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Think of it exactly the same way as email. You have different servers with users on them, and they can all talk to each other using a common protocol called Act

Think of it exactly the same way as email. You have different servers with users on them, and they can all talk to each other using a common protocol called ActivityPub. The really interesting part of all this is that different types of platforms can focus on different kinds of content while allowing users to talk across platforms. For example, Pixelfed is an Instagram clone, PeerTube aims to be a distributed YouTube, Lemmy is a federated Reddit clone, and so on. Thanks to using a common protocol it's possible for users across these platforms to communicate with each other. It's possible to follow content, reshare it, leave comments, etc. So, instead of having a bunch of walled gardens you have an actual ecosystem of different platforms. And I think that open source and non profit hosting is fundamental for this model to work. Commercial social media platforms have an incentive to prevent users from sharing content to other platforms because they're locked into a zero sum competition for users with them. On the other hand, Fediverse is a positive sum game where more users on the network means more content for everybody. There is no incentive to keep users locked in on your particular platform. This is a huge advantage from user perspective because you don't have to juggle a bunch of accounts on different social media sites just to follow content there.

verylook 4y ago
> Thanks to using a common protocol it's possible for users across these platforms to communicate with each other. It's possible to follow content, reshare it, leave comments, etc. So, instead of having a bunch of walled gardens you have an actual ecosystem of different platforms. I can understand why you believe this, because it's part of the ActivityPub marketing, but it simply isn't true. ActivityPub is extremely loosely defined, and the protocol it builds on, ActivityStreams, places no limitations on the type of data that is transferred. What this means is that in practice you can only federate with other instances of the same software as your homeserver without degradation. It's very hit or miss. The best cross implementation communication comes between Mastodon and Pleroma, but Mastodon is more popular and implements a number of other protocols in addition to ActivityPub, so to keep up Pleroma actually matches their API, not the protocol. The other implementations that you mentioned mostly federate among themselves. Sadly this undoes many of the benefits you've listed. You do very much need a Lemmy server account, a Pixelfed server account, a Mastodon account, etc, if you want everything. And you have to pick a homeserver each time, and it isn't easy.
- yogthos 4y ago
  >I can understand why you believe this, because it's part of the ActivityPub marketing, but it simply isn't true. ActivityPub is extremely loosely defined, and the protocol it builds on, ActivityStreams, places no limitations on the type of data that is transferred. I'm literally using ActivityPug this way right now. I follow Pixelfed and PeerTube accounts as well as Lemmy feeds using my Mastodon account right now. The developers of all these platforms are actively ensuring that they are interoperable. I really have no idea what you're basing your claims on here. You can use your Mastodon account right now to follow my Pixelfed @yogthos@pixelfed.social and subscribe to my feed. You can even leave comments and I'll see them on my Pixelfed.

verylook 4y ago

> Thanks to using a common protocol it's possible for users across these platforms to communicate with each other. It's possible to follow content, reshare it, leave comments, etc. So, instead of having a bunch of walled gardens you have an actual ecosystem of different platforms. I can understand why you believe this, because it's part of the ActivityPub marketing, but it simply isn't true. ActivityPub is extremely loosely defined, and the protocol it builds on, ActivityStreams, places no limitations on the type of data that is transferred. What this means is that in practice you can only federate with other instances of the same software as your homeserver without degradation. It's very hit or miss. The best cross implementation communication comes between Mastodon and Pleroma, but Mastodon is more popular and implements a number of other protocols in addition to ActivityPub, so to keep up Pleroma actually matches their API, not the protocol. The other implementations that you mentioned mostly federate among themselves. Sadly this undoes many of the benefits you've listed. You do very much need a Lemmy server account, a Pixelfed server account, a Mastodon account, etc, if you want everything. And you have to pick a homeserver each time, and it isn't easy.

yogthos 4y ago
>I can understand why you believe this, because it's part of the ActivityPub marketing, but it simply isn't true. ActivityPub is extremely loosely defined, and the protocol it builds on, ActivityStreams, places no limitations on the type of data that is transferred. I'm literally using ActivityPug this way right now. I follow Pixelfed and PeerTube accounts as well as Lemmy feeds using my Mastodon account right now. The developers of all these platforms are actively ensuring that they are interoperable. I really have no idea what you're basing your claims on here. You can use your Mastodon account right now to follow my Pixelfed @yogthos@pixelfed.social and subscribe to my feed. You can even leave comments and I'll see them on my Pixelfed.