mastodon - Link to source

Dear Fedi friends,

Next week I have the honor of doing a presentation advocating for the Fediverse in a really prestigious venue (I can't share more now, but I will after it takes place).

I'm currently working on slides and I would love to hear testimonies from YOU. Why the Fediverse is so special to you in contrast to Big Tech platforms (bonus points if you speak French & can reply en français).

I'll share a selection of your testimonies in my slideshow presentation.

Merci beaucoup ❤️

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Gina

sorry my French is still très nul (working on it), but I would like to say;

The Fediverse is a special place due to it's decentralized nature, hosted by a kind network of volunteers instead of a centralized big tech company. It brings together a broad range of people that feel safe to post here.

(I shouldn't type while walking)

This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

tanavit

Je suis un vieux bonhomme qui a découvert Internet avec le "mail" et "usenet" à l'époque où l'informatique était totalement libre : il "suffisait" d'acheter un ordinateur et un compilateur. Certes,
c'était onéreux. Mais même les produits Microsoft et Apple étaient, de ce point de vue, libres.

Je n'ai jamais eu besoin des réseaux propriétaires sur lesquels je n'ai pas de compte.

J'utilise un peu - beaucoup trop ? 🤔 - Mastodon et Matrix.

1/3

This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Polly Kraisus

J'apprécie de ne pas me faire asséner se publicités à tout bout de champs, et de savoir que l'ordre des publications n'est pas manipulé dans le but de me rendre accro. Dans un climat géopolitique aussi instable qu'il est démoralisant, un réseau social qui n'encourage pas les mini-infos décontextualisées, polarisantes et souvent fausses est une panacée. Je peux décrocher quand je veux.
Y'a pas tout le monde ? C'est plus lent ? Y'a peu de vidéos ? Tant mieux, tant mieux, et tant mieux.
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

JP Poittevin

I have been in the fediverse for only a few months, and I can tell you, my experience has been way better than in any other social network, there is a feeling of getting connected with real people, people who share real and honest opinions, in contrast with the algorithm drive comments/posts from big tech networks, is actually refreshing.
This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Aemarielle aux pinceaux dorés

J'aime le fediverse parce que, contrairement aux plateformes propriétaires, je peux y parler aussi bien de mon travail que de sujets qui n'ont rien à voir, sans me soucier de ce que pensera l'algorithme. Je peux discuter avec des gens qui ont des centres d'intérêt très différents. 😊
Si jamais ça t'est utile, j'ai écrit mes ressentis sur mon blog : aemarielle.com/mastodon-ressen…

Mastodon, mon ressenti | Aemarielle

Mon ressenti très personnel après 2 ans sur Mastodon, un réseau social open source au rythme très éloigné des réseaux habituels.
Aemarielle (Aemarielle - Aquarelles sexy et magiques)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Blf_tpe

pour moi le Fediverse c’est:
- une expérience bien supérieure aux autres reseaux: pas de pub, flux chronologique, accès facile aux news ; un réseau plus petit mais convivial avec des échanges intéressants; un concept honnête et clair qui me conduit à participer aux frais de serveurs de la communauté php; pas de défauts majeurs. J’espère juste que tu vas faire du bon boulot et que plein de gens vont arriver ici 😀
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Michaël Monney

The media in this post is not displayed to visitors. To view it, please go to the original post.
Pour nous ( @2bcompany ), c'est le moyen de donner une image plus vivante de nos activités (théâtre contemporain), sans passer par les réseaux commerciaux quittés début 25. Nos graphistes et webmestres (Atelier Poisson et Lionel Tardy à Lausanne) on pu (je crois relativement facilement), intégrer nos publications sur notre homepage 2bcompany.ch
@2b company
This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Elena Rossini ⁂

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who wrote in to share what they love about the Fediverse.

I had almost 200 replies (all very thoughtful) and I just spent an hour trying to respond to everyone 😅

Off to sleep now, more inspired than ever. Good night everyone! 🌛

reshared this

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Hachem

Pour moi le Fédivers était une échappatoire aux réseaux sociaux "classiques" à la base. Peu de nous admettent qu'ils ont un problème de dépendance excessive sur Facebook, Instagram, et compagnie. Je voulais reprendre main sur ma vie et mes heures tout en promouvant la liberté d'expression, la transparence et le juste traitement d'une plateformes de ses utilisateurs.

Ma session moyenne sur Mastodon est de quelque minutes, cumulant toujours moins d'un tiers d'heure par journée. Celle de Facebook, à l'époque, cumulait aux alentours d'une heure parfois, et je n'en retenais absolument rien.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

mariafarrell

oh very very good luck to you! you will ace this. I've seen you present and you're so clear and confident. they are lucky to have you.

(in my terrible French my testimony is that aux autres résaux sociaux je lis, je vois des choses, de temps en temps j'écrit. c'est bon mais ce ne change rien dans ma vie. chez mastodon j'APPRENDS. quand je le ferme j'ai appris des novelles choses et vu des liens nouveaux entre les choses que j'ai su.)

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Veza85UE

Je suis européenne, et je n'ai aucune intention de créer du contenu ni de contribuer à remplir les poches d'oligarques étrangers qui veulent détruire notre Union. Je suis très reconnaissante envers toutes les personnes qui consacrent souvent du temps, des efforts et de l'argent à titre bénévole pour coder et modérer un réseau social européen. Cela ne devrait pas être un fardeau qu'elles portent seules.

Sally Strange reshared this.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Wurzelmann

the Fediverse is special, because it feels like "our" network, "our" social media. I run my own Mastodon instance and I love it. There are no algorithms, it is just a whole different experience to Twitter (where I was active for many years before) and other platforms.

As an advocate for open source software and operating systems, Mastodon/the Fediverse is the logical next step for communication and socialisation for me.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Jon Sullivan

For me the Fediverse is hope. When everything else seems to be crumbling, I see in the Fediverse hope that the internet can be a good place. Without all the ads and algorithms and influencers, people can be good to one another, and we can work together to build a better future. We all need more hope right now.
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Alyx ⏚

J'aime le fédiverse pour sa nature intrinsèquement anticapitaliste : pas de société centrale, pas de serveurs centraux, pas de logiciels centraux, des communautés souvent hébergées par des volontaires ou des associations, pas d'algorithmes de recommandation visant à maximiser le temps d'usage, la possibilité de migrer librement d'un serveur à un autre, des politiques de modération variées. Juste des gens et des relations sociales. Et finalement, c'est ce qu'on veut d'un réseau *social*.
This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

glitchsoc - Link to source

macfranc

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Sasu

I love how much agency I have in the Fediverse. My feed contains only what I have chosen and not what an algorithm spits out.

