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If something is part of the Fediverse and not Mastodon, always mention it is part of the Fediverse and connected to Mastodon! CW: long (almost 800 characters), Fediverse meta, Fediverse beyond Mastodon meta

If you write about something that's in the Fediverse but not Mastodon, most Fediverse users won't know that it's in the Fediverse.

Even if you write about e.g. your Hubzilla channel or your WriteFreely blog, hardly anyone will know that they can follow you there. Yes, even when you write about your Hubzilla channel from your Hubzilla channel. Especially Mastodon users won't know what Hubzilla is, they won't know that they can follow Hubzilla channels from Mastodon, and they'll assume that you've just posted from Mastodon.

So if you want people to know that whatever you're writing about is part of the Fediverse and connected to Mastodon, you have to explicitly mention both.

#Long #LongPost #CWLong #CWLongPost #FediMeta #FediverseMeta #CWFediMeta #CWFediverseMeta #Fediverse

#fediverse #FediMeta #long #CWFediverseMeta #FediverseMeta #CWFediMeta #CWLongPost #LongPost #CWLong
in reply to Jupiter Rowland

Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic
Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic
• •
If something is part of the Fediverse and not Mastodon, always mention it is part of the Fediverse and connected to Mastodon! CW: long (almost 800 characters), Fediverse meta, Fediverse beyond Mastodon meta

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in reply to Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic

Jupiter Rowland
Jupiter Rowland
• •

@Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic No, it's rather because people don't know what's in the Fediverse and what isn't.

I mean, at least every other Mastodon user thinks the Fediverse equals Mastodon and only Mastodon.

Let's assume I mention my own Hubzilla channel somewhere in some context. I'll hit two obstacles. One, three out of four Fediverse users have never heard of Hubzilla, so how shall they assume that it's a Fediverse project if I don't explicitly tell them so? Two, again, many think the Fediverse is only Mastodon, so how shall they assume that Hubzilla is in the Fediverse when it's completely unimaginable to them that there could be anything else in the Fediverse that isn't Mastodon?

Also, especially on Mastodon, nobody can tell where my post is from. Next to nobody looks up any posts at their sources anyway. Mastodon doesn't show where a post came from, software-wise. And net everyone can tell from certain signs (what mentions look like, what hashtags look like) that something came from something that's very much not Mastodon. Only the very few who can be bothered to look at my post at its source will notice that it came from something that has "Hubzilla" written on top. For the majority, everything in their Mastodon timeline came from Mastodon.

#Long #LongPost #CWLong #CWLongPost #FediMeta #FediverseMeta #CWFediMeta #CWFediverseMeta #Fediverse #NotOnlyMastodon

#fediverse #FediMeta #long #CWFediverseMeta #FediverseMeta #CWFediMeta #NotOnlyMastodon #CWLongPost #LongPost #CWLong @Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic
in reply to Jupiter Rowland

Shiri Bailem
Shiri Bailem
• •

@Jupiter Rowland @Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic it's because Mastodon talks and acts like it's the only one here.

Like calling their posts "toots" trying to knock off Twitter's vibe... it's cute in concept but in reality only makes sense if that's the only place here.

@Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic @Jupiter Rowland
in reply to Ringwood Unitarians Co-organis

Jupiter Rowland
Jupiter Rowland
• •

@Ringwood Unitarians Co-organis

But there are loads of pictures out there if one searches. Three attached.


If one searches.

If one wants to search.

If one suspects there to be something else out there in the Fediverse.

But for many Mastodon users, the Fediverse is Mastodon and only Mastodon, and that's an absolutely undeniable fact. Set in stone. It couldn't possibly be any different. They don't even take into consideration that it could be any different. "Fediverse" is the name of the Mastodon network which is nothing but Mastodon and more Mastodon. Full stop.

Why else do so many Mastodon users use "Fediverse" and "Mastodon" mutually exchangeably or even out-right claim that the Fediverse is only Mastodon with such utter confidence?

