From 4b987791220dccc879f9813831e96c9aed28fcad Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: lichenblankie <server@derickphan.com>
Date: Fri, 5 Jun 2026 01:58:32 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] gossip sync: sync with random 20 peers per cycle instead of
 all peers

---
 README.md             | 2 ++
 tinyweb_forum/db.py   | 7 ++++++-
 tinyweb_forum/sync.py | 8 +++++++-
 3 files changed, 15 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 72d04e4..75a3493 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -47,6 +47,8 @@ All moderation is local — you control your view:
 - Forum instances auto-discover each other via RNS announces
 - Content is exchanged as JSON over RNS links every 5 minutes
 - Peer discovery propagates through gossip — each instance shares its known peers
+- At scale (>20 peers), sync uses random gossip: each cycle picks 20 random peers instead of all peers
+- This ensures content converges epidemically regardless of network size (content reaches all nodes within ~O(log N) cycles)
 - Block lists and retractions are gossiped alongside content
 - Only new/updated content is transferred (timestamp-based)
 - Auto-discovery can be disabled in the moderation page
diff --git a/tinyweb_forum/db.py b/tinyweb_forum/db.py
index 6ab12de..8a77715 100644
--- a/tinyweb_forum/db.py
+++ b/tinyweb_forum/db.py
@@ -54,9 +54,14 @@ class ForumDB:
             "CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS synced_instances ("
             "  instance_hash TEXT PRIMARY KEY,"
             "  name TEXT DEFAULT '',"
-            "  last_sync TEXT DEFAULT ''"
+            "  last_sync TEXT DEFAULT '',"
+            "  status TEXT DEFAULT 'active'"
             ")"
         )
+        try:
+            db.execute("ALTER TABLE synced_instances ADD COLUMN status TEXT DEFAULT 'active'")
+        except Exception:
+            pass
         db.execute(
             "CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS settings ("
             "  key TEXT PRIMARY KEY,"
diff --git a/tinyweb_forum/sync.py b/tinyweb_forum/sync.py
index 440479d..ab4e7b3 100644
--- a/tinyweb_forum/sync.py
+++ b/tinyweb_forum/sync.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import json
+import random
 import threading
 import time
 import RNS
@@ -6,6 +7,7 @@ import RNS
 FORUM_APP = "tinyweb-forum"
 SYNC_INTERVAL = 300  # 5 minutes
 REQUEST_TIMEOUT = 60
+GOSSIP_FANOUT = 20  # random peers to sync per cycle
 
 
 class _ForumAnnounceHandler:
@@ -90,7 +92,11 @@ class ForumSync:
         while self._running:
             try:
                 instances = self.fdb.get_synced_instances()
-                for inst in instances:
+                # Gossip: sync with random subset for scaling
+                # If <= GOSSIP_FANOUT peers, sync with all (current behavior)
+                # If more, sync with random FANOUT per cycle — content spreads epidemically
+                random.shuffle(instances)
+                for inst in instances[:GOSSIP_FANOUT]:
                     if not self._running:
                         break
                     try: