Micro.blog adding European servers: manton.org

@manton This is a very smart move. Thanks for putting in the extra effort.

I never thought we would ever be having this discussion. I’ll add this information about MB on to my original post.

@manton I definitely appreciate this. I am currently working to move as much of my online life as I can outside of US jurisdiction and away from US based big tech. This fits in well with the spirit of that endeavor.

@manton Thank you very much.

@manton So if Broggie, Holliday, and Retlaw are the names of the US servers, what names did you choose for the European servers?

@manton This is really good news, thanks!

@manton Thank you!

@manton Does anything change for the DNS settings for this? I don’t see anything different in the help documentation for this.

@manton Thank you Manton! It’s a symbolic addition and as a Canadian, I really appreciate this effort (and likely an additional expense for you as well).

@manton Can I enable it without having a custom domain?

@t3mujin Nope, it only works with custom domain names right now. I’ll have to think more about whether we can do more here.

@skoobz Yes, there are new DNS instructions here: help.micro.blog/t/custom-… (I’ll link these from the other help page too.)

@cesco I’m disappointed in myself, didn’t come up with a good European-themed naming system… My first idea was the locomotives at Disneyland Paris, but I already used most of those! First new server is Topeka, for the railroad founded by C.K. Holliday.

@manton Thanks for adding this!

@thosch Migrating all data is probably too big a task, but if we focus on photos next I think we can make some more progress.

@manton This is a good move. I saw this just a few hours after I opened an account with an EU hosting company in a first step to move! I don’t know what you’re seeing but I do know that on this side of the Atlantic, lots of individuals and companies are evaluating what services and products they are buying from the US and actively seeking alternatives. I’ve never seen anything like it.

@wfm Thank you. Yes, it is pretty wild and seems unprecedented. I could sense a shift was happening and want to do what we can to meet people where they are.

@manton Ah, European rivers or mountains would’ve been good ones!

@manton I checked the box to use an European server and tried to make a post, but now it has been in a limbo for some two hours already, “still being published”! Could you check what’s wrong? I’ve even tried to rebuild the entire blog. The pending article should be here: zeroone.micro.blog/2025/03/2…

@manton oh thanks for enabling this, good idea, much appreciated 👍🏻🙏🏻

@ZeroOne Oh, I’m sorry, the European server feature only works with using a custom domain name with Micro.blog, not with yourname.micro.blog. We should have hidden the checkbox there, so I’ve reverted it so your new post now shows up.

@philbowell That is a good idea! I’ve been going with this railroad theme and looked into some old rail lines in Germany too, but nothing stood out. Might evolve the theme later as I add new servers.

@manton Oh, alright! Interesting little bug there, then. Thanks!

@manton Thanks for doing this. I think everyone in the community is appreciative of the work you’re doing.

@manton @help
I don’t understand the instructions for using the EU server.
Am I really supposed to change the CNAME record of my domain from $USER.micro.blog to eu.micro.blog?!
How will the individual calls for the different domains be differentiated then?

@manton May I suggest “Adler” (German for eagle) for a server naming candidate. It was the name of the locomotive of the first commercial railway route in Germany which ran between Nuremberg and neighbouring Fürth: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adle….

@nighthawk Great idea, I’m going to use that next. Thanks for the pointer!

@thosch Yes, really use eu.micro.blog. Micro.blog will see your custom domain name and still route everything the right way.

@manton

@roelgroeneveld En in een simpele stap gedaan. Nu draait mijn blog in dezelfde serveromgeving van Hetzner als waar ik DNS en eigen servers heb staan. Fijn gevoel. Thanks @manton !

@manton

@frank Ik ook! Mooie stap van @manton

@manton no IPv6 in Europe?

@TabTwo I’ll update the help. IPv6 is: 2a01:4f8:1c1d:12e0::1

@manton I am using a custom domain that is connected to Micro.blog via the EU server. However, my default micro.blog page (user.micro.blog) now shows different content than my custom domain. New posts can be seen under my custom domain, user.micro.blog no longer changes anything. What is the error?

@Cyrill Sorry, I’ll fix that to redirect the user.micro.blog one.

@manton 🙏 looks like it’s working for now. Thanks a lot. 🍻

@manton Migrated to EU server, but on the Log page it shows I’m still on Holliday server… 🙄

@prealpinux This is confusing because we currently use US-based servers to process your posts but not to the serve them, so the old names didn’t change in the logs… I’m going to make a diagram that better explains this and updating the logging.

@manton Thank you! 👍

@manton Great move, I would like to see to be able to move everything over to Europe, even though photos might be a bit slower.

@manton Updated the DNS for my custom domain and enabling the setting just worked. A seamless experience. Thanks, @manton! I appreciate the effort put into this.

@nielsk Thanks for the feedback. I’m thinking through how we can provide an option for photos and other storage too.

@manton thank you!

@manton great! And very well documented transition.

@manton Hello Manton. I’m in Scotland so maybe this would be a good option for me.

@manton Thank you for this @manton! As a European user, I greatly appreciate this move. Like many others, the current situation in the US has made me seriously reconsider my reliance on US-based services. It’s a balancing act for sure. I’m hoping things will get better, but I’m not counting on it — hence, backup plans in full effect.

@juha Thanks for your support!