The social media platforms we once relied on for authentic connection are disintegrating. Here's how you can make a difference.
https://www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/social-media-2/2025/02/authentic-connection
The social media platforms we once relied on for authentic connection are disintegrating. Here's how you can make a difference.
https://www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/social-media-2/2025/02/authentic-connection
Mastodon server admins, a quick question:
Has anyone connected LibreTranslate and gotten a 503 error?
What did you do to fix it?
#mastodon #federation #server
Mastodon server admins, a quick question:
Has anyone connected LibreTranslate and gotten a 503 error?
What did you do to fix it?
#mastodon #federation #server
Thanks, but it is just as much about the principle of the matter.
Why is this a mystery?
Why should we need to conduct an investigation?
Why do we need to jump through hoops to discover who the owners are behind this company?
On the one hand they present themselves as the fresh open social media alternative, and yet they are circumspect about their ownership.
Why should the public trust such an entity?
Subject: Bluesky is cosplaying federation
Jay Graber and about 25 past or present Bluesky employees [plus or minus 5] together presently hold a majority share of the company. The rest is believed to be held by venture capital firms and other external investors, none of whom has as much as Graber does. The largest institutional investors are probably Blockchain Capital and Neo Collective LLC.
It isn't unusual for a company that isn't publicly traded to withhold details. There is also no indication yet that a group or individual not listed above owns enough of Bluesky to be able to demand much control.
Ownership is a red herring, though. There are concerns separate from ownership by specific parties that invalidate Bluesky as federated social media.
The vast majority of the Bluesky servers that hold user data, whether or not users supposedly "own" their data, are centralized and under the control of the one single [and private] company. That isn't expected to change.
In theory, Bluesky users may now set up self-hosted servers [referred to as Personal Data Servers] as in the Fediverse. In practice, the visibility of such servers requires the cooperation of the company's central servers.
Additionally, the Bluesky central servers control the identity of each Bluesky user whether or not the user runs a self-hosted server. Bluesky users can't migrate their identity and data without the cooperation of the central servers.
Further, for technical reasons, full or even just large scale decentralization of Bluesky isn't even possible.
Bluesky is designed so that due to high operational costs the infrastructure needed to support full operation independent of the Bluesky central servers is expected to be unaffordable to all but a few wealthy entities. In short, a billionaire's club.
I fail to see a difference, in a topological sense, between Bluesky and Twitter. My advice to those who prefer not to be krill is to run away, run away fast.
I intend no offense to #Bluesky users. However, the future of social media as a force for truth and for change is in #federation and nowhere else. When I researched this post, I found a comment that Bluesky is just "cosplaying federation" and the comment strikes me as accurate.
I asked an LLM to comment on my conclusions. Yes, LLMs are bad. See my recent posts for a related 15-page essay. Hold flames on the subject. This said, the following LLM response has merit. [This is lightly edited.]
"Most social media startups follow a trajectory where the need for a Return on Investment (ROI) eventually necessitates the monetization of user attention. And, even if the protocol is open, the most popular [i.e., commercial core] instance exerts gatekeeping power. For a platform to serve the public good, it must be insulated from the whims of the owners of such instances."
Thanks to all organisers, supporters and visitors for the great experience at our XMPP #Realtime Lounge and at the venue overall!
We end the day with this lovely creation from Angela (piscimisty) <3
#jabber #chat #opensource #messaging #federation #Brussels #Belgium #europe
Can any instance operators offer an explanation as to why federating with Mastodon from an instance not running their software tends to be more difficult?
I've noticed lately that when viewing a profile from a Mastodon instance, their post history tends to be incomplete or otherwise missing. Any posts that are made recently tend to have a significant delay or don't show up on their profile at all.
I know that you can view the content from the remote instance in question for a complete profile, that you need to do so however does seem to be a failing on the part of the server software to properly federate and populate posts.
#SelfHosting, #FediAdmin, #Mastodon, #MastoAdmin, #ServerAdmin, #SocialMedia, #AskFedi, #FediMeta, #Fedi, #Federation, #Fediverse.
Talk:
@Movim: Building a Decentralized Social Network on XMPP - Timothée Jaussoin
Sun, 13:45, AW1.126
Visit the XMPP #Realtime Lounge in #ULB, AW Building, Level 1!
#jabber #chat #opensource #messaging #federation #Brussels, #Belgium #opensource #rtc #e2ee #europe
Talk:
@Movim: Building a Decentralized Social Network on XMPP - Timothée Jaussoin
Sun, 13:45, AW1.126
Visit the XMPP #Realtime Lounge in #ULB, AW Building, Level 1!
