fediverse
Table of Contents
Fediverse
“every time i gotta explain the instances i'm like why”
– Nameless Rumia
The Fediverse1) is a distributed social network of platforms that rely on protocols which allow their independently-managed instances to interact. Historically, there was ActivityPump and OStatus, then ActivityPub became the standard2) and AT Protocol failed its way into existence.
General concepts
Instances (servers)
An 'instance' is an independently-managed server that make up a fraction of a platform. It was meant to be a decentralized solution to 'centralized' authorities.3) However, this offloads responsibility to the goodwill of complete strangers, and it ignores the reality that most people want to follow their friends to a popular instance, which defeats the point of instancing. One may limit registrations, but it sets a bad precedent.4)
The intended approach is to personally analyze the instances yourself by checking the theme,5) conducting a 'vibe check',6) and noting what instances have been hidden or blocked.7) If you get banned or said instance goes down, then the cycle restarts8) or you could create your own like a diseased hydra.9) Overall, this can be tedious, and people would rightfully call it 'bullshit' or a waste of time.
Platform types
Whenever the Fediverse gets touted as an alternative to a mainstream platform, it often gets overlooked that the Fediverse isn't just a Twitter or Reddit clone, despite that being the main reason people seek it out. The protocols used can be quite versatile, allowing an assortment of platforms to run on them. However, this does not mean that the Fediverse has single sign-on, so you will have to make another account.
| Project name | Platform type | Protocol(s) | AP? | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diaspora | 2010 | Microblogging | Diaspora | No | |
| GNU Social | 2013 | Microblogging | OStatus | Yes | Mostly in a defunct, abandoned state. |
| Misskey | 2014 | Microblogging | ActivityPub | Yes | Japanese. Might cause sensory overload. |
| Mastodon | 2016 | Microblogging | ActivityPub | Yes | You might've heard of this one. |
| Pleroma | 2017 | Microblogging | ActivityPub | Yes | It was historically popular with shitposters. |
| PeerTube | 2018 | Video sharing | ActivityPub | Yes | |
| Pixelfed | 2018 | Image sharing | ActivityPub | Yes | |
| Lemmy | 2019 | Link aggregator | ActivityPub | Yes | Lemmygrad and Hexbear still exist. |
| Bluesky | 2023 | Microblogging | AT Protocol | No10) | Does this one actually count? |
Migration patterns
| Year | Migration pattern | Detail(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Origin | Destination(s) | ||
| 2011 | Diaspora | Diaspora was crowdfunded11) as there were privacy concerns with Facebook,12) then Google+ launched so it never took off.13) | |
| 2016 | GNU Social | This was mostly a reaction to rumors that Twitter was introducing an algorithmic timeline,14)15)16)17) which they eventually cleared up.18) During this, the most notable GNU Social instance was 'Quitter',19) but it shut down, and pessimism about moderation grew. | |
| 2022 | Mastodon | Obviously, the Twitter acquisition was quite controversial,20)21)22) causing Mastodon to be touted as one alternative,23)24) and Musk validated them with his deleted 'Masterbatedone' joke.25)26)27) While it remains a viable option, it has kinda fallen out of relevance.28) | |
| 2023 | Lemmy, Kbin | The controversial API change drew massive protests, so Lemmy was touted as an alternative.29)30) Some neoliberals didn't like that the Lemmy developers were communists and wheeled out Kbin. Anyways, numerous third-party apps now exist for Lemmy. | |
| 2024 | Bluesky* | The combination of Musk's earlier antics and Twitter making a number of controversial changes31)32)33)34) would cause Bluesky to fumble its way into relevance. Most notably, the AT Protocol still wasn't ready, so the damn 'instance' problem didn't even exist yet. | |
Notes
- Hypothetically, the Fediverse isn't designed for advertisements because instances are supposed to be small and people could just switch to a new instance,35) forcing networks to explore other revenues of monetization (e.g. crypto, seed funding, etc.). Of course, time will tell if this actually stays true, or if it eventually succumbs to ad creep and falls back into the whole enshittification cycle.
- I have a feeling that Bluesky could get away with introducing advertisements, but we'd have to see how the whole 'subscription' idea36) pans out, assuming it ever comes to fruition.
- The alt-tech platform Truth Social is a Mastodon fork37) using the Soapbox frontend,38) and its source code was made public after legal action was threatened.39) However, it can't be considered part of the Fediverse since it removes its decentralized aspects and later served advertisements.
- In 2024, the Meta Platforms service Threads, arguably an extension of Instagram, added ActivityPub support which naturally saw pushback in the form of the Anti-Meta Fedipact.
See also
- Bluesky (AT Protocol)
External links
- Fediverse Party - An overview page of the platforms, which has some useful links.
- Join the Fediverse - A small wiki about the Fediverse.
- Fediverse Observer - Long list of instances. I don't suggest using the closest server!
