GreenFediverse: Difference between revisions

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[https://chaos.social/@greenfediverse GreenFediverse] is an open project to empower the [[Fediverse]] to run on servers with renewable energy and creating awareness for a sustainable development of it. GreenFediverse provides a critical list about servers and their renewable energy consumption status in a [https://greenfediverse.frama.io/green-instances/ Green Instances List]
[https://chaos.social/@greenfediverse GreenFediverse] is an open project to empower the [[Fediverse]] to run on servers with renewable energy and creating awareness for a sustainable development of it. GreenFediverse provides a critical list about servers and their renewable energy consumption status in a [https://greenfediverse.frama.io/green-instances/ Green Instances List]
''A brief history:''


'''A brief history:'''
'''A brief history:'''
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The project emerged from discussions in Fediverse. The conversations were about digitization, environmental sustainability of social networks, data centers and energy consumption. It started in 03/2019 with the mastodon-account: [https://chaos.social/@greenfediverse GreenFediverse]. In the beginning the community around the project created some manually edited lists: [https://lite.framacalc.org/greenfediverse-instances Old Instances List] and a [https://lite.framacalc.org/green-webhosting Green Webhoster List]. In 2020 [https://mastodon.social/@attac_hl @attac_hl] worked on the technical realization of a [https://greenfediverse.frama.io/green-instances/ new Green Instances List] and combined the databases from <nowiki>http://sp3r4z.fr/mastodon</nowiki> (dead link) and the [https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/green-web-feed/ GreenWebFoundation]. You can find the code in the [https://framagit.org/greenfediverse repository] of the project. In 2021 and thanks to [https://digitalcourage.social/@aligyie @aligyie], a new subjective [https://lite.framacalc.org/green-webhost-ranking Green Webhost Ranking] was created. In May, the project updated the list of green instances and the information collected by the community about various web hosts.
The project emerged from discussions in Fediverse. The conversations were about digitization, environmental sustainability of social networks, data centers and energy consumption. It started in 03/2019 with the mastodon-account: [https://chaos.social/@greenfediverse GreenFediverse]. In the beginning the community around the project created some manually edited lists: [https://lite.framacalc.org/greenfediverse-instances Old Instances List] and a [https://lite.framacalc.org/green-webhosting Green Webhoster List]. In 2020 [https://mastodon.social/@attac_hl @attac_hl] worked on the technical realization of a [https://greenfediverse.frama.io/green-instances/ new Green Instances List] and combined the databases from <nowiki>http://sp3r4z.fr/mastodon</nowiki> (dead link) and the [https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/green-web-feed/ GreenWebFoundation]. You can find the code in the [https://framagit.org/greenfediverse repository] of the project. In 2021 and thanks to [https://digitalcourage.social/@aligyie @aligyie], a new subjective [https://lite.framacalc.org/green-webhost-ranking Green Webhost Ranking] was created. In May, the project updated the list of green instances and the information collected by the community about various web hosts.
''Why are we doing this?''


'''Why are we doing this?'''
'''Why are we doing this?'''
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'''1. Collision of open databases: There are two open databases we work with:'''
'''1. Collision of open databases: There are two open databases we work with:'''


