River Mesa
Ciel the Cozy Goth PrinceRandom Masto thought: I see a lot of people try to replace "instance" with different, non-technological metaphors to try to explain it, but honestly, the term I've had the most success with is "server", especially with people used to playing stuff like Minecraft where it's common for people to run their own servers for online multiplayer. I've never read up on the technicals enough to know if this is exactly correct, but.
æon 
@skysailor it is 100% correct
Notorious G.A.Y.@skysailor i think node is a more apt term from a technical perspective but servers are what ive been calling them around my friends
instances in my experience usually are temporary.
Lord Guysbert de Fieri 
@NotoriousGAY @skysailor OOH, that's it!! I've been trying to pinpoint why "instance" sounds off for ages, that's exactly why
val@skysailor It is technically correct.
Of course it could be nitpicked (eg. big instances like mastodon.social actually run more than one server behind the scene), but it's perfectly fine from a user perspective
Of course it could be nitpicked (eg. big instances like mastodon.social actually run more than one server behind the scene), but it's perfectly fine from a user perspective
Mr. Matt 
@skysailor I can make an MMO analogy.
Each instance is an MMO server where you interact with people on said server. However you can still chat with people on other servers freely.
Flan99@matt @skysailor I don't know if that's a great analogy, since some MMOs don't let you interact with other servers at all.
@Flan99 @skysailor then those MMOs aren't worth playing! When I played Everquest, being able to chat with people on other servers kept the community cohesive.
@matt @skysailor Dammit man don't make me miss EQ even more ;.;
djtrindle@skysailor I like the metaphor of “neighborhood,” because it makes the way the Local and Federated timelines work suddenly transparent and intuitive.
djabawho?@skysailor
Completely agreed. It still gets messy when explaining there's different software on the fediverse and not just mastodon... and that you can use quite a few apps etc.
Completely agreed. It still gets messy when explaining there's different software on the fediverse and not just mastodon... and that you can use quite a few apps etc.
Ciel, also called Sky (@[email protected])
11.1K Toots, 88 Following, 84 Followers · Gothy writer type with a fondness for writing, games, anime and langs. Probably a furry. Bi/allo/poly/kinky genderqueer bishounen. He/him/his.
hdante@skysailor kingdom
Jake Rodkin@skysailor I think that’s the simplest word too, and it’s often what I use now too. The only downside is that some people see it as an island, so you have to explain “but it’s also connected to the other ones.” I end up using server as the noun and “neighborhood” as the analogy.
infinite love ⴳ@ja2ke @skysailor i think "site" is the simplest term you could use while still being correct. these are all web sites talking to each other using web technologies. yeah, a server is doing that, but yknow.
Cameron Brown@skysailor agree, I feel like “server” is the inevitable word, and it’s close enough to right!
@skysailor We spent a lot of time early on using game server terminology but it didn't pan out as universally accessible enough concepts.
Katrani Merack@InspectorCaracal @skysailor huh, that's vaguely surprising. Seems liked it's be at least adjacent-ish to enough people to work.
@katrani @skysailor 
People complained about it, at least. I was supporting using server load style indicators to mark sites on joinmastodon by population and Eugen was trying to do it but I guess that got shot down
People complained about it, at least. I was supporting using server load style indicators to mark sites on joinmastodon by population and Eugen was trying to do it but I guess that got shot down
CM Harrington@skysailor fwiw/data point: I've done exactly that when trying to talk about it with folks. They seem to get it pretty easily. I even do the mental translation from instance to 'server'.
warburtonstoryaddict@skysailor I think that's pretty close. For another example, Overwatch often says "reinstancing" when searching for games.
Lj@skysailor I would say that instance is used because you can run several instances on one server. Although typically it would be 1 instance = 1 server
From the other viewpoint one instance can be run from several servers. Instance becomes logical/conceptual term rather than physical.
From the other viewpoint one instance can be run from several servers. Instance becomes logical/conceptual term rather than physical.
Robert Headley@skysailor I feel like instance is a pretty natural term for anyone who has ever played Diablo or many MMOs.