Also I feel like the sense of community is stronger here. People are here because they want to be; there seems to be a general appreciation for real personal interaction and not just what will occupy the most minutes of human attention.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Sneezy

mastodon has a massive problem with unqualified admins/mods censoring content on which they have next to zero expertise

such as genocide and Israel's 8 decades of war crimes

because of its federated nature, a collection of smaller units, each admin has fewer eyes on their decisions, and collectively the fediverse ends up being a racist zionist bubble

and the privileged European conference-goers are wilfully deaf and blind to this issue

have you not noticed the poor diversity here?

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

chestas

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

friendica - Link to source

Jesper Ross Stocholm 🇩🇰

To me, it is the absence of algorithms. The resulting calmness is what truly differentiates fediverse from the big platforms.

Algorithms favor "conflict" over "dialogue" and since everything is displayed in chronological order, there is no incentive - as a content creator - to "feed the algorithm" to have your content prioritised.

I have yet to see a "Follow link in comments" post in fediverse - because there is just no need for it.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

María Arias de Reyna

I don't feel like my human rights are constantly being questioned. Moderation is much better handled, specially in smaller instances.

I only see the things I am interested in, there are no narratives being pushed.

I can either have a nice walk around cute things or enter debates. I can choose. No algorithm is trying to force-fed me anything.

I can follow people or topics. I discover new things everyday.

There's no faking being happy. Everyone is human with good and bad days.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦

here you go:

Best social network money can't buy.

And:

Fediverse proves that if nobody is tipping the scales to artificially boost "engagement", toxic people end up being blocked. Mainstream social media toxicity is not inevitable, it's a business decision, a choice. And Fediverse chooses not to have any of it.

This entry was edited (1 day ago)

reshared this

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Rob

[1/2] Une chose me frappe. Les humains forment naturellement de petites communautés — familles, quartiers, groupes d'intérêt. On jette un œil au monde plus large de temps en temps, et on évite naturellement les extrêmes. Les grands réseaux sociaux reposaient sur l'idée d'une seule communauté géante. Pour émerger du bruit — et gagner de l'argent — les algorithmes ont pris le contrôle, amplifiant les plus bruyants comme s'ils représentaient la culture.
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Rob

[2/2] Le Fediverse brise ce modèle pour le mieux. De petites communautés de gens partageant les mêmes idées peuvent se former et communiquer — sans algorithmes. D'autres peuvent rejoindre, mais la communauté gère les points de vue extrêmes. Vous n'aimez pas ? Ne rejoignez pas. Ou faites vos valises et allez ailleurs. C'est à nouveau un modèle de un-à-plusieurs. En résumé : une façon de communiquer plus naturellement humaine.
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

GJ Groothedde 🇪🇺

Le Fédiverse, c'est le premier et le seul medium où l'on est maître de son contenu et de ses préférences. Il n'est point 'téléguidé' par des algorithmes qui pourraient falsifier l'importance des contributions avec quoi que ce soit comme objectif--l'intérêt que l'on voit, est toujours réel. C'est ce qui rapproche le plus l'interaction humaine dans la vie de tous les jours, car dans le Fédiverse, ce que l'on y met, ne subit aucune altération. Ce qui évite pas mal de choses fâcheuses.
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

s1m0n4

le moment où on franchit cette porte, on comprend à nouveau la différence entre être utilisateur et utilisé.

Les réseaux sociaux les plus connus aujourd'hui réduisent les personnes à leurs données et à tout ce que l'on peut exploiter de leurs clicks, leur navigation et leurs questions.

Sur le #Fediverse l'humain redevient un être social capable de bâtir une communauté de gens avec les mêmes centres d'intérêts sans, pour autant, être exploité ou piègé par l'addiction aux contenus.

#fediverse
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

elmine

@sturmsucht said something to me during FOSDEM that stuck with me. Posting in the fediverse liberated him from all the 'playing to the algorithm’ behaviour. What are the best viewed tags, what is the best day in the week to post, what is the best time of day to release something. All micro decisions that you can let go of in the fediverse. Also, I see many posts days, weeks, even years old being reshared here. Only possible in human to human communication without algorithms interfering.
@Chris 🦑
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Space Hobo

I love the Fediverse because it restored focus on People having Conversations again. The so-called "Social Media" sites started out that way, connecting you with friends you lost touch with, and gathering your extended family, but these days they treat you like an Audience instead.

The people who seem to have the greatest frustration using Fediverse systems like Mastodon are the ones looking for "reach" or "follower count" or other metrics of how big their Audience is. This is Big Tech thinking, and I recommend they instead look for people to talk *with* instead of *at*. Because that's where we really shine, and I love this space for it.

reshared this

in reply to Space Hobo

mastodon - Link to source

shellsharks

@spacehobo 💯 This. I said a very similar thing a while back here: shellsharks.com/notes/2023/09/…. People think social media is a town square where someone can yell out to everyone and bystanders are forced to listen, but Fedi is not like that. It’s little social gatherings, small street corners and other small-scale serendipitous encounters. You meet people at human-scale. One at a time or sometimes in small groups. Viral “boosting” events can happen but are rare (try cat pics for virality)

Engagement on Mastodon

Writings on infosec, technology and life
shellsharks
@Space Hobo
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

M Schommer

If you look closer at it, the Fediverse isn't a social network but a network of social networks: Local communities, political communities or commumities based on arts, hobbies, common interests, no matter what. Each of them thrives on its own with its own members and their topics. While at the same time each local user can talk to everybody else, everywhere else about every other topic they may have a common interest in. Across the whole Fediverse.
in reply to M Schommer

mastodon - Link to source

M Schommer

À y regarder de plus près, le Fediverse n'est pas un réseau social, mais un réseau de réseaux sociaux: Des communautés locales, politiques ou axées sur les arts, les loisirs ou des intérêts communs. Chacune d'entre elles vit de manière autonome, avec ses propres membres et ses propres thèmes de discussion. Et au même temps, chaque utilisateur local peut échanger avec n'importe qui, n'importe où, sur n'importe quel autre sujet susceptible de les intéresser tous. Par tout le Fediverse.
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Scott

