Frequently Asked Questions
What is going on here?
MLTSHP is an approximate clone of the much-loved site MLKSHK created by Andre and Amber which closed in April of 2017. We are 100% community funded and member-run. The site is subscription-based and is owned by a non-profit, the Massachusetts Mutual Aid Society. Member contributions and occasional fundraisers pay for this site.
a href="https://github.com/MLTSHP/mltshp">The code is on Github along with a welcome module there which talks about what is going on. There is also a Slack (email hello@mltshp.com for an invite!) and a Facebook group.
What do the membership levels mean?
Membership is required to participate on MLTSHP, but it's a low bar! We'd love to have you aboard! These are the options:
- Non-members can see the Popular page and individual posts.
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The Single Scoop level ($3 per year) is a great way to check out the site. Members can:
- Post images and videos to their own shakes and to group shakes, up to a monthly upload limit of 300MB for images and animated GIFs.
- Follow their friends' shakes, and follow and join group shakes.
- Save, like, and comment on any posts.
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The Double Scoop level ($24 per year) can do all of the above, plus:
- There are no fixed upload limits.
- Make up to 100 of their own group shakes.
- Get a little plus sign next to their name.
- Have RSS feeds for their shakes.
We ran some numbers and determined that with our current membership, we could run the site if most users contributed $2/month. This includes things like paying for some storage, hosting and bandwidth (Fastly hosts our images, so great!), and someone to answer the odd legal question. We added a "bare bones" membership because we don't want anyone to be excluded.
Stripe handles the money stuff and the subscriptions. You can change or cancel your subscription type at any time from your account settings page. You can pay more if you'd like. Paying more might help us make more stickers.
We may want to talk if you're blowing up our bandwidth quota, but this is rarely an issue.
Is there merch?
Yes! We have t-shirts and we have stickers.
What can I upload or save?
You can upload JPG, GIF, or PNG files. You can post links to videos from YouTube, Vimeo, or Flickr.
Image files should be a reasonable size. Be nice to your friends on mobile phones or tablets. Be nice to our bandwidth quota. There's a hard limit of 20MB per image.
What is a shake? How does it work?
A shake is a curated collection of content. The creator of the shake is the owner and curator of the shake, approves new memberships, and can remove content. You can browse some shakes here.
If you want to contribute to a shake you don’t own, you can request to become a member. The shake owner will approve or deny your request.
If you don’t want to contribute to a shake, but you want to see what is posted there, you can follow a shake.
What is 'alt text'?
Alt text (or alternate text) is a description of an image that’s shown to people who can’t see the image, such as people with little or no vision, people who have turned off images to save data, and search engines. Please take a moment to add alt text when you upload new files. To learn more about how to write helpful alt text, check out Alt-texts: The Ultimate Guide by Daniel Göransson.
I want to take over a shake that seems abandoned. What is the process?
If the previous owner has left the shake (or did not make the transition from MLKSHK), an existing shake member can volunteer to be upgraded to owner. If there are no active members who want to take it on, the shake is deleted and can be re-created at the same URL. Contact us by email or Slack to request the change.
Are there other rules here?
There is a Terms of Use and a Code of Conduct that cover most of them. We want this to be a positive place for people. If it's not, we want people to let us know before it becomes a larger problem.
How do I contact someone?
You can contact us directly by email at hello@mltshp.com. We'll try to respond as quickly as possible.
What if I find a bug or have a feature request?
You can file a ticket on Github (preferred, if you have a Github account), or use this Issue Report Form, or talk to people in realtime on our Slack (email hello@mltshp.com for an invite!). Check our Browser Support Matrix to make sure you are using a supported browser. Thanks for helping!
How can I use RSS to follow the Best of MLTSHP account?
Using some magic, the MLTSHP user saves some of the best images from the site. You can access that RSS feed with this link or follow the @best_of_mltshp@bird.makeup bot on Mastodon.
Where can I get a plugin for Safari, Firefox, or Chrome?
Plugins can be found here. If you'd like to make one, please email us and we can walk you through what we'd need.
How do I change my password?
To reset your password, go to the Lost Password page linked from the sign in page. You will be emailed instructions on how to reset your password.
Why are you giving me grief about my password?
We took a popular list of bad passwords and match them against passwords being used to create accounts on MLTSHP and don't let you use them. Try again?
Can I use keyboard commands for navigation?
Yes! Here is what we support:
- h - page down, h again navigates to "older"
- j - next post, j at the end of the page navigates to "older"
- k - previous post, k at the top of the page navigates to "newer"
- l - page up, l again navigates to "newer"
What do the settings mean on the Settings page?
- Disable Email Notifications - MLTSHP will not send you email notifications with this selected.
- Disable Video Autoplay - Videos will autoplay unless this is selected.
- Remove NSFW Filter - Users can flag posts as Not Safe For Work. Those images require an additional click to view. Selecting this option means you will not have NSFW images filtered.
- Show Stats - The number of Views/Saves/Likes on your pictures will be visible on your profile unless you select this option.