<u>Database 1:</u> [https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/ The GreenWebFoundation]'s open database, the "Green Web API" [https://github.com/thegreenwebfoundation on github] works in such a way that it outputs the "Green" status of a website. This is done by the GreenWebFoundation first using various machine-verifiable methods to determine the domain names, IP addresses or the [[wikipedia:Autonomous_system_(Internet)|autonomous system number]]. (This can then also be, for example, an instance / a server in the [[Fediverse]]) In addition, the GreenWebFoundation has built an independent certificate database, where operators of websites or web hosts, which can not be automated-machine recorded, can register - take a look at the [https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/what-you-need-to-register/ registration-process].  There, a "proof" in the form of a certificate can then be provided, i.e. a [https://api.thegreenwebfoundation.org/greencheckimage/joinfediverse.wiki?nocache=true badge] can be acquired. These registered servers and services can then be labeled, i.e. provided with the information that they operate with renewable energy or not. Website addresses can be queried in the front end via a "[https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/green-web-check/ Green Web Check]" search mask or via the API. Whether a "green" entry exists here, the API then outputs as a status result with "green" or "gray". More information about the functionality of this API can be found [https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/news/introducing-the-green-web-foundation-partner-api/ here].
<u>Database 1:</u> [https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/ The GreenWebFoundation]'s open database, the "Green Web API" [https://github.com/thegreenwebfoundation on github] works in such a way that it outputs the "Green" status of a website. This is done by the GreenWebFoundation first using various machine-verifiable methods to determine the domain names, IP addresses or the [[wikipedia:Autonomous_system_(Internet)|autonomous system number]]. (This can then also be, for example, an instance / a server in the [[Fediverse]]) In addition, the GreenWebFoundation has built an independent certificate database, where operators of websites or web hosts, which can not be automated-machine recorded, can register - take a look at the [https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/what-you-need-to-register/ registration-process].  There, a "proof" in the form of a certificate can then be provided, i.e. a [https://api.thegreenwebfoundation.org/greencheckimage/joinfediverse.wiki?nocache=true badge] can be acquired. These registered servers and services can then be labeled, i.e. provided with the information that they operate with renewable energy or not. Website addresses can be queried in the front end via a "[https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/green-web-check/ Green Web Check]" search mask or via the API. Whether a "green" entry exists here, the API then outputs as a status result with "green" or "gray". More information about the functionality of this API can be found [https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/news/introducing-the-green-web-foundation-partner-api/ here]. We can still use the open GreenWebFoundation API and their dataset to let the databases collide with each other. "The Green Web Foundation is a recognized not-for-profit organization registered in the Netherlands, that is run by a small group of dedicated volunteers located in Germany and The Netherlands." "Our strategy is simple: we use the existing protocols of the internet to understand where infrastructure is run, when we speak to the people running it to see how they power it. We then make these answers easy to look up, providing free online tools, APIs and open datasets, and helping people incorporate this information into their own services and analysis."[https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/our-story/ <nowiki>[citation]</nowiki>]


<u>Database 2:</u> Another database we use is that of [https://the-federation.info/ the-federation],  (also on [https://socialhome.network/u/thefederation socialhome] and [https://github.com/thefederationinfo/the-federation.info github]). Using the API, which is also open, we get a list of all connected and [https://the-federation.info/info here registered] instances of the Fediverse. A single instance offer us more information with the "/nodeinfo/2.0", (e.g. https://chaos.social/nodeinfo/2.0). Here we get, for example, what "software" (Mastodon, Peertube, etc.) is used on an instance.
<u>Database 2:</u> Another database we use is that of [https://the-federation.info/ the-federation],  (also on [https://socialhome.network/u/thefederation socialhome] and [https://github.com/thefederationinfo/the-federation.info github]). Using the API, which is also open, we get a list of all connected and [https://the-federation.info/info here registered] instances of the Fediverse. A single instance offer us more information with the "/nodeinfo/2.0", (e.g. https://chaos.social/nodeinfo/2.0). Here we get, for example, what "software" (Mastodon, Peertube, etc.) is used on an instance.
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Then we let these two databases collide with each other. The script we wrote, which you can find on [https://framagit.org/greenfediverse/green-instances framagit] and [https://codeberg.org/GreenFediverse/green-instances codeberg] then executes the command to green check all instances and provide the information we want to get in a list. The result of this collision is our [https://greenfediverse.frama.io/green-instances Green Instances List].
Then we let these two databases collide with each other. The script we wrote, which you can find on [https://framagit.org/greenfediverse/green-instances framagit] and [https://codeberg.org/GreenFediverse/green-instances codeberg] then executes the command to green check all instances and provide the information we want to get in a list. The result of this collision is our [https://greenfediverse.frama.io/green-instances Green Instances List].