Personally speaking I adore the absence of adverts, I never find myself quick-scrolling (not to be confused with Rick-scrolling!) through endless pages of rubbish content, it's like every post in my feed sparks my interest or curiosity, even during these trying times. And the content of posts here is succinct, informative and not manipulative. I have also had nothing but positive interactions with posters, which is quite restorative. Good luck!
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Lee from Philly 🇺🇦

I migrated to the Fediverse after Musk took over twitter and never looked back. My feed often alerts/informs me about events mainstream media usually fails to cover, as well as providing less sensational “real news” stories from around the world, which are also sorely lacking on general news sites.
This entry was edited (14 hours ago)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

rHAdlerin

J'adore que les gens ici sont poli.e.s en général, parfois plus que les gens qui je rencontre au quotidienne 😀 et aussi que souvent ils/elles posent des questions concernant les sources des informations ou se souviennent de mettre des textes décrivant des images.

Ouff, and I don't mind if anyone points out grammatical errors in the above. No need to be too polite in this case 😀

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Sweet Home Alaberta 🇨🇦 🇺🇦 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ 🇲🇽

The fediverse is as close to the social magic of Twitter before it was destroyed. The absence of an algorithm coded for deviancy makes the fediverse vastly superior. In direct contrast to corporate social media, the Fediverse is no threat to democracy or truth, and it actively resists hate instead of prosthelizing strife.
This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

ᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIES

the biggest qualification for the fediverse is that amongst major social media platforms/ protocols, there is no plutocrat ownership and control

so while there is still conflict- there's always conflict, it's genuine. rather than manipulated and stilted by agendas that serve bigotry for political ends

because the largest problem in the world today is how the media, social media and traditional media, now serves a plutocrat-bigot political axis

in reply to ᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIES

mastodon - Link to source

ᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIES

La principale caractéristique du Fediverse réside dans le fait que, parmi les grandes plateformes et protocoles de réseaux sociaux, il n'est soumis ni à la propriété ni au contrôle de ploutocrates.

Ainsi, bien que des conflits subsistent — car il y a toujours des conflits —, ceux-ci sont authentiques ; ils ne sont ni manipulés ni artificiellement orientés par des agendas visant à instrumentaliser l'intolérance à des fins politiques.

1/2

This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

sharkey - Link to source

Kura

I personally prefer Fediverse over other systems, because it feels like a nice tight knit community where you can be as dumb or weird as you like. Also (not applying to me) it is way more open to LGBTQ people.
[That does not mean there are non bad players. It is open and anyone can join. But those usually get moderated out pretty quick.]
You can easily create your own instance, using various servers and moderate things according to your own tastes. You arent bound by how $company decides to moderate.
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

PSoul•US 🏳️‍🌈

The media in this post is not displayed to visitors. To view it, please go to the original post.

il y a quelques années, j’ai “jeté une bouteille à la mer” pour essayer de trouver une location longue durée de vélo à Paris. Je ne voulais pas utiliser de velib pendant tout mon séjour.

Quelqu’un sur le fedi (voir réponse ci-dessous 😉) a lu mon message et m’a prêté son vélo pendant tout mon séjour ! C’était super. Ça m’a permit de découvrir un nouveau Paris, de rester en surface, de rencontrer un voisin qui m’ai aidé pour le garer la nuit. Ça m’a refait!

This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to PSoul•US 🏳️‍🌈

mastodon - Link to source

Emeline Parizel

@psoul c'était moi et c'est mon vélo 🥹
Tu étais la 1ère personne de Mastodon que j'ai rencontrée "en vrai", je venais d'arriver sur ce réseau 🤗

@_elena
J'ai retrouvé en Mastodon la raison pour laquelle j'aime internet depuis toute petite : l'internet qui rassemble et crée du lien.

Auparavant peu habituée à m'exprimer sur les réseaux, Mastodon m'a apporté de la force lors de mon 1er voyage à vélo solo.
Depuis, les échanges avec la communauté ont largement contribué à développer ma passion pour le vélo et continuent de me faire grandir. J'aime que les interactions y soient si simples et de voir certaines connexions se transformer en de vraies amitiés 🥹

@Elena Rossini ⁂ @PSoul•US 🏳️‍🌈
This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to Emeline Parizel

mastodon - Link to source

Eriatolc

@emeline @psoul
C'était sur ce réseau social que je me suis inquiété pour quelqu'un que je ne connaissais pas pour la première fois, à force de suivre ses aventures lors de son 1er voyage solo (oui, c'était Emeline).

C'est là que j'ai fait les premières rencontres IRL depuis longtemps : un petit tour dans une salle d'escalade parisienne où j'étais en déplacement pour quelques jours.

C'est aussi des échanges avec d'autres Masto pour préparer mes vélorando en famille !

@Emeline Parizel @PSoul•US 🏳️‍🌈
in reply to Eriatolc

mastodon - Link to source

Emeline Parizel

@Eriatolc je me rappellerai toute ma vie de l'émotion que j'ai ressentie en découvrant ton message privé sur Mastodon le lendemain de mon accident, suite à mon absence de post quotidien que j'avais pris l'habitude de rédiger chaque soir 🥹.

Quand je parlais de la "force que m'avait apportée ce réseau" pendant ce voyage, je faisais notamment référence à cette histoire.
Je suis vraiment heureuse qu'on ait pu faire cette session de grimpe et j'y repense souvent !

@psoul @_elena

@Elena Rossini ⁂ @Eriatolc @PSoul•US 🏳️‍🌈
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Ligature

le fédiverse c'est le premier/seul réseau social où j'ai pas honte de poster (enfin juste ce qu'il faut car ça reste un peu exhibitionniste) et aussi on est suffisamment peu nombreux pour pouvoir rencontrer les gens et se faire des nouveaux amis, c'est juste un bonus qui enrichit ma vie sans voler mon attention au détriment de tout le reste, ça me convient parfaitement ! j'aime aussi l'aspect "bulle" / safe space / echo chamber car ça donne de la force pour affronter l'extérieur
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Romain Leclaire

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J'ai fait un bouquin complet dessus, mais c'est un peu long comme témoignage 😆 piaille.fr/@romain_leclaire/11…

Romain Leclaire

2026-04-03 09:02:56

mastodon - Link to source

Découvrez l'histoire de #Mastodon ! Lien vers la version numérique gratuite (PDF - Epub) drive.proton.me/urls/AKQQ7E0WV…

Proton Drive

Securely store, share, and access your important files and photos. Anytime, anywhere.
drive.proton.me
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Sara Joy

Ooooh cool!