Why else does the revelation that something that isn't Mastodon is connected to Mastodon and claims its place in the Fediverse leave so many Mastodon users deranged enough to generously dish out mutes and blocks in an attempt to make the Fediverse only Mastodon again, or at least make it feel like it's still only Mastodon?

#Long #LongPost #CWLong #CWLongPost #FediMeta #FediverseMeta #CWFediMeta #CWFediverseMeta #Fediverse #Mastodon #NotOnlyMastodon #FediverseIsNotMastodon #MastodonIsNotTheFediverse

#mastodon #fediverse #FediMeta #long #CWFediverseMeta #FediverseMeta #CWFediMeta #MastodonIsNotTheFediverse #FediverseIsNotMastodon #NotOnlyMastodon #CWLongPost #LongPost #CWLong @Ringwood Unitarians Co-organis
in reply to Jupiter Rowland

SK
SK
• •
@Jupiter Rowland Even some popular accounts such as fedi.tips focus mostly on mastodon and this only perpetuates this belief. Not much we can do about it. Ignorance is bliss for most people.
in reply to SK

Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic
Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic
• •

While @FediTips is on Mastodon and mostly posts about Mastodon topics, I would not say that they contribute to the belief that the Fediverse is only Mastodon:

fedi.tips/what-is-mastodon-wha…

There's even a section called "The Fediverse beyond Mastodon" which describes various platforms.

But as @jupiter_rowland said, only those willing to look for information can find it, and most people won't.


What is Mastodon? What is the Fediverse? | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse
fedi.tips
@Fedi.Tips @Jupiter Rowland
in reply to Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic

Fedi.Tips
Fedi.Tips
• •

@jupiter_rowland@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

I focus on how new people enter the Fediverse, which is almost always Mastodon.

I also promote alternatives to Masto such as GoToSocial, but it's difficult because the onboarding on other Fedi platforms is not as good so new people don't use them. (For example there doesn't seem to be any public server for GTS, I tried asking but no one could suggest one.)

I also have an entire account @FediVideo and site at fedi.video to promote PeerTube.

Fedi.Video

Highlighting the most interesting content on PeerTube, and uploading PD and CC videos too. Bigotry and conspiracy theories are forbidden.
fedi.video
@Fedi.Video
in reply to Fedi.Tips

Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic
Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic
• •
GoToSocial is a great alternative to Mastodon for self-hosting, as it's just a single binary and supports SQLite. However, it does not provide a web interface and is not yet fully compatible with most Mastodon clients (at least last time I checked). So it may not be the best option for new people. So yes, Mastodon is probably the easiest way into the Fediverse at the moment 👍
in reply to Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic

Fedi.Tips
Fedi.Tips
• •

@jupiter_rowland@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

It's not just about having alternative software to Mastodon, alternatives also need an onboarding flow which includes:

-Friendly non-techy website that tells people how to sign up
-Human-curated list of instances that are relatively safe and reliable
-If possible, at least one app that people can install which includes this curated list of instances

I know an app shouldn't be needed, but apps are how non-technical people discover social networks at the moment.

in reply to Fedi.Tips

Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic
Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic
• •
Good point about having a working mobile app in the Google Play and iOS app stores. You're right, that's how non-techies and especially young people find out about the network in the first place!
in reply to Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic

Fedi.Tips
Fedi.Tips
• •

I'm not a dev but I guess it wouldn't even need to be a new app? It could be a compatible app that has been branded with the name of the platform you want people to join? This could be done in co-operation with the dev of an existing compatible app, especially if it is FOSS.

I know at a technical level this makes no sense at all, but if people are using app stores as search engines for social networks then this is how to give them a way onto your platform.

This entry was edited (3 hours ago)
in reply to Fedi.Tips

Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic
Dr. Daniel Dizdarevic
• •
In principle you are right, it just depends on the compatibility between the application and the server API. Most apps try to implement the Mastodon API so that they can be used for this. Other platforms like GoToSocial also implement the Mastodon API, so all their apps should work. Misskey and its derivatives have their own API, so Mastodon-compatible apps will not work unless they also implement the Misskey API. @apps is the only application I know of that implements multiple APIs.
@Fedilab Apps
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