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While building up our own database we would like to get more knowledge by critical research and make it available to everyone. This concerns quite concretely the knowledge about the energy use of server operators and enterprises. Through our script we already receive a first status of all registered Fediverse instances from the GreenWebFoundation. However, since we had to realize that not all companies and server operators are transparent with a statement about the use of renewable energy and partly even do greenwashing, we would like to complement this status with a qualitative and transparent research. This information gathered by the community will be collected for each server operator and added to the list. For this purpose [https://digitalcourage.social/@aligyie nieebel] already collected a lot of information and put it together in a [https://lite.framacalc.org/green-webhost-ranking ranking]. This information about the use of renewable energy is also collected [https://framagit.org/greenfediverse/green-instances/-/tree/master/additional-info here]: in separate .md - files. In these text files the collective research is written in text, offer links to information pages and certificate files. Categorized as "additional infos", "rejectlist" or as "whitelist", will then be added to the Green Instances List under "background information" and will be viewable. Servers marked as "rejected" are those that, based on our research, are contrary to the GreenWebFoundation's view/status. Since a rating "devaluation" comes into play here, the scope of the collected information is decisive. Because server operators who claim to use renewable energies, but at the same time and by other means invest in fossil energies, cannot in our view make an ecologically sustainable contribution and are destroying their acquired status themselves - we do this in order to bring more reality, transparency and quality into play. more simply: unfortunately, we have to remain suspicious. Finally, we refrain from an exact and hardly realizable rating, because a lot of factors have to be considered and cannot be read out technically yet. Maybe our collected information can thus lead to a more conscious decision when choosing a server - in the hope that in the future no one will use servers that are powered by harmful generated energy.
While building up our own database we would like to get more knowledge by critical research and make it available to everyone. This concerns quite concretely the knowledge about the energy use of server operators and enterprises. Through our script we already receive a first status of all registered Fediverse instances from the GreenWebFoundation. However, since we had to realize that not all companies and server operators are transparent with a statement about the use of renewable energy and partly even do greenwashing, we would like to complement this status with a qualitative and transparent research. This information gathered by the community will be collected for each server operator and added to the list. For this purpose [https://digitalcourage.social/@aligyie nieebel] already collected a lot of information and put it together in a [https://lite.framacalc.org/green-webhost-ranking ranking]. This information about the use of renewable energy is also collected [https://framagit.org/greenfediverse/green-instances/-/tree/master/additional-info here]: in separate .md - files. In these text files the collective research is written in text, offer links to information pages and certificate files. Categorized as "additional infos", "rejectlist" or as "whitelist", will then be added to the Green Instances List under "background information" and will be viewable. Servers marked as "rejected" are those that, based on our research, are contrary to the GreenWebFoundation's view/status. Since a rating "devaluation" comes into play here, the scope of the collected information is decisive. Because server operators who claim to use renewable energies, but at the same time and by other means invest in fossil energies, cannot in our view make an ecologically sustainable contribution and are destroying their acquired status themselves - we do this in order to bring more reality, transparency and quality into play. more simply: unfortunately, we have to remain suspicious. Finally, we refrain from an exact and hardly realizable rating, because a lot of factors have to be considered and cannot be read out technically yet. Maybe our collected information can thus lead to a more conscious decision when choosing a server - in the hope that in the future no one will use servers that are powered by harmful generated energy.
We can still use the open GreenWebFoundation API and their dataset to let the databases collide with each other. "The Green Web Foundation is a recognized not-for-profit organization registered in the Netherlands, that is run by a small group of dedicated volunteers located in Germany and The Netherlands." "Our strategy is simple: we use the existing protocols of the internet to understand where infrastructure is run, when we speak to the people running it to see how they power it. We then make these answers easy to look up, providing free online tools, APIs and open datasets, and helping people incorporate this information into their own services and analysis."


You can use and implement the script of our list as you like - feel free to experiment with it.
You can use and implement the script of our list as you like - feel free to experiment with it.