My French is beyond bad so in English:

The Fediverse allows me to connect to others how I always wanted to - on my own terms, in chronological order, without A/B testing, algorithms, adverts or biases from unpleasant CEOs being thrust upon me.

I have been extremely online since 1998 and have many treasured friends made via the internet from the pre-Big-Tech days, and now I'm able to make friends in the same way again.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Fermentator

Salut Elena!
J’adore le fediverse parce-que ça ressemble un peu le village mondial parfait. On parle avec tout le 🌍 , de tous les sujets- mais toujours d’une manière amicale et respectueuse.

Je me suis intégré l’année passée, je suis ici presque tous les jours- et je n’ai vu aucun post insultant. Sauf deux occasions, quand les modérateurs les ont publié pour expliquer l’exclusion de l’auteur de Mastodon.

Et presque tout le 🌍 contribue des choses productives - c’est bienfaisant. Thx😉

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Yann Weyer

je peux décider quelles personnes et quels sujets je veux suivre, sans qu'un algorithme décide pour moi et sans contenus sponsorisés. Je ne suis plus dépendant des sautes d'humeur d'un milliardaire, et si jamais un jour l'administrateurice de Framapiaf devait péter les plombs, je pourrais facilement porter mon compte sur une autre instance.
(Et les gens postent des photos de leurs animaux de compagnie, que demande le peuple)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

marabilles, smala libre

Je ne suis pas une accro des RS et mon principal objectif est d'y trouver une source d'information différente des médias mainstream.
Mais depuis les qq années que je suis sur Mastodon, j'ai appris sur énormément de sujets comme le vege/veganisme, l'identité queer et trans, le validisme, l'anarchisme,... (ça fait cliché mais c'est la réalité. Ceci dit, je ne sais toujours pas ce qu'est un Brompton ^^)
Les questions respectueuses reçoivent quasiment toujours des réponses ou des "boosts", il y a de l'entraide possible.
Et sinon, on peut juste échanger des jolies photos qui font du bien ou des petites vannes rigolotes qui font passer le temps 🤗
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

glitchsoc - Link to source

Elischeva

Why I'm not on Facebook, whilst everyone else seems to be, and prefer the Fediverse:

- I'm annoyed by the amount of advertising, which don't exist
- In the Fedi the Moderation is dar superior to Facebook
- I find my people in the Fedi, but not on Facebook (Facebook is somehow dead in my nieche.)
- I feel much safer to speak in the Fedi than on Facebook. There is some toxic culture at facebook
- The Fedi has no algorithm, which amplifies only, what brings engagement, which are mostly toxic things
- Instead at the Fedi is much more genuine engagement even for positive and more rational things.
- The Fedi is open to connect to the whole World wide web by open standards, no walled garden. A Link to something outside the Fedi isn't a crime unlike Facebook.
- In the Fedi no interesting post suddenly disappear just because you got disturbed by something. It is a huge annoyance with Facebook.
- If you post something in the Fedi and ask something, you get serious

in reply to Elischeva

glitchsoc - Link to source

Elischeva

answers, not this superficial nonsense focused on someones public image.
- Meta makes it too easy for scammers and betrayers to get away with it, without true help from their support, whilst in the Fedi the community stops scammers quite quickly. In the Fedi you can trust an account much more to be authentic than on Facebook, without the same privacy infringements Facebook imposes.

So why I prefer the Fedi over Facebook? I'm fed up with the dark Patterns and the toxic culture Facebook supports, whilst not finding something and someone of Interest and looked for a place of genuine connection without all these unnerving things. You depend on the benevolence of Meta, Facebooks Parent company. The Fedi is not owned by a single company. I have much more agency, a real community, where I feel welcome, more like a real network.

So I ask you back: Why are you still on Facebook? Social Pressure? Some Organizations and companys, who made it their only means of public relations? Is it @_elena

@Elena Rossini ⁂
in reply to Elischeva

glitchsoc - Link to source

Elischeva

really worth it, to make you that vulnerable to Hate, misogynistic, racist, sexist, ideological culture and privacy infringement to the extend to potentially pose an existential threat? Is it, because you don't want to think for yourselves and don't care to be manipulated and exploited? I care. And you should too. I have seen people loosing money, getting in debt and involved in Crimes they never wanted to be involved, loosing their sanity, because "you need to be on Facebook, because seemingly everyone is on Facebook".

Sorry for prefering my sanity, honesty, authenticity, science and facts, Open web and being in control over my online experience with the need to think myself over brainless, toxic comfort.

I hope, your Meta-brain understand, why I am not on Facebook, never will be, but why I invite you to my beautiful colourful world in the Open Web. Or do you stay, because you fear the wild? I'm more than willing to be your mentor, your tutor to teach you how to find your way.
@_elena

@Elena Rossini ⁂
in reply to Elischeva

glitchsoc - Link to source

Elischeva

But you need to step out of your comfort zone. A comfort zone is something, which don't exist outside the Fedi. Sorry, but it is fact for intersectionally marginalized people (disabled, ethnic minority, woman, gender non-conforming, political opposition). By now you think you are not afffected, but it can change quickly. Or are you part of the Problem, why I fled from Meta-Plattforms? Because you think like these TechBros at Silicon Valley?

Just food for thought for you random stranger on the street. @_elena

@Elena Rossini ⁂
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Joseph

Pour moi, en tant qu'Américain, le Fediverse est une communauté de personnes nouvelles et cosmopolites venues des quatre coins du globe. J'adore avoir rencontré des gens issus de pays que je n'aurais jamais découverts autrement. Mes amis sur Facebook et Twitter n'étaient que des personnes que je connaissais déjà — ma famille et mes amis aux États-Unis.
in reply to Vive Levant

mastodon - Link to source

Vive Levant

J’ai trouvé dans le fediverse un espace qui entretien cette socialisation et permet de construire soi-même ses communauté, selon ses affinités, hors d’un contrôle marchand et de l’exploitation d’une économie de l’attention. Un retour aux fondamentaux d’un internet du partage et de la découverte de l’autre.

