Show prior private posts to newly-added user

So it seems like if I have existing limited-access posts (“family” aspect only, say), and I add a new contact with that aspect, then they can only see new posts under that aspect, but they can see all prior public posts. Is that correct, and if so is there any workaround? I have also just set up a new pod where I am testing this, so it could be something about the way the pod is set up.

I’d like to use Diaspora to, say, post lots of pictures of my family and be like “Hey friends, if you want to see pictures of my kids, they aren’t on Facebook anymore, they’re all on Diaspora” but if they can’t scroll through the prior posts then it’s significantly less enticing and useful.

Yes that’s correct. Everybody can see public posts, but private posts are shared with the people which are in the aspect at the time you share them. So new contacts can only see future posts, not past posts. And that’s intended behavior.

Is there a explanation for that intent? That would not be my expected behavior as a new user. So if there’s some new philosophy, I would be interested in learning what it is. Basically, I think this means that the diaspora does not work for the intended purpose that I have for it (showing family pictures to family, whose family status extended through time, preceding when they joined diaspora) so I’m wondering what purpose it does work for.

See Reshare old posts with (new) contacts which has more developed discourse on this subject, links to github issues, etc.

“New philosophy” XD.
No the point is in general a question of security. You share information with a set of persons/accounts and you can somehow be sure who it is; So whom you’ve given the information.
If you add additional contacts to that aspect (intended or by accident) and they would also get this information you maybe posted years ago those information would “leak” because you probably don’t remember every post you ever posted to that aspect.
As an analogy in the offline-world think about a group of persons chatting in a room and maybe bitching about some person. And then the person enters the room… you are glad it cannot “re-hear” whats said. This is the behavior diaspora* reproduces.

And there is also a technical reason: diaspora* does not save to what aspect you sent a post. It “dissolves” the aspects to a list of contacts the post goes to and then it’s sent to those contacts. And I am not even sure if it is saved to which contacts it’s sent, because usually it would be enough to save only on which pods the contacts resident (and to what contacts on the same server as the sender it was shared to). But there might be crypto-reasons to keep a the list of recipients. But not the aspect.

Yes indeed, you cannot do it without bigger work/trouble. I think you can do it using friendica. Diaspora* is not suitable to create a limited accessible gallery or the like.

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As there’s an existing discussion of this issue, I’m closing this one to stream-line discussion.

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