Discussion
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
This is the beginning of the live thread for FediCon/FOSSY 2026. Check back here for updates regarding the Fediverse track of FOSSY (Friday and Saturday).
This is the beginning of the live thread for FediCon/FOSSY 2026. Check back here for updates regarding the Fediverse track of FOSSY (Friday and Saturday).
@julian Excited to follow along! 🌍✨ Events like FediCon/FOSSY show how powerful open-source technology and the Fediverse can be when communities come together. Looking forward to the discussions and ideas! 💚
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
@julian@activitypub.space Air quality looks 🚬 any wildfires nearby?
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
Poor air quality 😬 but can't really tell outside.
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
As is tradition, you get (mildly) better service if you order in Cantonese 😎 luckily my broken Cantonese was still viable enough to pass — phew!
My family would go out once a weekend to a 茶餐廳 (cha chaan teng, "tea restaurant"), and this really reminds me of my childhood.
Certainly these restaurants still exist in Ontario, but the Cantonese population there pales in comparison to the mainland Chinese population, and these restaurants, serving an odd cross section of Chinese and English influenced food, only exist in Cantonese communities.
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
Hello Vancouver!
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
Good Morning Vancouver! Bright and early morning due to jet lag. Tentative plan is a Lyft to Chinatown to get some HK Milk Tea. I haven't had this in years — nearest place at home that does it well is well over 45 mins away.
Despite what @atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org suggested, I don't think I will be going into Richmond today :sweat_smile:
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
As is tradition, you get (mildly) better service if you order in Cantonese 😎 luckily my broken Cantonese was still viable enough to pass — phew!
My family would go out once a weekend to a 茶餐廳 (cha chaan teng, "tea restaurant"), and this really reminds me of my childhood.
Certainly these restaurants still exist in Ontario, but the Cantonese population there pales in comparison to the mainland Chinese population, and these restaurants, serving an odd cross section of Chinese and English influenced food, only exist in Cantonese communities.
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
Got off to a slightly late start as the first few FOSSY presentations went late, but @evan@cosocial.ca and @reiver@mastodon.social were already on-scene and raring to go!
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
@evan@cosocial.ca's talk is entitled 10 Ways to Grow the Fediverse
Everyone deserves choice in how they connect with family, friends, colleagues, and neighbours — Evan
With 14M users on the fediverse (as measured by FediDB), it's growing steadily, but the base of active users sits stable at 1.2M — how do we get them to stay?
Help people connect with others they care about (the social network part)
Have conversations that matter. Ones they're interested in, ones they care about
What are those 10 ways?
to be continued...
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
How do we grow the fediverse? Says @evan@cosocial.ca...
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
How do we grow the fediverse... cont'd
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
A good question for @evan@cosocial.ca about Trust and Safety and moderation labour
Q: What role does moderation play in growing the fediverse (context: friends have left the fediverse because of harrassment) -- centralizing moderation labour? Undertraining of moderation among server admins. "Is AP good at this, what can we learn..."
A:
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
... and we're back for the second half of FediCon Day 1!
Here is @ozoned@btfree.social setting up with @reiver@mastodon.social
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
The community is the fediverse. He envisions a future where every family has their own social media "box" that interconnects with all other services.
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
... and now we have @django@social.coop talking about the ActivityPub API!
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
Some hard truths about the ActivityPub API -- managing state is hard when you are using a linear timeline as provided by the C2S inbox and outbox.
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
An impromptu lightning talk by @roost@hachyderm.io about Trust & Safety
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
People are reinventing the exact same tools to solve the exact same problems. The tools themselves are not magical and special, so there's no need to reinvent them.
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
"The reason why Roost exists? Trust and Safety is kind of broken (on fedi?)"
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
Now we have @skavish@welley.social about Private Communities!
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
Ah yes, additional nomenclatural differences 
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
When 1b12 fails (according to @skavish@welley.social)
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
@skavish@welley.social argues private communities should not be federating content outward, just granting access.
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
Day 3 of FOSSY aka Day 2 of FediCon starts with a panel featuring @evan@cosocial.ca @reiver@mastodon.social @django@social.coop and @ozoned@btfree.social!
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
First up, the panellists are asked to describe the fediverse in 6 words or less 😬 glad I'm not up there!
@django@social.coop says "when big social blows up, confettiverse" (apologies if I quoted it wrong!)
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
Q: "is BlueSky on the Fediverse?"
@reiver@mastodon.social "Evan why don't you take this one"
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
Q: "is Truth Social on the Fediverse?"
Now @ozoned@btfree.social explaining (very carefully) that Truth Social is built on the Mastodon codebase but functions like an island. It does not federate.
:fire:
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
I did not know that @django@social.coop was based in Edmonton!
The contingent of Canadian AP developers continues to grow... No wonder all of the Fediverse conferences in the Americas are in Canada 
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
The panelists now asked which default server they'd recommend. These questions are hard!
Even @ozoned@btfree.social wasn't sure prior to the panel.
@evan@cosocial.ca suggesting that maybe you already have one and don't know; suggests checking your orgs and associations; possibly self-hosting or checking joinmastodon.org
@django@social.coop warns about checking Instance rules to align on values.
@ozoned@btfree.social suggesting Mastodon for twitter fans, Pixelfed for Instagram fans, forums for topical based discussions (plus a shoutout for ActivityPub.Space, thanks!)
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
In response to the question "what should the Fediverse not be?"
@ozoned@btfree.social warning against turning it back into walled gardens.
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
@evan@cosocial.ca explaining that "the fediverse is quiet" is a bug, not a feature.
Good thing we have a solution for it 
AP devs, fixing AP paper cuts one at a time
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
@evan@cosocial.ca "if the Fediverse is about connecting people to people, then Ostatus is part of the Fediverse. However usage has been dropping off.
...
Philosophically yes, practically, heading towards no"
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
Question regarding types of interactions. Asker prefers more private correspondence between friends and family. Is the Fediverse for me?
@ozoned@btfree.social says no, it's up to you to decide how much or how little you want your circle to be. You can use the internet your way!
@reiver@mastodon.social giving a shoutout to Frequency! @jesseplusplus@mastodon.social
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
Question regarding EEE and whether Mastodon is doing it.
@evan@cosocial.ca I don't think EEE killed XMPP, it is up to us and our responsibility to make the Fediverse exciting and interesting enough that they (platforms) don't leave.
"Network effect is everybody's responsibility"
FediCon/FOSSY 2026 Live Thread
@ozoned@btfree.social arguing that fediverse usage should become so ubiquitous that we don't even know we're on it.
