Mastodawn

CathyD Dec 23, 2022

Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦

A kind observation that exclusively calling this place "Mastodon" has a bit similar energy as saying "I just sent a GMail."

"Fediverse" (or "fedi") is a more inclusive, general term.

Mastodon is just one of many software projects that talk to each other to create this multi-instance social network:
https://axbom.com/fediverse/

(kudos to @axbom for this fantastic infographic!)

There are blogs, Reddit-like communities, video instances and many more, all part of fedi.

#TwitterMigration #NewHere

The many branches of the Fediverse

As more and more people are asking me about Mastodon I felt a need for a picture to point at, showcasing how the software known as Mastodon fits into the much larger concept of the Fediverse. I made this infographic to help myself and others explain the many different use-cases

Axbom • My Next Heartbeat

TheNurseIsIn Dec 20, 2022

@rysiek @axbom this is an excellent infographic.

BarneyRCN🇨🇦⚓️🎓Dec 20, 2022

@rysiek @axbom Learn something every day here on “Fedi”. Thanks for the info!

Karl Morant 🇨🇦

🖖Dec 20, 2022

I like being on Mastodon.

That works for me.

Per Axbom Dec 20, 2022

Which feels fine. It’s just nice to be aware one can’t assume everyone one talks to ’on Mastodon’ is also on Mastodon.

While I’m using Mastodon I’ve met people here who are on Friendica, Misskey, Calckey and Pleroma. Likely others as well without me knowing. 😄

Tokyo Outsider (337ppm)Dec 20, 2022

@axbom @karlmorant @rysiek I think people will figure this out with time. Right now, with everything that's going on, it's already enough of a challenge for some to adapt to having more than one server. Referring to all the different services and how they connect together will make it seem complex. Some people do call it the fediverse, too. The language will evolve organically. There's no need for people on the Fediverse to keep telling people new to the Fediverse they're doing everything wrong

Sarah W Dec 20, 2022

@tokyo_0 well said

Nols Dec 20, 2022

@tokyo_0 @axbom @karlmorant @rysiek spot on, I agree

Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦Dec 20, 2022

@tokyo_0 well I take your point, and I did try to phrase it in a way that is not scolding. I'll try better next time.

It's not about telling people "they're doing it wrong", it's about showing them that once they're here they have *so many more options* available to them, not just this one microblogging type thingy.

@axbom @karlmorant

nohhue Dec 20, 2022

@rysiek Except, most are here for the Microblogging. For better or worse, ActivityPub/Fediverse is only being seen *DUE TO* Mastodon.

Just looking at your image, the only other two I know of is the Facebook clone/Friendica and BookWrym/Goodreads clone and only due to @feditips

I get what you're going for, but most Twitter "migrants" are here for the Twitter-alike, not the ActivityPub itself.

Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦Dec 20, 2022

> I get what you're going for, but most Twitter "migrants" are here for the Twitter-alike, not the ActivityPub itself.

Come for the twitter-like, stay for all the other amazing stuff. Let's not limit ourselves to what one Silicon Valley startup happened to come up with.

chuls Dec 20, 2022

@rysiek @tokyo_0 @axbom @karlmorant > It's not about telling people "they're doing it wrong", it's about showing them that once they're here they have *so many more options* available to them, not just this one microblogging type thingy.

I, for one, am still wrapping my mind around this and honestly don't quite understand the connection. Thanks for the ongoing info though. I hope I'll figure it out 😅

Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦Dec 20, 2022

@chuls you will, no rush.

@tokyo_0 @axbom @karlmorant

AutisticTeacherGriff Dec 20, 2022

@rysiek @tokyo_0 @axbom @karlmorant what you posted, while informative, is also overwhelming. I don’t see myself using most of that. I’m here because the bird site imploded, and I’m looking for a place that can give me a similar or better experience. That does not mean I need or want replacements for all the other stuff I use, at least not yet.

