Chris TrottierPresident Joe Biden’s Threads account @potus is federating on the Fediverse!
And I’m following him from atomicpoet.org!
Wow! This is as monumental as Barack Obama joining Twitter! A truly historic day for the #Fediverse!
I would prefer that @potus run his own Fediverse server but this is materially better than him not being on the Fediverse at all.
Stefan Bohacek@atomicpoet Mindboggling, given that this is already being worked on:
https://stefanbohacek.online/@stefan/111978315030059050
TLDR: A team within the federal government is looking into setting up a .gov Mastodon server, they're now "in phase 2".
Stefan Bohacek (@[email protected])
"We believe there is an opportunity to help verify the online identities of American officials. Hosting a Mastodon server on .gov domains is one possibility. 10x will explore this changing internet landscape, validate the extent of the problem, and identify if government technologists can play a positive role in solving it." https://10x.gsa.gov/news/2023-selected-projects/#online-proofing-for-public-officials via https://stefanbohacek.online/@[email protected]/111978278463859793 #fediverse #govtech
Olivier Forget@stefan @atomicpoet That's gonna have to be a beefy server given the large number of gov officials and the number of followers and interactions they get.
@teleclimber @atomicpoet I'll be happy for my taxes to go towards that!
JohnW@teleclimber @stefan @atomicpoet
It sure is. It will have to be a server island for all the different agencies.
Null@stefan @[email protected]
I mean in reality
* Campaigns / officials have used multiple services in the past to reach the widest possible audience.
* Likely, those involved with the POTUS arriving on threads know little about the difference between mastodon and Threads and how (and if) they communicate.
* The core problem of validating government officials identities is not solved by threads since you cannot bring a domain to threads.
So really this kinda seems like a big ol' Nothing Burger, unless you're a threads user 
Even saying 'the fediverse is FORCED' is hyperbolic. His ass wasn't here before, and huge swaths of the fediverse aren't American.
I mean in reality
* Campaigns / officials have used multiple services in the past to reach the widest possible audience.
* Likely, those involved with the POTUS arriving on threads know little about the difference between mastodon and Threads and how (and if) they communicate.
* The core problem of validating government officials identities is not solved by threads since you cannot bring a domain to threads.
So really this kinda seems like a big ol' Nothing Burger, unless you're a threads user
Even saying 'the fediverse is FORCED' is hyperbolic. His ass wasn't here before, and huge swaths of the fediverse aren't American.@NullNowhere @stefan Seeing how the EU and the German government run a Fediverse server, I think it’s highly likely that the U.S. government also knows about the Fediverse. Especially since you must manually turn on federation right now in order to federate from Threads.
The bigger question is why the U.S. government decided to join Threads instead of run their own Fediverse server.
And while I acknowledge the U.S. is not the world—I’m Canadian—the U.S. remains an economic and cultural power, and it is unavoidable.
Artemesia@atomicpoet @NullNowhere @stefan
> The bigger question is why the U.S. government decided to join Threads instead of run their own Fediverse server.
User count.
@artemesia @NullNowhere @stefan When it comes to the Fediverse, the user count of a particular server is irrelevant.
@atomicpoet @NullNowhere @stefan
The total usercount is relevant.
@artemesia @NullNowhere @stefan I’m on a server with a total of three users. In terms of network effect, there’s no tangible difference between atomicpoet.org and mastodon.social.
@atomicpoet @NullNowhere @stefan
whoosh. goodbye now
morph@stefan We have that yet. See the historical post when the government declares marijuana as legalized*.
➡️ https://social.bund.de/@Bundesregierung/112139495304415295
*) feat. a bit of bureaucratic limitations
Bundesregierung (@[email protected])
Attached: 1 image Cannabis wird für Erwachsene unter Einschränkungen legal! Für einen besseren Jugendschutz und einen wirksamen Kampf gegen den Schwarzmarkt. Mehr Infos gibt es hier: http://bpaq.de/FAQcannabis #Bundesrat #Cannabisgesetz
@morph Very cool, congratulations on both!
https://gigatexal.blog -he/him@atomicpoet @[email protected] if Biden wins then yay but if that handle is a Trump handle nope nope nope. I’ll buy or run my own node and defederate everything and anyone connected to his lying Putin loving ass
@gigatexal @potus Then you might as well leave the Fediverse entirely.
