only client is going to end up with a lot of people waiting and possibly being disappointed again. Much better to let people experiment early and have several available options.

      • ernest@kbin.social
        18·
        11 months ago

        The API will be made publicly available in the coming days. Essentially, everything is ready except for one technical issue where I need Piotr’s assistance, but he is currently quite busy. However, I’m trying to resolve it as quickly as I can.

    • MisterMoo@kbin.social
      6·
      11 months ago

      Thanks Ernest, please do get that app going if you can! :)

      I was using Kbin on Artemis without any login, and was pretty much fine to just lurk, but having no app at all is a real bummer. I’ll check out Lunar in the meantime but I’m itching to contribute more to Kbin as a logged in user.

  • Lilkev@kbin.social
    8·
    11 months ago

    I’m hoping that Hariette will respond to one of us soon and agree to open-sourcing the project. Thank you everyone in the Artemis community <3

  • minnieo@kbin.social
    8·
    11 months ago

    thanks for your dedication and effort to artemis and kbin, guys. you were and continue to be amazing.

    i think during the reddit thing, everyone went in head strong and confident, pouring lots of time into this, including myself, you guys, hariette. we wanted it to succeed so bad. then it seems many got burnt out, or bored, and started to distance, including myself. i can understand why hariette may have effectively left. i mean, she started something huge that required lots of time, dedication, and management from herself and others she brought on board. maybe she didn’t realize how much it might take, and when her passion began to falter, so did her will to manage all this and she just isolated from it, ive sadly done that before when i got overwhelmed and burnt out. or maybe its something else entirely? who knows. but either way, there’s still an obligation to communicate with the very people who were onboard beside you, to let them know how you’re feeling and what might happen to the project, because you guys also dedicated your time to this, and your time matters too. no matter what happened, you were owed an explanation and open communication.

    really sorry to hear this guys. you deserved better. thank you again for your effort and time.

    • ernest@kbin.social
      12·
      11 months ago

      who knows. but either way, there’s still an obligation to communicate with the very people who were onboard beside you, to let them know how you’re feeling and what might happen to the project, because you guys also dedicated your time to this, and your time matters too.

      Sometimes, that’s the hardest part of coming back, believe me. But we still don’t know exactly what happened, and I hope it will be clarified sooner or later, whether it’s the definitive end or not. Life has taught me to be very patient, and if there’s a chance, this time it will be my priority to help Hariette bring Artemis back to life, as it’s truly a great app and a piece of a cool story ;)

  • ADHDefy@kbin.social
    8·
    11 months ago

    This is a real bummer. It is a shame it was never open sourced. :(

    I sincerely hope @hariette is doing okay! If she reads this, the community still appreciates you. <3

  • djidane535@kbin.social
    5·
    11 months ago

    Thank you for your work. I was really afraid this would happen when I heard the project was not open-source. The app was really great (especially for a single person in such a short time + no API at the time). It’s a bit annoying to use kbin without an app, but I believe we are not too far from a functional app since the API will be released soon 🤞.

    No blame for Harriette of course, she has her reasons and owe nothing to us. Hope she is (or will be) fine.

  • DarkThoughts@kbin.social
    2·
    11 months ago

    Thanks for putting the word out. I always hate when people start to abandon their projects and ghost the users. Hopefully there’s no terrible reason for that either though.

  • DracolaAdil@kbin.social
    1·
    11 months ago

    Firstly I’d like to wish hariette is well and safe.

    Now…come on man. I get that different people deal with different things differently but we should be aware of our impact and the people that depend on that.

    I don’t want to be too much of a downer but I’m so bummed that the app had to be abandoned because the developer was unable to guage their limit.

    Anyway I just hope Hariette is healthy and happy.