Hand Pie Dec 20, 2022

@TeacherGriff @rysiek @tokyo_0 @axbom @karlmorant I also don't get it. I'm not going to see book reviews or photo albums on my Mastodon account, even if they can theoretically communicate. I also don't want to. So what's the benefit? Is it that, having learned how to shift from Twitter to Mastodon, you can then shift from Instagram to the Fediverse equivalent following the same principles, without the same learning curve?

Measi Dec 20, 2022

@tokyo_0 @axbom @karlmorant @rysiek thank you. The constant scolding just reeks of “we’re better than you” vibes and is so off-putting.

Heather 💾Dec 25, 2022

@karlmorant @rysiek @axbom @Measi @tokyo_0 If they were actually scolding you they'd tell you to RTFM instead of writing this all out haha

vegasmick Dec 20, 2022

@karlmorant @rysiek @axbom
Ditto. From my profile: "I'll never use the word fediverse except to make fun of people who use the term fediverse." It's a self-congratulatory term that pretends this is a vast, important movement rather than a minor evolution in social networking. Mastodon is a half step from BBSs, which is fine.

⁰FisherTX14 Dec 20, 2022

@rysiek @axbom Finally something visual for the ADHD crowd.

xrvs Dec 20, 2022

@rysiek @axbom > An irregular reminder that calling this place “Mastodon” has a bit similar energy as saying “I just sent you a GMail.”

yea someone told me that once

MortSinyx Dec 20, 2022

yes @xarvos, @rysiek just told you that!

My pedantic self is screaming that it’s more like I just sent you a message through Postfix servers though.

Krupo Dec 20, 2022

@rysiek @axbom so do all these branches have the ability to "talk" to each other?

"Nurture-boy" Ric Flair Dec 20, 2022

@krupo
Pretty much, yes. Implementation may be more or less complete depending on the product or client, but since they all use the activitypub protocol, they can all talk to each other. You can add/follow a pixelfed or Friendica or peertube account right from mastodon, and vice versa!
@rysiek @axbom

Raphael Dec 20, 2022

@axbom @mikefordays @rysiek @krupo but #ActivityPub is extendable, right? And don’t many of them build upon ActivityPub? How seamless is the cross-platform experience really (so far I’ve only used #Mastodon)? I do agree with the overall sentiment, though, that this is the #fedivere

Stefan Laser🗜️Dec 20, 2022

@krupo @rysiek @axbom The entire tree, yes, so you can also follow Pixelfed (Insta alternative) posts and comment. ActivityPub is the key. Yet if you want to post on a platform like Pixelfed, you need a dedicated account. For our microblogging here (all in yellow), this is irrelevant. Platforms like FB and Twitter could, theoretically, also open up their protocol, but they decide not to.

Katzentratschen Dec 20, 2022

@stefanlaser @krupo @rysiek @axbom Thanks for your explanation. What's the difference UX-wise between "Pixelfed account follows a Mastodon account" and "Pixelfed account follows another Pixelfed account"? What would I gain with a dedicated account?

Stefan Laser🗜️Dec 20, 2022

@katzentratschen @krupo @rysiek @axbom It looks more like Insta and the like, so it's made for images and very short text. Mastodon etc. are better for text. But I'm no expert in this, I've just tested the setup once.

Katzentratschen Dec 20, 2022

@stefanlaser Some Mastodon apps have full-width images and therefore look and feel a lot like Instagram. Maybe these former distinct characteristics between Fediverse services are vanishing over time as more and more apps are available? @krupo @rysiek @axbom

Stefan Laser🗜️Dec 20, 2022

@katzentratschen @krupo @rysiek @axbom Oh sounds sweet, like the Mastodon app on Android?

Katzentratschen Dec 20, 2022

@stefanlaser Both Android and iOS. It's still "text first" but one could implement a simple button with which users are able to toggle text-image order, change text length etc.

Yohan Yukiya Sese Cuneta 사요한🦣Dec 21, 2022

@stefanlaser To add, PixelFed's dashboard or timeline doesn't show posts that doesn't have a photo.