Les forces du fediverse se sont pour moi :
- la taille humaine des instances et la modération
- la bienveillance et la diversité
- la TL chronologique
- les #

2/2

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Michel Patrice

J'aime pouvoir participer, collaborer et contribuer activement à quelque chose et ne pas être qu'un consommateur passif, pouvoir agir et ne pas que subir.

Surtout à l'ère de la montée de l'autoritarisme américain et des technos facistes.

Boycotter, c'est bien. Construire autre chose, c'est mieux. Et le Fédivers est cette autre chose.

Le fédivers, c'est un peu le Wikipedia des réseaux sociaux.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Stefan Bohacek

Nice, good luck with the presentation!

Looks like you already have plenty of responses, but in case you're still looking for more, in light of this: stefanbohacek.online/@stefan/1…

I'd just like to add: The fediverse is special to me because it's a scrappy group project where we all contribute without needing to sacrifice our integrity, whether that's through accepting venture capital, or resorting to ads or crypto.

We don't always get along, but we can all pretty much agree that fediverse has been successful without those things.

Stefan Bohacek

2026-04-08 01:35:05

mastodon - Link to source

Pretty interesting read. The TLDR here would be that the Blacksky community is gearing up to vote on whether they want to rely on AI coding tools, seek investments, implement ads, or not grow.

blackskyweb.xyz/blacksky-algor…

#ATProto #atmosphere #bluesky


Blacksky Algorithms' Policy Towards Agentic Coding

We want to be specific when we talk about how Blacksky uses AI.
Blacksky Team (Blacksky Algorithms)

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Gabriel Pettier

Ça répète sans doute un peu ce que d’autres ont dit, mais pour moi un point très important est que ça n’appartient pas à un milliardaire, ni a personne, y’a une souveraineté sur nos données, à l’échelle désirée, et on peut bouger de l’une a l’autre sans trop trop de contraintes, donc on est pas coincé par l’effet réseau. Les implications sur la modérations sont complexes, mais saines, pas besoin de forcer tout le monde a avoir la même, on trouve où ça nous va.
in reply to Gabriel Pettier

mastodon - Link to source

Gabriel Pettier

Le fait que ce soit plus européen est une bonne chose pour ceux qui en ont marre que le discours soit dominé par les américains (qui ne comprennent même pas la place qu’ils prennent), et a suivre un peu plus ce qu’il se passe chez nous. (À voir si ça marche aussi pour les autres non-américains).

Les fonctionnalités comme suivre les hashtags et l’absence de publicité sont des "a coté" quand même très appréciables.

Bonne chance pour la présentation!

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Jim Sullivan

My Fedi story changed my life. I've always had bad teeth. Over time I've had many pulled; been w/o molars on the bottom & 1 side of the top forever. Had to be careful eating focusing on soft foods to avoid choking. Gone to US dentists for implants & got 2 estimates at $60,000 US WITH insurance which I can't afford. 2 years ago, a Fedifriend posted: if you need high quality lowcost dentalcare let me know." She sent details & I've been going to Spain for my whole mouth for 1/4 the US cost.
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Jace 🔥❤️‍🔥💖❤️

The ability to:

Filter my feed using keywords. Every platform needs this.

Cater my own feed to something meaningful and manageable instead of being at the whims of the slop algorithm.

The lack of ads and there being no incentives for them or any enshitification to be added in.

I can decide exactly what notifications I want or don't want, instead of having to choose between none or too many.

The privacy options are much stronger here than every other social media or content platform.

Dr. Anna Latour reshared this.

in reply to Leave X - Protect Democracy

mastodon - Link to source

Xodus.online

reasons for switching from Big Tech to the Fediverse are outlined in xodus.online/why

Why?

Why move away from platforms like X, Instagram, Tiktok, snapchat? Let’s take back control of our digital spaces. Social media platforms derive their power from conventions: we want to be there beca…
xodus.online (Xodus)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

gotosocial - Link to source

shom

thanks for advocating for the fedivers and looks like you have a lot of feedback but I'll add my voice anyway.

Knowing that when people build communities here around the common interests, it is not because of "reach", "influencing", "hacking the algorithm", "brand deals", and other "link in bio" nonsense. But it is for the pure joy of sharing what they love with other humans to form bonds that transcend national, technical, and corporate boundaries. The original promise of the free internet.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

disorganized tropical low

The Fediverse is regularly an inspiring alternative vision. I draw on it constantly as a reminder that we are the ones build who build these systems and we can build better systems that reflect different values and priorities besides extraction and capitalization and algorithmic injustice.

I’ll be using the Fediverse as an example in an upcoming keynote that’s on ethics and hope and metamodernism. I look forward to seeing what you speak on once you’re able to share.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

glitchsoc - Link to source

Dragonwolf of the Shadow Pride

This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Crowjane

I appreciate this platform. I don’t need to be fed by an algorithm. I want organic real people. When one asks a question or advice here they get real answers, from truly kind people wanting to assist you. This has become a novelty on other platforms. Here on the Fediverse it is the norm, not the exception. Plus there are some really smart, funny and compassionate people here. It’s fun, we all need fun.
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Jürgen Hubert

It's the trust that I have in the Fediverse. The trust that, even if individual instances come and go, the Fediverse will remain - and so will my presence here. And that it will only get better over time, instead of worse.

I put a lot of time and effort into Google+, but then it was gone. Then I put a lot of time and effort into Twitter, but then it was bought my Elon Musk. With the Fediverse, I don't have to fear any rug pull, and that does _woners_ for my peace of mind.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

hambier

J'aime le fédivers parce qu'il est conçu pour faire profiter des communautés en tous genres, qu'elles soient thématiques, créatives, régionales, etc. Par opposition les grands réseaux commerciaux ont pour seul but de monétariser chacun de mes clics en nourissant leurs algos optimisés pour le ragebait, le clickbait, l'addiction, la manipulation, la propagande, etc.

Humain vs. inhumain.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

william.maggos

it's #DemocracyOfReach.

freedom of speech is not enough if the wealthy determine who gets attention. decentralized social media can displace them, allowing the public to collectively decide what information, ideas and art goes viral. based purely on human boosts. no owners, no algos, no ads. that's the revolutionary potential here. while there's other ways to find and participate in community and be entertained, nothing else can do this. nothing else can so empower all the people.