- Open Social - Neat blog post on why the Fediverse would be needed.
1)
The term 'Fediverse' is short for 'federated universe' (interconnected universe).
2)
"Victory for libre networks: ActivityPub is now a W3C recommended standard" (January 23, 2018). Free Software Foundation.
3)
Basically, this was meant to solve the issue of perceived censorship and privacy concerns.
4)
In other words, first impressions can mean a lot, so it's not going to sit well with people if your flagship has blatant server issues or turns people away at a pivotal moment. You can't afford to make basic mistakes when people have grown kinda pessimistic or skeptical after seeing so many 'proposed alternatives' falter.
5)
There is a difference between joining a platform for 'any subject' and joining a platform for a specific subject where you have a higher chance of finding people on the same wavelength as you, but results may vary.
6)
Do note that the unfiltered Fediverse has the same failings as a regular platform, so you have to check if *potentially unwanted content* is allowed, and weigh the effects of blocking an entire network of people as the instance owners can, unknowingly, end up separating people from their friends in the process.
7)
For some reason, there are instances that rename it to 'limit' (hide) and 'suspend' (block) instead.
8)
Some instances allow you to export your following or followers, but don't expect this to be a guarantee, plus the entire process can be a bit of a hassle when simply 'starting over' would be much easier.
9)
While it's 'relatively easy' to set up an instance, you'll eventually run into storage problems that can ramp up the cost of running an instance very quickly, along with the additional stress of managing an instance.
10)
"Why not use ActivityPub?". AT Protocol.
11)
"Decentralize the web with Diaspora" (April 23, 2010). Kickstarter.
12)
"Four Nerds and a Cry to Arms Against Facebook" (May 11, 2010). The New York Times.
13)
"The Search for the Anti-Facebook" (October 28, 2014). Slate.
14)
"Twitter To Introduce Algorithmic Timeline As Soon As Next Week" (February 5, 2016). BuzzFeed News.
15)
"Live and 'here to stay': CEO responds to 'RIP Twitter' outcry" (February 6, 2016). CTV News.
16)
"Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey denies timeline changes (sort of), talks #RIPTwitter" (February 6, 2016). Mashable.
17)
"#RIPTwitter: Social network goes into meltdown over timeline change" [Archive] (February 6, 2016). RT.
18)
"Never miss important Tweets from people you follow" (February 10, 2016). Twitter.
19)
"GNU Social, a FLOSS alternative to Twitter" (February 9, 2016). Y Combinator.
20)
"‘#RIPTwitter’ trends as users await site’s potential collapse" (November 17, 2022). The Hill.
21)
"#RIPTwitter is trending. Here’s how to download your Twitter archive" (November 18, 2022). CNBC.
23)
"Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter has translated into huge user growth — for upstart social media platforms like Mastodon and Tumblr, according to new data" (November 11, 2022). Business Insider.
24)
"Twitter’s living wake kicked off with Elon’s 5PM deadline" (November 17, 2022). The Verge.
25)
"If you don’t like Twitter anymore, there is awesome site called Masterbatedone" (November 7, 2022). Twitter.
26)
"Musk Deletes Tweet Calling Mastodon Social Platform 'Masterbatedone'" (November 7, 2022). Snopes.
27)
"Facing a Tide of Criticism, Elon Musk Is Tweeting Through It" (November 7, 2022). The New York Times.
28)
"Op-ed: Why the great #TwitterMigration didn’t quite pan out" (June 29, 2023). Ars Technica.
29)
"The Four Best Reddit Alternatives" (June 22, 2023). LifeHacker.
30)
"The Reddit app-pocalyse is here: Apollo, Sync, and BaconReader go dark" (June 30, 2023). The Verge.
32)
"X Will Soon Let Users See Tweets From People Who Block Them—The Controversial Change, Explained" (October 17, 2024). Forbes.
33)
"X is allowing people you’ve blocked to see your posts" (November 4, 2024). The Verge.
34)
"Elon Musk’s X is changing its privacy policy to allow third parties to train AI on your posts" (October 17, 2024). TechCrunch.
35)
It should be pointed out that most migration attempts struggle because people can be stubborn and dislike having to rebuild their social presence from the ground up, especially when discontent and panic is sowed every so often. Some people may accept this, but other people have careers that demand a social presence or they simply have friends who haven't budged yet, so it's not that simple.
36)
"Bluesky Announces Series A to Grow Network of 13M+ Users" (October 24, 2024). Bluesky.
37)
"Trump's new social media platform found using Mastodon code" (October 29, 2021). Join Mastodon.
38)
"Exclusive: Head of engineering for Trump’s Truth Social app resigns" (July 17, 2023). Reuters.
39)
"Trump's Social Media Site Quietly Admits It's Based on Mastodon" (December 1, 2021). PC Mag.
fediverse.txt · Last modified: by namelessrumia