You can definitely block Threads, but it’s near impossible to block all servers that don’t block Threads.
HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴@atomicpoet
Do you mean that DON'T block Threads?
LAUREN@atomicpoet @[email protected] I have no intention of following him on Threads. There are direct ways to communicate with politicians. This is peculiar logic you have used here.
@atomicpoet @[email protected] Because potus is on Threads? Potus is on twitter and yet that didn't stop people from leaving that platform??
I agree. Unusually enthusiastic and a little over the top. It sounds a bit like influencer stuff.
@atomicpoet @[email protected] Nobody forces anything here.
Lillian Violet@atomicpoet yeah, no. America is not the world, I would rather defederate from the whole US than federate with threads. And I don't want that genocide supporting douchebag on this service anyway, the politicians can stay out.
@GLaDTheresCake The politicians are already here and have been here for awhile. For example, the EU already has its own official server.
Oblomov@atomicpoet This is essentially the nail in the coffin for the Fediverse. Nothing to rejoice at all.
https://sociale.network/@oblomov/112203725365230339
https://sociale.network/@oblomov/112203725365230339
Oblomov (@[email protected])
@[email protected] this is an excellent example of how to do things wrong. The White House has the resources to set up its own Fediverse nodes. That it doesn't and instead endorses a proprietary platform is borderline criminal.
CCC Freiburg@atomicpoet "pretty much forced the hand of the Fediverse to federate with Threads. "
is it? for what is a one-way communication channel good for - you have news, rss and whatever - worked fine before. Dont let them break a nice part of the internet again.
is it? for what is a one-way communication channel good for - you have news, rss and whatever - worked fine before. Dont let them break a nice part of the internet again.
@cccfr One year ago, people said Threads would never federate. Now you’re saying Threads will never allow two-way federation.
In all likelihood, they will allow teo-way federation.
KNova@atomicpoet @potus Not to be an ass, but have you done a temperature check of how many people on the fediverse: 1) don’t care about US politics, 2) if they do care, don’t care for the President, or following politicos in general?
My point is, not sure if anyone has a “forced hand” to federate w/ Threads.
@knova The people who use the Fediverse now are not representative of the people who will use the Fediverse in the future.
And like it or not, nobody controls ActivityPub.
@atomicpoet I don't disagree with either of those points, but I don't think they touch on what I stated either.
Even if a million new instances are spun up that all federate w/ Threads, there will be an island of connected instances that route around it (ie. block it).
Personally I don't think we should be championing Meta doing anything, but again, I agree with your point re: nobody controlling ActivityPub.
@knova I’m not rooting for Meta. If I were, I’d have a Threads account. And I likewise am not happy that @potus is not using a government-owned Fediverse server.
But at the same time, this is tangibly better than @potus being on Threads and not federating or staying on X where his posts are not publicly available.
Nevertheless, @potus will motivate more people to join the Fediverse – even if the means by which he does this is not ideal.
Misuse Case@atomicpoet @potus Not directly, people can make bots that do it, the way there are bots that will rebroadcast certain people’s Twitter posts. You can basically have a DMZ for it and let the rest of us defederate from Threads.
It’s not like the POTUS account is going to reply to us if we comment on it anyway!
@MisuseCase @potus So in other words, federating with a server that federates with Threads. Which is something I’ve been suggesting for an entire year, but a whole lot of people got angry when I suggested it.
But yes, that is an option and will probably need to be done. Yet that is still federation, but just indirect.
James@atomicpoet Hmmmmhhhh, No. Have you filed the TPS report.
> @potus has pretty much forced the hand of the Fediverse to federate with Threads.
