A community dedicated to fediverse news and discussion.
Fediverse is a portmanteau of "federation" and "universe".
Getting started on Fediverse;
My entering the fediverse was through Mastodon (also akkoma), then i got into Pixelfed, lemmy, peertube. I regularly use the first three. But mostly mastodon and lemmy, as audiovisual production is not really my thing.
edit: I forgot about bookwyrm! I'm trying to read a lot and I use it to record my readings.
https://pixelfed.de/randombullet
I finally have a peaceful place to throw my favorite photos into without being buried under the algorithm.
I've gotten more organic followers here in a few weeks than I ever had on Instagram for 4 years.
Love the community and so many people cheering you on. I'm doing my part by following as many people back and also liking their stuff.
Just supported the project with a few €. He apparently collected 133.019 CA$. So the immediate future is looking good foglr that project (here aimed for 50.000).
Participations are still open for everyone who wants to support it: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pixelfed/pixelfed-foundation-2024-real-ethical-social-networks?ref=ksr_email_backer_pledge_collection_successful
Also don't forget to support the lemmy project!
You have some pretty cool posts actually :D
Thank you. I don't really like advertising it, but I also realize the more I advertise it, the more people will join.
I guess it really is one of those things... If what you post is cool, people would want to know about it, so you'd actually be doing them a favor by sharing!
I regularly use Mastodon, Pixelfed, Peertube, and Lemmy.
Lemmy and pixelfed
What do you think of Pixelfed? I hear it's kinda like Instagram, but how is the interop with the rest of the Fediverse?
you can follow pixelfed accounts from other fediverse issues with mostly not problems, you can comment and see comments from any service in the fediverse. That is: fediverse integration works as intended.
But Pixelfed is a social picture sharing application. You can follow a mastodon account, but pixelfed will only show you the media posts from the user, not the text ones (unless they're comments on a picture) for instance. As some other features mastodon posts have that pixelfed ones don't will not also work.
Conversely, you can follow a pixelfed account from mastodon, but most mastodon implementations don't support picture albums of over 4 pictures, you will not see over 4 pictures on the post.
That is working as intended though, they're different apps with different features, just talking the same language.
I see, I see... Thanks for the explanation, that's exactly what I wanted to know!
Currently I'm using wafrn and PieFed, but I've used misskey, Sharkey, goblin, akkoma (never tried pleroma), Mastodon (didn't like it), Lemmy, Kbin (didn't like it, so I haven't even tried to joing a mbin instance), bookwyrm and Friendica. And I may be forgetting something, but those are the Fediverse software I've used the most
I wanna try hubzilla or one of its forks, but I've heard they're a nightmare for mobile use.
I've learned about so many different federated services with this post, it's crazy...
What do you like about Wafrn?
Quite frankly, I feel like Misskey/Sharkey/Mastodon/Pleroma are basically the same. I mean, sure, they do have some differences, but it really doesn't matter. Maybe I'm missing something, but I'm very meh on all of those. I keep Mastodon, but that's it.
Also, thoughts on Piefed vs Lemmy? I've been getting a lot of feedback on that and I'm starting to get the impression Piefed has a lot of potential, maybe more than Lemmy. What do you think?
Wafrn: As of now it's the Tumblr-style microblog platform that it's closer in terms of content and energy to the original. Goblin has the pro that being a misskey fork has more app options, while wafrn only has only that for now it's in close beta (although I access it through the phone browser no issues), but Goblin seems more serious in its content and interactions (or at least that was my perception)
I think misskey and it's forkeys are it own thing in both terms of features and user base. Akkoma (can't speak about plain pleroma) and Mastodon are similar, but Mastodon has , how to say it, this issue where they spend years shitting on features half the Fediverse have to then add it and pretend they're doing something revolutionary. Also, I don't know why but all the Mastodon servers I've been have had limitations or outright forbid image uploading, telling you to instead open a pixelfed account; I've never seen someone like that even in the crappies key/oma instance. That not even mentioning the toxicity (much of it inherited from twitter during the migrations) that exist in Mastodon.
Piefed like that you can join or abandon communities by topic on piefed and that it ask you if you want to see content with certain topics. Lemmy has the advantage that it has more app options, but it's harder to filter content there and, at least on the server I was, half of the time the search gave no results. Tbh, I think we need a Lemmy fork because that's the only way the community it's ever getting all the user friendly changes it needs. The things that Lemmy lacks it lacks on purpose, there's an active decision to not have them. Different from kbin, I actually like Lemmy, but I agree that PieFed has a lot of potential and as of now haven't had any issues with it.
I'm really excited for the future of the Fediverse, with all these apps, but it's just too much...
I'm not advocating for anything, but some of these are definitely gonna get culled.
Having a variety of software from where to choose, even within the same type of platform is actually positive. These software, while similar — but not equal — in terms of UI are completely different in terms of userbase and culture.
Not all former twitter users gave twitter an usage that translates well into Mastodon culture. Instead they could be a better fit for misskey (although this one isn't 100% twitter-like) or pleroma. Or maybe the best for them is something smaller like GTS.
A neurodivergent person that needs to be able to quotepost because they find easy to process information that way is going to have a hard time in Mastodon where are not only now discussing adding the tool, but big part of its userbase reacts negatively to it. Again a Twitter-style fediverse microblogging platform that already has the tool, not only as a feature but ingrained in the culture might be a better fit for them.
Something similar occures with the link aggregators. Yes, they are "Reddit replacements", but they have different cultures, thus they target different kinds of former and in-the-process-of-leaving redditors.
The fediverse is to homogeneous, each particular protocol has its culture that's distinct from all others that make part of the Fediverse; each software using a given protocol has its culture that's distinct from the culture of all other software using the same protocol and each particular instance running a given software has its individual culture that distinguish itself from all other servers running the same software.