While on BookWyrm's side, its dashboard/timeline shows everything like Mastodon, Calckey, Rebased, Akkoma, Friendica, Hubzilla, Socialhome.

Meanwhile, WriteFreely doesn't offer a way to follow other accounts, there is a sister project for "reading". But, anyone using other software can follow a WriteFreely blog.

There is also PeerTube, which only shows posts with videos.

At first, it seems that these different projects are practically just "different UI" and "different UX". But, once you use it, you'll start to notice the different things.

It's no different from using Twitter. You can upload photos and videos under your Twitter account. Or, you can use a dedicated software for images like Instagram and Flickr. Or, YouTube and Vimeo for videos.

Software like Friendica, Hubzilla, Rebased, Akkoma, Calckey, Misskey, Mastodon, Socialhome? They're like Twitter and Facebook. You can upload videos, images, and other content.

But software like Pixelfed, PeerTube, BookWyrm, WriteFreely, are more focused.

The only difference is that, within the Fediverse network, if you only want to follow people, you can pick, say a Mastodon server, and just follow anyone from anywhere, like someone on Pixelfed.

Outside of the Fediverse network, if you have a Twitter account, you can not follow someone on Instagram.

Or, if you just want to browse photos, you can have a Pixelfed account, and still be able to follow anyone, including those in, say, Mastodon servers. You will only see posts with attached images.

Outside of the Fediverse, someone on Instagram will never see images uploaded by Twitter accounts.

^_^

@katzentratschen @krupo @rysiek @axbom

Stefan Laser🗜️Dec 21, 2022

@youronlyone @katzentratschen @krupo @rysiek @axbom This is such a rich explanation, thanks a lot! If you don't mind, what is your instance/application of choice? That doesn't look like the usual character limit.

Yohan Yukiya Sese Cuneta 사요한🦣Dec 22, 2022

I'm on c.im, it is powered by Mastodon but with a 5,000-character limit (and tags are very noticeable).

I also have an account on public.garden (5,000-character limit, powered by #Rebased); and hashi.icu (300,000-character limit, powered by #Misskey). At least, these are the ones I actively use with more than 500-character limit.

^_^

@katzentratschen @krupo @rysiek @axbom

Katzentratschen Dec 21, 2022

@youronlyone Thank you very much for all your replies. 🤗@stefanlaser @krupo @rysiek @axbom

Mathias Hellquist 🤘 Dec 20, 2022

All of the different #Fediverse services/flavours have implemented #ActivityPub to a varying degree. Some of them have implemented just a crude basic version and can only post but doesn’t list posts from other services (#Pixelfed for example).

Others have implemented ActivityPub as it stands and then added functionality, sometimes ”opinionated” (especially compared to #Mastodon) to it, which sometimes only can be utilized fully if your audience is on the same platform (for example ”groups”, ”forums”, ”quote posts” etc which all exist in for example #Friendica, #Akkoma (which isn’t in that graph btw) etc which can’t even be displayed properly, or have support, in Mastodon).

Most of the services that have the main purpose of letting their users do text based posts (”notes” I think is the technical term for it in ActivityPub) can talk and see the other services that also do text based posts. Mastodon/Pleroma/Akkoma/Misskey cannot see/talk to #Diaspora for example, but Friendica can.

Mastodon itself is the poster-hero of the Fediverse as it has the most users (and an active company behind it that can coordinate promotion), but there is a lot of interesting development happening in the rest of the Fediverse when it comes to functionality and capabilities.

Akkoma

nicegnome Dec 20, 2022

@rysiek @axbom Thank you, this really helped me.

Brian Wolf Dec 20, 2022

@rysiek @axbom Thoughts on including micro.blog?

Per Axbom Dec 20, 2022

It is there on the small branch. The reason for the placement is that it is a paid service and not one I can install freely on any server of my own.

