There are simple services that exist that — when a user fills-out & submits a <form> on the Web that simple service e-mail someone that data.
These simple services are alternatives to more complex back-end with a database.
An alternative to this alternative could be — instead of e-mailing someone the submitted data, send that data via the Fediverse using ActivityPub.
ActivityPub them. (Can “ActivityPub” be a verb‽)
Probably as a private DM.
@reiver HUGE WARNING: ActivityPub DMs are not really very private. Modern e-mail is better if this is your intention.
AFAIK, e-mail isn't really private either.
Wouldn't an e-mail be about as private as an ActivityPub DM?
I.e., you have about the same level of privacy with both an ActivityPub DM and e-mail?
Or, am I missing something?
Yes and those simple services have huge problems with spam…
I suppose if those simple services implemented anti-spam and such then they wouldn't be so simple eh...
That said sometimes really simple stuff eliminates the most spam. Even a single invisible text box. If the form is sent with a value for that input, discard it completely.
@reiver why though? the great thing about email is it being asynchronous (and I mark each message as read/unread and order them in my inbox).
not everything has to be bolted onto AP ;)
For the people who want to use e-mail, they can. No one is going to force them to switch.
But, not everyone wants to use e-mail.
Some (like me, and others) would prefer an alternative "rails" because of all the difficulty and problems with e-mail.
...
Also, ActivityPub is asynchronous (in that way), too.
...
In some ways, ActivityPub is a modernized e-mail.
It has an 'inbox' and an 'outbox'.
You send and receive 'messages'.
Etc.
> "because of all the difficulty and problems with e-mail."
care to elaborate? (yes, IMAP is a dumpsterfire ;) )
> "In some ways, ActivityPub is a modernized e-mail."
That's a streach ;)
Regarding:
"""
> "In some ways, ActivityPub is a modernized e-mail."
That's a streach ;)
"""
At its core, SMTP uses 7-bit bytes.
ActivityPub uses 8-bit bytes (like most computers nowadays).
That feels like a major modernization to me.
Regarding:
"""
"because of all the difficulty and problems with e-mail."
care to elaborate? (yes, IMAP is a dumpsterfire ;) )
"""
For example, trying to get an e-mail message delivered to a GMail e-mail address from your own Internet domain running on a self-hosted e-mail server is at the very least an incredibly difficult thing to accomplish — and sometimes even practically impossible.
And, if you are lucky enough to get it working, you have to re-do over and over again.
Compared to that, ActivityPub is a much easier option to go with (than e-mail).