Culture and userbase behaviour are just or even more important than the list of features or the UI style when it comes to choose the best place for you on the Fediverse.
The Twitter-style fediverse microblogging platforms are all the same when you just focus on the design aspect and all you have used is Mastodon, but when you take into account culture, the way they behave and interact within themselves and with the wider fediverse...these platforms couldn't be more different from each other.
You say that some are "gonna get culled" but, with exception of projects that were dropped due to personal issues with the devs, but that all somehow live in the form of forks, the Fediverse is expanding and the diversity of platform types is getting greater each day. In fact, there are categories where more diversity of software is needed.
Culture and userbase behaviour are just or even more important than the list of features or the UI style when it comes to choose the best place for you on the Fediverse.
Well, I guess that's a factor. I haven't really experienced this, as someone that uses mostly Lemmy and Mastodon. I don't know, I'm speaking from a place of profound ignorance on that front.
You say that some are “gonna get culled” but, with exception of projects that were dropped due to personal issues with the devs, but that all somehow live in the form of forks, the Fediverse is expanding and the diversity of platform types is getting greater each day. In fact, there are categories where more diversity of software is needed.
Yeah I mean, if culture is the breaker then that's that, right? I was thinking pretty exclusively thru the lens of software, and I don't believe that there's enough granularity in use-cases to justify all these options, especially considering they are very much evolving, adding features, improving on several fronts... Intuitively, I think they'd be converging towards a feature niche. The Fediverse is growing, so it grows in every direction and in every way, but, as it matures, I'd expect it to grow narrower. Or... Spikier, since there are several niches... I don't know if spikier gets across what I mean, sorry about that.
If, as you say, there's a cultural aspect to using a certain software-base as opposed to another, then that's a whole other thing. Very interesting... I just hadn't thought of that.
A marketplace of apps is actually a good thing. Not everyone wants something based on Twitter (i.e. Mastodon, and similar). Not everyone wants Reddit (Lemmy, Mbin, etc.). Not everyone wants a traditional forum (NodeBB). Not everyone wants a blog (WordPress, Hubzilla, etc.). Not everyone wants Facebook (Friendica, Hubzilla, etc.).
One of the goals is to build increased compatibility between apps so that you can choose which experience you want, yet can still talk to anyone else on the fediverse. Some big players will certainly emerge, but I think that there will always be hundreds of compatible apps.
Maybe... I do see your point.
We never know what the future holds. But one of our goals is to decentralize social media. If we wind up with only a few major players, we have failed in that goal.
Well... Is that true, I wonder. Is that what decentralization means?
Software wise, these are open-source projects with strong community contribution. Just a few major players doesn't imply just a few major servers, so no one company or project can ever truly dominate.
Additionally, just the threat of forking could be enough of a deterrent for more authoritarian services not to implement anti-user features. Say Lemmy sells out or something; Lemmy.ml might turn bad, but that means nothing to .world or .ee or any other server. They can just... Not update. Not implement the bad features. Lemmy can just be forked. That's not like Twitter or Facebook.
Right?
I'm not a tech wizz or anything, but that's my understanding of the spiel of the thing of the stuff.
@gon Mainly Friendica, some Pixelfed.
I run several other services, though, just to keep up.
I've gotten a surprising amount of Friendica replies on these posts... I thought there would be way less.
Used to be kbin.social user , now just use lemmy (no mbin instance suits me , not joining instance named "moist cat sweat" euuughh) . Lemmy.world bcus it's the biggest therefour more staying power
I'm terribly sorry, but moist cat sweat is so funny I can't even begin to understand why you wouldn't want to join that.
Hubzilla
Oh... That's interesting. I think I've heard of it, but I don't know anything about it. A quick look-through makes it sound very interesting... I'll definitely check it out.
Do you have any suggestions on how to get started using hubzilla?
@gon [he] you could register at any of the public hubs. #^https://hub.hubzilla.de/ for example...
Thanks, I'll check it out :D
Primarily Lemmy and Mastodon to replace Reddit and Facebook respectively. Those are the only social media platforms I used extensively, really, anyway. And I'm hosting a Mobilizon instance to replace the lost event organizing of Facebook that moved to chat rooms on Signal for now.
...Mastodon to replace Facebook? Why not Friendica? Usually, Mastodon is framed more as a sort of Twitter.
I never used Twitter really because Facebook filled that need and more. I might eventually go to Friendica, or at least have considered it. Basically, at the time, I was looking for two kinds of communication/conversation. One topic based and one user based. The user based side has two parts, friends and content producers. Since i don't have many friends on the fediverse, that side isn't as easy to fulfill. Lemmy covers the topic based, and Mastodon covers the user based for content producers well. If I get more friends converted, I'd probably be more interested in Friendica.
Hmm, I see, makes sense. Whatever works for you!
mbin
Evidently!
Why Mbin, though?
I already liked kbin. The general look/feel and structure was more appealing then lemmy or mastodon.
Not sure if I stay but I made accounts all over and will continue I think, until a "winner" builds up.
The whole fediverse is pretty cluttered to be honest.
The whole fediverse is pretty cluttered to be honest.
Truer things have been said, but not many.
There's so many different services with similar features... The amount of Mastodon-like things is just overwhelming. The threadiverse is also a little hard to wrap one's head around.
I am coming from a time when IRC, Gopher, usenet etc. was all we had. Then suddenly the www was the latest and the greatest.
So the fediverse gives me old days vibes.
But when you come from the time of centralized services it has a really existing threshold until you feel comfortable with it.
I hope that the federation of the different services will go and in the end we have a centralized access that collects and presents it in a streamlined way.
Still a way to go but lemmy, mbin etc. already are on a good way. Still my statement is valid, unfortunate.