Nonsense. I'm perfectly capable of receiving the president's messaging via other means, of which there are hundreds.
The threads.net domain will remain blocked by my account. I want nothing to do with a company that sold out its userbase to russia to influence the 2016 election.
@artemesia Sure, you don’t have to follow @potus and you can block Threads. But the bulk of the Fediverse is federating with Threads and will likely continue to federate with it.
@artemesia Sure, you don’t have to follow @potus and you can block Threads. But the bulk of the Fediverse is federating with Threads and will likely continue to federate with it.
It seems very important to you to get your message of inevitability out. My own instance is taking a wait and see attitude, and expect they are not alone.
No he hasn't forced the hand of any Fediverse servers.
@the_Effekt @potus You’re on a server that federates with Threads. The likelihood that universeodon.com stops federating with Threads has drastically diminished.
Like it or not, this changes everything.
Have to disagree with you there. Even though universeodon.com changed hands, it was unlikely they would defederate anyway. I personally am neither for nor against my admin's decisions. If I don't like it I can move.
universeodon was taken over by mastodonapp.uk (non US) anyway.
I don't believe that one noteworthy person who per government policy can only post generalities on social media can drastically change anything.
@the_Effekt I’ve long learned that social media is only as strong as its network effect, and that influential people are key to building a stronger network effect. Most people only join services if they perceive them as popular. However, to be popular, someone of consequence must be there first.
@potus is the most influential person on the planet.
Remember we're talking about the Fediverse here. There are a lot more people of my ilk who value discussions with friends, deep dives into news snippets, and art over occasional non-committal comments by famous people.
Not to mention Threads is still (at this point) a partially disconnected entity that builds overlay protocols to keep it's commercial interests as a priority over true federation.
Potus would never even see our replies, and this could go on for months or years.
TheJen will not comply@the_Effekt @atomicpoet This is why I'm frankly not particularly excited about this.
One way street.
Yes. Definitely the same for me.
@the_Effekt @potus To me, it’s not about famous people. It’s about building a large network effect.
I don’t care for the Fediverse if it becomes a small social bubble of mostly tech nerds.
Well, good luck with that.
The Fediverse grows organically. It has a more solid foundation than other platforms seeking eyeballs for eyeballs sake.
There might be a lot of techies here, but my feed is packed with great variety. It's more interesting than any other social media. Anyone else can do the same because they can choose for themselves.
@the_Effekt @potus This isn’t about eyeballs for eyeballs sake. It’s about building the practicality of the technology.
Email is only good because everyone has email. A phone is only good because everyone has a phone.
Once we get to the point where it’s assumed everyone is on the Fediverse, then my server here becomes that much more useful.
crossgolf_rebel - kostenlose Kwalitätsposts@[email protected] The nerd network argument was no longer valid 5 years ago.
Boden's account on threads is more likely to result in more people creating an account on threads than on any real Fediverse service. The network effect is there, just in the wrong direction.
Biden is strengthening Meta rather than the Fediverse
What the federation from Fediverse to threads will look like is not yet foreseeable. And I dare to doubt that even a fraction of threads users will even activate the federation to the Fediverse
@the_Effekt @[email protected]
Boden's account on threads is more likely to result in more people creating an account on threads than on any real Fediverse service. The network effect is there, just in the wrong direction.
Biden is strengthening Meta rather than the Fediverse
What the federation from Fediverse to threads will look like is not yet foreseeable. And I dare to doubt that even a fraction of threads users will even activate the federation to the Fediverse
@the_Effekt @[email protected]
@crossgolf_rebel @the_Effekt Frankly, just having @potus here makes the Fediverse that much more usable than it was yesterday—even if federation is in one direction for the moment. And I really do mean that.
Rep. Eric Gallager (no "h"!)@atomicpoet @[email protected] I wish that were the case! My instance is still resisting, unfortunately... I'd migrate, but my current instance also has certain unique features that I don't want to give up, and also, the last time I migrated, it was kind of a pain, so...