Fediverse: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:13, 19 November 2024

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Fediverse logo

	Fediverse
Website	no official website
Official instance	none
Users	10.9M (Nov '24)
Monthly active users	1M (Nov '24)

The Fediverse is a giant decentralized or "federated" network of social media services owned and moderated by the people, consisting of mostly free software.
There are platforms for microblogging, blogging, photoblogging, videohosting and much more and they are all interconnected.
So you only need one account to follow users on any of the platforms.

Imagine

Imagine Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & Co were all part of one giant network. That's basically what the Fediverse is, except the parts are less well known, free software & federated replacements to those.

In the Fediverse you can use your "Twitter" account to interact with "Facebook" users, share "Instagram" posts, comment under "Youtube" videos, listen to "Bandcamp" music, follow "Blogger" blogs, take part in "Reddit" discussions and more.

How does it compare to traditional social media?

Features

The Fediverse and its projects let you make your own social media part of a bigger network.

It has many advantages over traditional social media like Twitter and Instagram. Due to its decentralized nature it's possible to create circles of more tiny social media with users to hang out with. Hosting your own instance lets you make your own rules. Most instance owners maintain an instance with their own money for the sake of having their own platform and not for making money from you by serving ads as an example.

The Fediverse innovates on what has worked before and adds many new features. A commonly supported feature is custom emojis. Similarly to Discord, it lets administrators add their own (even animated) emoji. The Fediverse also lets you decide who gets to see your posts: with so called scopes, you can decide whether only the users you mention, your followers or the public gets to see them.

Morals

Traditional social media is neither social nor media. It is not made for you, it is made to exploit you and it is full of misleading ads and fake news.
This is because the aim of traditional social media is to make a whole lot of money.
The aim of the Fediverse is to benefit the people.
The aim of traditional social media is to control and steer the users.
The aim of the Fediverse is to empower the users to control the Fediverse.

Downsides

Compared to traditional social media there are also some downsides:

The Fediverse has a much smaller user base than other platforms, so if you're primarily looking for a wide audience then it might not be for you.
Not all Fediverse projects are at the same stage of development and some important functions one projects has, the other might still be missing.
Fediverse projects and instances are run by volunteers with not a lot of money behind them. Worst case: A project might no longer be maintained or an instance might close.
There are some instances that allow hate-speech, fake news or worse. Make sure you don't end up on one of them.

Warning

The internet doesn't forget, but compared to central social media, ❗️the Fediverse can't forget❗️. On a central platform it is generally possible to delete a post or media file, but on decentral social media you can only delete stuff on one server. Some other servers will delete it as well, but it is possible that some servers don't delete it. You should be aware of this before posting anything that could be problematic.

Terminology

Your account or identity has a unique address called a handle and is hosted on one of the many servers, also called instances.
An instance is basically a small social network hosted on one server. Each instance can have its own set of rules as for what content is allowed. You can also host your own instance. Each instance runs one software.
The software used on an instance is essential for the user experience and possibilities.
Many software projects use the same protocol which enables instances to communicate with each other. Most software projects use Activity Pub. Some projects might not have full federation with other projects yet.
The Fediverse (federated universe) is the sum of all accounts, on all instances using any software, communicating with any protocol.
The Fediverse includes more than just social media projects. Any software that federates using one of the protocols is part of the Fediverse.
@PaulaToThePeople@ClimateJustice.social is an example for a handle. ClimateJustice.social is the instance the account is on. The software it uses is Mastodon. Thanks to the ActivityPub protocol it can follow accounts on other instances that use e.g. Mastodon, GNU Social or Pixelfed software.

Account creation

Main article: Account creation

If you just want to get to know the Fediverse experience you can start by creating a profile on mastodon.social or mastodon.online.
You can later move instances or create accounts on different instances and projects.
For more info on finding the right instance and creating an account click the link above.