#democracyofreach
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Faraiwe

I grew up with Web1.0, a free garden of oddities, trivia, useful bits of tech knowledge, weird and wonderful stuff, which was maybe limited by scant access, and tech-savvy required.

Web2.0 ("AOL") created walled gardens, where sheeple were allowed to see and go only where corporate goons wanted them to. Web3.0 monetized and enshittified that.

The #fediverse is Web1.0+, the freedom to access wonderful stuff, free of corps oversight... now with obscene broadband and storage/processing =D

#fediverse
in reply to Faraiwe

mastodon - Link to source

UkeleleEric

@faraiwe I grew up with a bit of web 1.0, then slipped out l, then back into the AOL era, but knew how to escape their walled garden quickly as soon as I logged-on. Now, I search out anything and everything that isn't enshittified or constantly expecting payments/ads. My main computer (currently at repairers, being retrieved tomorrow) is on Microslop 10, and will shortly be changed to Linux. (Wife will have to accept) The old (stand-in) computer is running Linux Mint without hiccough.
@Faraiwe
in reply to UkeleleEric

mastodon - Link to source

Faraiwe

The media in this post is not displayed to visitors. To view it, please go to the original post.

My kids been using Linux since they were ~3. If they can, any grown up can. A desktop is a desktop, a menu is a menu, your mouse pointer goes there, clicky-clicky, pop software/file opens. Similar applications do similar things.

Most people who whine about only knowing microslop offfice and windows do NOT know how to use those, either, so...

This entry was edited (6 hours ago)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Nicolas Fressengeas

La porte de la Fediverse, c'est une communauté bien à soi, que l'on peut s'approprier à sa façon et selon ses propres besoins sans en déléguer le contrôle à autrui, tout en restant connecté aux autres communautés et à leurs membres, dans le respect des valeurs et des besoins de chacunes et chacuns.

(Thanks Elena ! I am eager to learn what this prestigious venue is 🤔)

This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Taran Rampersad

...because we don't suffer the advertising incentives that built the modern internet into a caricature of humanity.

Thanks to the dampening of that, humans can have real interactions in the fediverse. We are all imperfect, but our imperfections are our own rather than magnified and marketed.

We are allowed to be as whole as we can be without some marketing department telling us we are defective in a way that they magically have a product or service for...

This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Leander Lindahl 🇪🇺

what I like about it is that holds within it a precious gem, something you cannot put a price on. The promise of a better world. A hope for the future. It has idealism and the promise of world where we all partake as equals. A public democratic space.

Pur trop je ne peut pas exprimer ça en français (encore).

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Marianne

I just don't get the rage from it like I do with Meta products.
I've been so angry for so long.
Fedi is much calmer, chill, easy to nope out if things do get a bit weird in a way you don't like (just mute that conversation, mute someone for a period, or forever, or block, lots of options!)

Conversation is meaningful.
It's random, niche and nerdy.
Whatever your special interest, you can find it, if you look - there is no algorithm hiding things from us or presenting us with things we should apparently love/hate.

It's so much more.. Real. It's not sanitised or exaggerated for reach and clicks. People just put themselves out there for whatever reason. It's more like when the internet was better (granted not for every marginalised group but nowhere has achieved that yet - we can keep trying!)

And overall it's got more good things like: anti-AI sentiment and critique, no quarter for fascists etc. Again not perfect but, a definite improvement over for-profit socials where you and your life are the product. No one is a preiuxt product here. Just people!

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

AskPippa🇨🇦

This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Janeishly

Parce que je peux voir les vies de vraies personnes, éparpillées au hasard dans mon fil, et non ce que l'algorithme essaie de m'imposer ce jour-là. Parce que Mastodon ne cherche pas à pomper mes données pour les revendre à des courtiers peu scrupuleux dans des pays du tiers-monde comme les États-Unis. Parce que les gens se passionnent vraiment pour la mousse, les fenêtres et les vieilles technologies informatiques. Parce que c'est humain, bordélique et aléatoire, et non pas sélectionné pour moi par un système à la Big Brother appartenant à des milliardaires ou à des investisseurs en capital-risque.
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Teapot Ben

alas my French is very rudimentary these days.

In an age where most social media sites implement algorithms to control what we see based on the whims of tech billionaires, and people are encouraged to chase popularity and influence, the Fediverse frees us from those algorithmic barriers and allows us to find true human connections and build supportive communities, while giving individuals greater ownership and control of their data.

I suspect others could write it more eloquently!

in reply to Teapot Ben

mastodon - Link to source

Teapot Ben

The media in this post is not displayed to visitors. To view it, please go to the original post.

interestingly, I'm reading a book right now by your fellow countryman Carlo Rovelli about Anaximander, a 6th C BCE Greek philosopher/scientist who is credited with bringing about the start of the modern scientific method to understand the world rather than attributing everything to the gods' influence.

The chapter about the political situation in the region at that time seems like an apt analogy with social media! (All quotes © Carlo Rovelli)

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Poupou dit Le Transpositeur 🎷

je vais pas mal répété ce qui a été dit j'pense :
Je préfère ici parce que l'environnement de scrollingl'air bien plus... "choisi"
Enfin, on a le contrôle sur ce qu'on veut voir. Si je veux pas de... je sais pas moi... de vache (pardon les vaches, c'est juste un exemple 🤷🏻) dans ma TL, je choisis tout simplement de pas suivre des gens qui en parle. Ou de masquer les mots-clés liés. Et ça fonctionne !
Tandis que les grosses plate-formes nous imposent beaucoup de choses. On peut bloquer des gens qui parlent de vaches à tour de bras, on continue encore d'en voir beaucoup.
Aussi on est + proche des "chef" des instances, et on peut discuter -

1/?

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Tanguy Fardet

hi @_elena fingers crossed for your talk, here is a testimony in French (feel free to cut some parts if it's too long).

