Just submitted a CFP to the Fediverse & Social Web track at @COSCUP 2026. The talk is titled I just wanted ruby annotations: writing in dead scripts on the living fediverse.
Here's the abstract:
Koreans used to mix hanja (漢字; Chinese characters) into Korean prose, much as Japanese still mixes kanji and kana. The style is called Korean mixed script (國漢文混用體). Almost nobody writes this way anymore. I do.
When I wanted to post this way on the fediverse, I ran into a small but stubborn problem:
<ruby>annotations, the HTML feature that puts pronunciation guides above or beside characters, were stripped by the major servers I tried. I filed an issue against Mastodon. It sat there for a long time. At some point, “maybe I should run my own server” somehow became “maybe I should implement ActivityPub myself.”ActivityPub is not simple. JSON-LD alone has several ways to say the same thing. Then come HTTP Signatures, WebFinger, NodeInfo, inbox forwarding, and the small incompatibilities that only become obvious when Mastodon and Misskey disagree. Before building the server I wanted, I built Fedify: a TypeScript framework that keeps most of that protocol plumbing out of application code.
Hollo came next, because I still wanted the original thing: a single-user ActivityPub server where Markdown and
<ruby>annotations survived the trip. Hackers' Pub followed from the same framework, aimed at developers who want short posts and longer articles to federate.This talk is about how a small typographic itch turned into upstream patches, a framework, and two fediverse servers. I still just wanted ruby annotations.
Fingers crossed!
hackers.pub
Hackers' Pub
Hackers' Pub is a place for software engineers to share their knowledge and experience with each other. It's also an ActivityPub-enabled social network, so you can follow your favorite hackers in the fediverse and get their latest posts in your feed.
Read it in other languages: 日本語 (Japanese), 한국어 (Korean).
FediDev KR and FediLUG (Japan) are pleased to announce the Fediverse & Social Web track at COSCUP 2026, and invite participants to submit proposals for talks.
COSCUP (Conference for Open Source Coders, Users, and Promoters) is a free, community-run open source conference held annually in Taipei, Taiwan. Think FOSDEM, but in East Asia. This year it takes place August 8–9 at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, and is co-hosted with UbuCon Asia 2026.
The Fediverse & Social Web track runs for a full day, six hours in total. It is the first dedicated fediverse track at a major open source conference in East Asia, and we hope it becomes a regular gathering point for the fediverse community in the region.
Format
The default talk length is 30 minutes. If you need more or less time, note your preferred length when submitting.
Topics
We welcome proposals on anything related to the fediverse and the open social web, including:
- Implementations of ActivityPub or related protocols
- Clients for ActivityPub-enabled software
- Libraries, toolkits, and frameworks for fediverse development
- Supporting services: search, onboarding, moderation tooling
- Instance administration and operations
- Governance, policy, and the social dimensions of running federated communities
- The broader open social web and interoperability
Important dates
- Submission opens: March 28, 2026
- Submission deadline: May 9, 2026 (AoE)
- Acceptance notifications: June 9, 2026
- Conference: August 8–9, 2026
Submissions
Submit proposals at https://pretalx.coscup.org/coscup-2026/cfp. Select Fediverse & Social Web from the track dropdown.
You can write your proposal in English or Chinese. COSCUP publishes session descriptions bilingually in English and Chinese, but that translation happens after acceptance; you don't need to provide both languages when submitting.
All sessions will be recorded and released under CC BY-SA 4.0. If your talk contains material that cannot be recorded or released under those terms, please note this in your submission.
Code of conduct
All speakers and attendees are expected to follow the COSCUP Code of Conduct.
Contact
Questions about the track, topics, or the fediverse in general are welcome at contact@fedidev.kr or @fedidevkr on the fediverse.