External Links

Main article: Fediverse weblinks

Fediverse Guides

The Fediverse: the distributed social network
Guide to the Fediverse
DE: Fediverse – So geht gutes Social Media
DE: Das Fediverse
DE: Das Fediverse – die bessere Social-Media-Welt? DE: Yet another Fediverse FAQ

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About the Fediverse
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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:Fediverse logo.png|thumb|Fediverse logo]]
+<languages/>
-The Fediverse is a giant Network of Social Media Platforms.
+{{Infobox Fediverse}}
+<translate>
+<!--T:1-->
+The Fediverse is a giant decentralized or "federated" network of social media services owned and moderated by the people, consisting of mostly free software.  <br>
+There are platforms for microblogging, blogging, photoblogging, videohosting and much more and they are all interconnected.<br>
+So you only need one account to follow users on any of the platforms.
-== Imagine ==
+== Imagine == <!--T:2-->
-Imagine Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & Co were all part of one giant network. That's basically what the Fediverse is, except the parts are less well known, free software & federated replacements to those.
+<!--T:3-->
+Imagine Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & Co were all part of one giant network. That's basically what the Fediverse is, except the parts are less well known, {{Internal link|target=free software}} & federated replacements to those.
-In the Fediverse you can use your "Twitter" account to interact with "Facebook" users, share "Instagram" posts, comment under "Youtube" videos, listen to "Bandcamp" music, follow "Wordpress" blogs, take part in "reddit" discussions and more.
+<!--T:4-->
+In the Fediverse you can use your "Twitter" account to interact with "Facebook" users, share "Instagram" posts, comment under "Youtube" videos, listen to "Bandcamp" music, follow "Blogger" blogs, take part in "Reddit" discussions and more.
-== How does it compare to traditional Social Media? ==
+== How does it compare to traditional social media? == <!--T:5-->
-Traditional Social Media is neither social nor media. Meaning it's not made for you, it's made to exploit you and it's full of misleading ads and fake news. <br>
+==== Features ==== <!--T:6-->
-That is because the aim of traditional Social Media is to make a whole lot of money. <br>
-The aim of the Fediverse is to benefit the people. <br>
-The aim of traditional Social Media is to control and steer the users. <br>
-The aim of the Fediverse is to empower the users to control the Fediverse.
-== Terminology==
+<!--T:7-->
+The Fediverse and its projects let you make your own social media part of a bigger network.
-* An '''identity''' is basically your profile. It has a unique address and is hosted on one of the many servers, also called instances.
+<!--T:8-->
-* An '''instance''' is basically a small social network hosted on one server. Each instance can have it's own set of rules as for what content is allowed. You can also host your own instance. Each instance runs one software.
+It has many advantages over traditional social media like Twitter and Instagram. Due to its decentralized nature it's possible to create circles of more tiny social media with users to hang out with. Hosting your own instance lets you make your own rules. Most instance owners maintain an instance with their own money for the sake of having their own platform and not for making money from you by serving ads as an example.
-* The '''software''' used on an instance is essential for the user experience and possibilities.
-* Many software projects use the same '''protocol''' which enables instances to communicate with each other. Most software projects use Activity Pub. Some projects might not have full federation with other pojects yet.
-* The '''Fediverse''' (federated universe) is the sum of all '''identities''', on all '''instances''' using any '''software''', communicating with any '''protocol'''. <br> To be exact the Fediverse doesn't even include just Social Media projects. Any software that federates using one of the protocols is part f the Fediverse.