« J'aime l'idéal que porte le Fédivers, d'un internet collaboratif, pensé et construit par et pour des humains. Différentes communautés (individus, institutions...) peuvent y créer des espaces où elles décident de leur objectifs et de leur fonctionnement, mais leurs membres peuvent aussi continuer d'interagir avec d'autres communautés au sein de cet écosystème plus large. »

@Elena Rossini ⁂
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Cainmark Does Not Comply 🚲

I was about to write mine when this came across my timeline, almost exactly what I was going to toot.

wandering.shop/@realtegan/1163…

Laura "Tegan" Gjovaag ⛈ 🐸

2026-04-07 19:47:00

mastodon - Link to source

The thing I like about doomscrolling on Mastodon is that I get the news I feel I need to get - but in between there are photos of cats, moss, and beautiful old trees, discussion of repairing and reupholstering old chairs, lockpicking discussions, out of context comic book panels, various pieces of artwork, really horrible dad jokes, and sometimes just surreal stuff that makes me smile.

So, yeah, you all are keeping me sane. Keep it up.


reshared this

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

M. Grégoire

Facebook and Twitter tried to build social networks for the entire world. But they demonstrated that it's impossible to define rules that work for everyone and all situations. The solution is to have many communities, each with its own rules and norms, let people choose the community that best fits, and give users the power to communicate to people in other communities.
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

akkoma - Link to source

Steffie 🏳️‍⚧️

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Virgile Andreani ⏚ 🇵🇸

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

The Three Fingers

i don't have a testimonial, but it's important to me, living in the u.s., because of how organizations like ICE gather information on political dissidents and immigrants through cooperation from social media corporations like meta...in other places, identities are collected by social media apps with age verification policies, so we all need platforms that don't collect our information.
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Kibrika

I love that it's both local and global for me. The instance I'm on makes it feel very local (because I chose one by location rather than interests), but I follow foreigners and hastags, and get a global feel too.
Additionally, I love that my timeline is not an endless scroll. I can always go on reading either the global timeline, or more chatty people I have in lists, but there's a natural "stop" if I try to use "check mastodon" as a nervous tick or procrastination button.
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Karen E. Lund 💙💛

It ought to be enough that an organization can have an online presence not owned & controlled by Zuckerberg & Musk, but here goes...

If by "prestigious" you mean they have the resources (staff, money), they should have their own instance. As complete control as anyone can have in social media.

Corollary: Having a social media handle like CEO@Company.social ROCKS! (You might want to translate that to corp-speak.)

1/2

in reply to Karen E. Lund 💙💛

mastodon - Link to source

Karen E. Lund 💙💛

The effort (staff time) of running an instance will be more than offset by the time saved keeping spammers, trolls, impersonaters, and other miscreants out of their feed.

Don't have to choose between paying Musk for a blue check or appearing dubious to some users.

A smaller but more thoughtful audience in the Fediverse. Far fewer fake accounts than Twitter. (I cannot speak to FB as I left so many years ago.)

I might follow them. <smirk>

2/2

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

El Vector ⁂ 🐸🐌

Le fediverse nous donne le pouvoir de décider comment gérer nos réseaux sociaux:

1. Les normes d'usage sont établies par consensus et peuvent se changer par consensus. Cela inclut aussi la possibilité de connecter ou bloquer certains serveurs.

2. Aucune entité privée ne peut censurer nos conversations au fediverse.

3. Aucune personne ou entité privée ne peut transgresser ces normes. Ni son argent ni sa réputation peuvent acheter un traitement de faveur. Le fediverse n'appartient qu'à ses utilisateurs.

4. Par conséquent, les utilisateurs sont plus conscients des normes et des conséquences de les violer, et cela peut s'apprécier aux interactions, plus respectueuses que dans les réseaux privatives.

En plus, le fediverse est un projet très proche à l'esprit de ce que l'Internet doit être, un réseau de communication libre et respectueuse.

This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

C++ Wage Slave

The Fediverse is special to me because it's full of interesting and friendly people and I can always find an engaging conversation to join or just read. Unlike the big commercial sites, the Fediverse lets me control my own feed, so I see just what I want to see and nothing else — no adverts, no hate speech and no ragebait designed to keep me on the site regardless of the cost to my mental health.

But more than that, the Fediverse is where, late in life, I discovered that I'm autistic, and lots of lovely autistic people helped me understand what that means and how to use it to understand the past and improve the future. That realisation has revolutionised my life. Even if the Fediverse disappeared tomorrow, I'd carry the gift of that insight with me for the rest of my life.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Steve's Place

I started out humbly, on mastodon dot social. Now I run private servers for Mastodon, PeerTube, and Faircamp, all of which run off of a PC in my living room. I couldn't host any of the corporate platforms at all, and here I am looking forward to adding users at some point.

It's also like a knowledge hub, with added pictures of dogs, cats, lizards, birds, arachnids, and countless close-ups of lichen and moss. Plus Monsterdon!

Anyone can join in!

The Fediverse is what social media was supposed to be.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Paul Wermer, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Count me as an old guy, in my 70s.

In the Fediverse I define my "algorithm", following people who have interesting things to say or post). It means paying attention to individuals to determine who to follow, and expanding my lists both on relevant hashtags as well as strangers who appear in a thread.

Yes, there's certainly some confirmation bias in selecting who I follow, but the diversity of opinions is large.

I get to see posts in foreign languages, some of which I can read, but most I translate on-line.

I learn things from perfect strangers, sometimes inspired by them. And there's a level of engagement I don't see elsewhere.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Mïkê 💚 👑🐉🗡️🏳️‍⚧️

J'ai rencontré deux personnes extrêmement spéciales ici. Les deux ont devenuent très proche à moi. Une est maintenant ma partenaire.

J'ai rencontré ces personnes à cause d'une petite blague que j'ai publié. J'ai fait beaucoups de telles blagues sur des réseaux sociaux bourgeois, mais chaque fois, les algorithmes ont décidé de les oublier. Ici, les gens ont aimé la blague, alors elles l'ont partagé, alors tout le monde l'a vu. C'est à cause de ça que j'ai rencontré ces deux personnes. À cause de l'absence des algorithmes, nous avons pleines des opportunités pour des connections vrais.

Pour les curieux-ses, la blague malheureusement ne fonctionne pas en Français, mais c'était:

Ouais, chuis LGBT:
L - Absence d'
G - Allez au
B - Lit a l'heure
T - Transgenre

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Stephen Bannasch (316 ppm)

The kind of engagement I’m looking for in a social network are conversations with inquiry, curiosity, and kindness. I see this all the time in the Fediverse and get great value whether I’m an active participant or not.

Three years ago a person I followed was having a very very hard time with a chronic illness.