More thinking behind the graphic is outlined in the post.

https://axbom.com/fediverse/

The many branches of the Fediverse

As more and more people are asking me about Mastodon I felt a need for a picture to point at, showcasing how the software known as Mastodon fits into the much larger concept of the Fediverse. I made this infographic to help myself and others explain the many different use-cases

Axbom • My Next Heartbeat

Brian Wolf Dec 20, 2022

@axbom @rysiek oh dang I missed it. Sorry

Per Axbom Dec 20, 2022

Haha, no worries, it's small... and you're not the first 😉

Digital Dolphin Dec 20, 2022

@rysiek @axbom now to just sit back and wait for #OhShitItsTheFeds to take off...

Giraffe Slava 🇺🇸🇺🇦Dec 20, 2022

@rysiek @axbom interesting but exactly the kind of thing that freaks out the normies

Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦Dec 20, 2022

@giraffeslava @axbom "why so many servers" used to be the go-to "freaks out the normies" thing, I am glad we moved up the ladder here a bit, then!

Also, "normies" seem to be joining in droves and doing just fine. So let's give them a bit of credit here.

We could also maybe stop calling them "normies", you know.

Giraffe Slava 🇺🇸🇺🇦Dec 21, 2022

@rysiek @axbom ok. I was being playful but I’m trying to offend anyone. I’m just trying to get more people on mastodon. :)

Giraffe Slava 🇺🇸🇺🇦Dec 21, 2022

@rysiek @axbom *not trying

Heather 💾Dec 25, 2022

@axbom @rysiek @giraffeslava Exactly lol. "Stop talking about features! You're scaring the hoes! They're not used to learning about the systems they use!"

Rob Dec 20, 2022

@rysiek @axbom Interesting. I haven't looked into this for a couple of years and was surprised to see Funkwhale is still going. I had a hiatus after disengaging from my last instance and falling back on the wagon with birdsite. I will look into it again.

Richard Bairwell Dec 20, 2022

@pocketapocketa @rysiek @axbom There's also a list on https://www.ngi.eu/blog/2022/11/24/how-ngi-supports-open-interoperable-decentralised-and-trust-based-internet-applications-through-fediverse-projects-like-mastodon/

How NGI supports open, interoperable, decentralised and trust-based Internet applications through Fediverse projects like Mastodon

Within the Next Generation Internet Initiative, we have been working towards alternative futures for the internet to create a resilient, trustworthy and sustainableinternet. These alternate futures have one thing in common: they are based on technology commons: open standards, free and open source software and hardware, and open data.

Next Generation Internet

Rob Dec 20, 2022

@rbairwell Excellent, I will look into this. Thanks :)

StillKindaHoping Dec 20, 2022

@rysiek
#babysteps
@axbom @DiverDoc

Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦Dec 20, 2022

@stillkindahoping totally, take your time! And welcome.

@axbom @DiverDoc

Design by Adrian Dec 20, 2022

@rysiek @axbom It’s not a better name because it sounds like “Metaverse”

Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦Dec 20, 2022

@designbyadrian well, I'd say "Metaverse" sounds like "Fediverse". Fedi was here years before Zuck got his Big Idea on how to run Bookface to the ground.

Design by Adrian Dec 20, 2022

@rysiek @axbom Yeah, but Meta had the marketing to make people know about Metaverse. I had never heard of “Fediverse” until Elon Musk became CEO of Twitter.

@designbyadrian the metaverse stuff is way more recent tho + it's not only a matter of naming. Calling the network Mastodon is simply falsy (even if still ok for the sake of simplicity of course), since a lot of people aren't using it to exchange with you !

Hi from pleroma here

— Guérin 🍉Dec 24, 2022

@designbyadrian yeah so does every name based on “universe”… we won’t stop ourselves of talking of multiverse or fediverse because of metaverse !^^

dbread Dec 20, 2022

@rysiek
What a beautiful tree #fediverse

@axbom @jonossaseuraava