-* an example for an identity is [https://climatejustice.social/@PaulaToThePeople @PaulaToThePeople@ClimateJustice.social]. [https://climatejustice.social/ ClimateJustice.social] is the instance the identity is on. The software it uses is Mastodon. Thanks to the ActivityPub protocol it can follow identities on other instances that use e.g. Mastodon, GNU Social or Pixelfed software.
-== What are Fediverse software projects? ==
+<!--T:9-->
+The Fediverse innovates on what has worked before and adds many new features. A commonly supported feature is custom emojis. Similarly to Discord, it lets administrators add their own (even animated) emoji. The Fediverse also lets you decide who gets to see your posts: with so called scopes, you can decide whether only the users you mention, your followers or the public gets to see them.
-Fediverse projects are the different software parts of the Fediverse. Many of them are replacements for more well known Social Media platforms. <br>
+==== Morals ==== <!--T:10-->
-See below which software emulates which other Social Media platform:
-{| class="wikitable"
+<!--T:11-->
-|
+Traditional social media is neither social nor media. It is not made for you, it is made to exploit you and it is full of misleading ads and fake news. <br>
-! classic Social Media
+This is because the aim of traditional social media is to make a whole lot of money. <br>
-! Fediverse replacement
+The aim of the Fediverse is to benefit the people. <br>
-|-
+The aim of traditional social media is to control and steer the users. <br>
-! microblogging
+The aim of the Fediverse is to empower the users to control the Fediverse.
-|Twitter
-|[[What is Mastodon? | Mastodon]], [[What is Ecko? | Ecko]], [[What is Pleroma? | Pleroma]], [[What is GNU Social? | GNU Social]], [[What is Misskey? | Misskey]]
-|-
-!Social network
-|Facebook
-|[[What is Friendica? | Friendica]], [[What is Diaspora? | Diaspora]]
-|-
-!Events & Groups
-|Facebook
-|[[What is Mobilizon? | Mobilizon]]
-|-
-!photoblogging
-|Instagram
-|[[What is Pixelfed? | Pixelfed]]
-|-
-!videohosting
-|Youtube
-|[[What is Peertube? | Peertube]]
-|-
-!(macro)blogging
-|Blogger
-|[[What is write freely? | write freely]], [[What is Plume? | Plume]], (Wordpress)
-|-
-!Book cataloguing
-|Goodreads
-|[[What is Bookwyrm? | Bookwyrm]]
-|-
-!audiohosting
-|Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, ...
-|[[What is Funkwhale? | Funkwhale]]
-|-
-!forum
-|reddit
-|[[What is lemmy? | lemmy]]
-|}
-== 3 things you should know about the Fediverse ==
+==== Downsides ==== <!--T:23-->
-What most people will tell you about the Fediverse is that it's free software, federated and free from adds, spying and so on.
+<!--T:24-->
-But what does that mean.
+Compared to traditional social media there are also some downsides:
-=== Federation ===
+<!--T:25-->
+* The Fediverse has a much smaller user base than other platforms, so if you're primarily looking for a wide audience then it might not be for you.
+* Not all Fediverse projects are at the same stage of development and some important functions one projects has, the other might still be missing.
+* Fediverse projects and instances are run by volunteers with not a lot of money behind them. Worst case: A project might no longer be maintained or an instance might close.
+* There are some instances that allow hate-speech, fake news or worse. Make sure you don't end up on one of them.
-'''The email allegory:'''
+====Warning==== <!--T:26-->
-Everybody knows you don't need to use the same email provider to communicate via email.
+<!--T:27-->
-You can send a mail from riseup.net to gmail.com and the other way around.
+The internet doesn't forget, but compared to central social media, {{Warning small|the Fediverse ''can't'' forget}}. On a central platform it is generally possible to delete a post or media file, but on decentral social media you can only delete stuff on one server. Some other servers will delete it as well, but it is possible that some servers don't delete it. You should be aware of this before posting anything that could be problematic.
-That's about the same way that "federation" in the Fediverse works.
-Federation just means that different or decentral servers or instances can communicate with each other via a protocol.
-Just like email uses POP, IMAP or SMTP protocols for federation, the Fediverse uses mostly ActivityPub.
-=== Free Software ===
+== Terminology== <!--T:12-->
-All of the software used in the Fediverse is Free Software.