#jabber #chat #opensource #messaging #federation #Brussels, #Belgium #opensource #rtc #e2ee #europe
Threads has entered the fediverse https://engineering.fb.com/2024/03/21/networking-traffic/threads-has-entered-the-fediverse/ #Threads
If you haven't turned federation to the Fediverse on and use Threads...turn it on 😊 great for Mastodon users too. ActivityPub needs to grow. #activitypub #threads #mastodon #fediverse #federation #meta #instagram #twitter
Threads has entered the fediverse https://engineering.fb.com/2024/03/21/networking-traffic/threads-has-entered-the-fediverse/ #Threads
If you haven't turned federation to the Fediverse on and use Threads...turn it on 😊 great for Mastodon users too. ActivityPub needs to grow. #activitypub #threads #mastodon #fediverse #federation #meta #instagram #twitter
Some interesting fediverse-related talks at this year's #FOSDEM open-source conference.
Live stream: https://live.fosdem.org/watch/h2215
Schedule: https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/track/social-web/
Reading notes from the event that mention how Twitter was an improvement over RSS in terms of user experience.
Another good example would be people switching from pirating media over to signing up for streaming services. It was the easier option.
With Blacksky recently achieving full independence from Bluesky, and other projects following behind, it'll be interesting to see who will handle federation better.
http://scripting.com/2026/01/30/150403.html
#fediverse #federation #SocialMedia #bluesky #atmosphere #ATProto
@Floppy @Mastodon It's cool on many levels. But one of them is the ability/facility to make this change so far IN, that you can just turn on a dime. And say, okay, let's just have a different default. And it all just WORKS after the config change. #activitypub #federation for the win.
Something I believe may be warrant discussion is how each instance is beholden to the rules of another by virtue of federation. Something that has given way to vibes-based reporting which our administrator has been unable to act on.
This has, unfortunately, resulted in the slander of our instance. Branded as allegedly being "anti-moderation" and "bigoted" for choosing not to punish their users over frivolous reports or engage in the fediblock of the more fringe or controversial instances on here ourselves.
So Fedizens, what are your thoughts?
*Edited.
#AskFedi, #FediBlock, #Meta, #Moderation, #FediAdmin.
You really ought to write a blog post on epistemic heuristics and the impact that it has on moderating communities @xaetacore. I've known for a while what it was through observing cause and effect, but never really knew the proper terminology for it until recently. A lot of interactions suddenly made a whole lot of sense afterward in retrospect.
#SelfHosting, #FediAdmin, #MastoAdmin, #ServerAdmin, #Moderation, #TrustAndSafety #Moderation, #FediAdmin, #Moderators, #FediMods, #MastoMods, #SocialMedia, #Sociology, #FediMeta, #Fedi, #Federation, #Fediverse, #hashtag.
Something I believe may be warrant discussion is how each instance is beholden to the rules of another by virtue of federation. Something that has given way to vibes-based reporting which our administrator has been unable to act on.
This has, unfortunately, resulted in the slander of our instance. Branded as allegedly being "anti-moderation" and "bigoted" for choosing not to punish their users over frivolous reports or engage in the fediblock of the more fringe or controversial instances on here ourselves.
So Fedizens, what are your thoughts?
*Edited.
#AskFedi, #FediBlock, #Meta, #Moderation, #FediAdmin.
You really ought to write a blog post on epistemic heuristics and the impact that it has on moderating communities @xaetacore. I've known for a while what it was through observing cause and effect, but never really knew the proper terminology for it until recently. A lot of interactions suddenly made a whole lot of sense afterward in retrospect.
#SelfHosting, #FediAdmin, #MastoAdmin, #ServerAdmin, #Moderation, #TrustAndSafety #Moderation, #FediAdmin, #Moderators, #FediMods, #MastoMods, #SocialMedia, #Sociology, #FediMeta, #Fedi, #Federation, #Fediverse, #hashtag.
2 great federated and open source LinkedIn alternatives:
1. https://nolto.social
2. https://socialhome.network
Here are my profiles:
1. https://nolto.social/profile/rik
2. https://socialhome.network/u/rik
#opensource #fediverse #federation #mastodon #digital #DigitalSovereignty #nolto #socialhome #LinkedIn @murena @e_mydata @nolto @hq
The first on even offers LinkedIn data import:
2 great federated and open source LinkedIn alternatives:
1. https://nolto.social
2. https://socialhome.network
Here are my profiles:
1. https://nolto.social/profile/rik
2. https://socialhome.network/u/rik
#opensource #fediverse #federation #mastodon #digital #DigitalSovereignty #nolto #socialhome #LinkedIn @murena @e_mydata @nolto @hq
The first on even offers LinkedIn data import:
