Run a community / Looking after the server

GIFs, link previews and the system page

GIFs

Under Admin → GIFs, choose where the GIF picker finds GIFs:

• The team’s own library (the default): GIFs people upload to the GIF library in their account menu. Nothing leaves your server.
• GIPHY: Sideporch searches GIPHY for people, so the API key stays on the server. The GIFs themselves load from GIPHY’s servers, as its terms require.
• KLIPY: people’s browsers search KLIPY directly, as its terms require, so they can see the key.

Keys are stored encrypted in the database.

Link previews

Sideporch fetches a preview (title, description, picture) for links in messages, from the server. Requests to private and local addresses are refused, so a link can’t make the server probe your own network. Admins turn previews off under Admin → Messages, where they also limit editing to a while after sending.

The system page

Admin → System shows how the server is doing: CPU and memory over the last minutes, the sizes of the database and files, free disk space, and activity. Use it to see whether the server still fits; How big a server has the numbers.