+<!--T:13-->
+* Your '''account''' or '''identity''' has a unique address called a '''handle''' and is hosted on one of the many servers, also called instances.
+* An '''instance''' is basically a small social network hosted on one server. Each instance can have its own set of rules as for what content is allowed. You can also host your own instance. Each instance runs one software.
+* The '''software''' used on an instance is essential for the user experience and possibilities.
+* Many software projects use the same '''protocol''' which enables instances to communicate with each other. Most software projects use Activity Pub. Some projects might not have full federation with other projects yet.
+* The '''Fediverse''' (federated universe) is the sum of all '''accounts''', on all '''instances''' using any '''software''', communicating with any '''protocol'''. <br> The Fediverse includes more than just social media projects. Any software that federates using one of the protocols is part of the Fediverse.
+* [https://climatejustice.social/@PaulaToThePeople @PaulaToThePeople@ClimateJustice.social] is an example for a handle. [https://climatejustice.social/ ClimateJustice.social] is the instance the account is on. The software it uses is Mastodon. Thanks to the ActivityPub protocol it can follow accounts on other instances that use e.g. Mastodon, GNU Social or Pixelfed software.
-Free Software is software that follows the 4 freedoms defined by the FSF:
+<!--T:14-->
+== Account creation ==
+''Main article: {{Internal link|target=Account creation|link-name=Account creation}}''
-* Freedom 0: The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose.
+<!--T:15-->
-* Freedom 1: The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
+If you just want to get to know the Fediverse experience you can start by creating a profile on [https://mastodon.social mastodon.social] or [https://mastodon.online mastodon.online].<br>
-* Freedom 2: The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor.
+You can later {{Internal link|target=Moving instances|link-name=move instances}} or create accounts on different instances and projects.<br>
-* Freedom 3: The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others. By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
+For more info on finding the right instance and creating an account click the link above.<br>
-If you yourself can't read or write code, so you can't study, change and distribute the program, you still have some advantages. You can trust the program, because other people studied the code to make sure it does (only) what it's supposed to do. You can request a feature to the developers and if the community deems that feature a good idea it will often be adopted.
-=== No spying, no ads, no algorithm, no shadowbanning, ... ===
-The Fediverse runs on donations, not on selling your data, so there are no targeted ads, there are no ads at all. <br>
-What you see on the Fediverse only depends on who you follow, not on algorithms or shadowbanning.
-== Further Reading ==
-[[How do I get an account?]] <br>
-[[Getting started with your Fediverse account]] <br>
-[[Best practices]] <br>
-[[Fediverse]] - the advanced page on the Fediverse
+== Further Reading == <!--T:28-->
+</translate>
+{{Getting started links}}
+<translate>
+<!--T:29-->
 == External Links ==
+''Main article: {{Internal link|target=Fediverse weblinks|link-name=Fediverse weblinks}}''
-[https://fediverse.town/ Fediverse Town] The forum for questions about the Fediverse
+<!--T:20-->
+'''Fediverse Guides'''
-==== Fediverse Guides ====
+<!--T:21-->
 [https://kambing.neocities.org/pages/fediverse/ The Fediverse: the distributed social network] <br>
 [https://torresjrjr.com/archive/2020-07-19-guide-to-the-fediverse Guide to the Fediverse] <br>
 DE: [https://digitalcourage.de/digitale-selbstverteidigung/fediverse Fediverse – So geht gutes Social Media] <br>
 DE: [https://schwarzerpfeil.de/2021/02/10/das-fediverse/ Das Fediverse] <br>
+DE: [https://mobilsicher.de/ratgeber/das-fediverse-die-bessere-social-media-welt Das Fediverse – die bessere Social-Media-Welt?]
+DE: [https://fschaar.de/yet-another-fediverse-faq/ Yet another Fediverse FAQ]
+</translate>
-[[Category:What is]]
+{{Category |category=Fediverse}}
-[[Category:Fediverse]]
+{{Navbar}}
-[[Category:Beginners guide]]