I wrote this thread for them, about growing Saffron … and by the end about taking a breath and making the next moment a bit better.

ruby.social/@stepheneb/1096231…

Stephen Bannasch (316 ppm) (@stepheneb@ruby.social)

Attached: 1 image @bluebirdblvd@mas.to Here’s a true story in the class of things I sometimes call “domestic magic”.
Stephen Bannasch (316 ppm) (Ruby.social)
This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

CassandraVert

Fedi is full of people on the leading edge, especially in science. People are building things and discovering things. You can be part of it, or you can just watch. People here love to learn, and the excitement is contagious.
in reply to CassandraVert

mastodon - Link to source

Stuck Here

@CassandraVert

I love that the Fediverse is what I want when I want it. Curated lists take me straight to the latest news or hobbies. An algorithm isn't hiding things on me or pushing someone's paid advertising.

Discussions are real here. It has a small town feel.

And yes. I feel closer to leading edge thinkers here. And a comment is likely to get a response. It feels more respectful around here.

@CassandraVert
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Steveg58

I was on Google Plus, it was my first social media experience and I liked it. When G+ was killed my online friends moved to a lot of different platforms and I joined most of them. The one that felt best was a diaspora site. Then the site shut down because the maintainer died unexpectedly. Most of my friends moved to other diaspora servers in the USA but I wanted a server in Australia and I ended up on a Mastodon site. I made new friends and liked it. Then Twitter went strange and the whole mastodon culture changed with the influx of new people and many of my real world friends joined mastodon instances. I wish mastodon communicated with diaspora but I guess I would have no chance of finding my old friends again. I don't like the new boost everything culture but it is still better than the alternatives. I meet and interact with interesting people and they react to my comments. It gives me connections that I wouldn't have otherwise and I still have a stream that I can mostly get through each day.
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Katy Swain

According to the Internet Archive's Wayback machine I joined the proto-Fediverse (identi.ca) in 2008. It was fun. It was people who were not normal. We inspired each other to self-host, to make silly podcasts, and to share.

Eventually, I started thinking "Wow. I follow a lot of trans women. Well, I suppose that just shows what a diverse community we are."

There followed a series of personal epiphanies. I cocooned for a few years.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

EyeOfMidas

the fediverse is... difficult. It's not nearly as easy as "go to Twitter.com and you'll be tapped into the feed". It takes research, and work, and a little bit of technical knowledge to make a mastodon account and add users from different instances.

This modicum of difficulty has been a SPECTACULAR remedy to the Eternal September of the rest of the internet. So many people post thoughtful, quality content, everyone seems educated and knowledgeable. No dummies allowed.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Ryek Darkener

For me the Fediverse is special because most of the people you meet here are willing to share their thoughts and/or discuss on equal terms. Even if there is a difference in opinions, there is a common, fact based ground. Unprovable personal beliefs are normally marked as such and not framed as THE TRUTH.
I wished is was that easy in real life. ;)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

mastodon - Link to source

Dr. Quadragon ❌

- Part of what makes the Fediverse special is how UNspecial it is. It's not flashy, it doesn't go out of its way trying to "wow" you. It's pretty simple and boring technology. A mechanism. A standard. It just gets the job done.

- It's permissionless. Which is basically another word for "free as in speech". There's no big rich corporation behind it. There's no dictator at the top. You don't need to ask anybody. Your account is your own. Your server is your own. Your Fediverse software, in case you write it, is your own. The consequences are also your own. It does mean that the entry threshold is steeper, because nobody is coming to baby you into signing on and building your own social graph, but that's the deal.

- This, however means, that if you're invested into finding friends on your own, it very quickly starts feeling like a true home. I've found friends here. I've found a family here. My ragtag tribe of adorable goofballs. No other social network can provide that.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

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Chris Alemany

ok here goes!

What really impresses me?

The Fediverse has diversity built-in. It is a core function.

ActivityPub enables a truly open and interconnected social web of people and platforms that is more like the original 'world wide web'.

While currently it is small, and thus less diverse in active users than the established giants, the way ActivityPub and the Fediverse are built means diversity can, and should be, infinite.

That's why I believe this place will thrive.

in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

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Internet Rando

You have a bajillion of these so I'll be short,

#Fedi is the public radio of social media.

Meta, LinkedIn, Xhitter, BSky are giant trees, users (the leaves) send their nutrients (data) to the (billionaire owned) trunk.

#Fedi is a slow-growth forest of interconnected plants all sharing with each other.

And this is hardest to convey, #fedi isn't for people looking for audiences, or influencers, or "engagement". #fedi is for building a social network of relationships and interaction.

#fedi
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

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Christelle Lachambre - Artiste

[1/2] un sujet passionnant, bravo pour le travail de recueil et courage pour la synthèse !
De mon côté j'aime le fait qu'il n'y ait pas d'algorithme et donc que les contenus ne sont pas écrits pour être provocateurs, ce qui favorise les extrêmes, la violence et les clivages au détriment de la mesure, de l'intelligence, de l'empathie et du respect d'autrui. Et j'adore qu’il n'y ait pas de vidéos "obligatoires" qui ne servent à rien de plus qu'à attirer l'attention pour ne rien dire !
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

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Christelle Lachambre - Artiste

[2/2] et j'adore aussi qu'il n'y ait pas un "ego démesuré qui veut s'en mettre plein les poches et dicter son point de vue" aux commandes de l'algorithme qui dicte ce que tu as ou non le droit de voir. J'utilise le Fediverse depuis peu et j'apprends encore à trouver qui suivre mais je préfère ça plutôt qu'on choisisse pour moi (d'autant que j'ai des intérêts éclectiques et que je suis curieuse, j'aime apprendre des choses que je ne connais pas et ça l’algorithme a du mal à le comprendre)
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

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Anthony Bosio

I was an active Twitter user from March 2007 and have some great memories from my participation there. When the leadership of Twitter abandoned its users and left the platform to become a garbage fire, I decided I would absolutely not let that happen to me again. I am so happy the Fediverse was there to turn to. It is place that cannot be bought or sold by a rich guy with a chainsaw. It is a place run by communities for communities.
in reply to Elena Rossini ⁂

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M Dell

Il y a quelques années, j’ai lancé le projet social.overheid.nl à partir d’une conviction simple : une communication ouverte de la part du gouvernement rend les Pays-Bas plus forts.

C’est encourageant de voir que ce mouvement se poursuit, notamment au sein de notre administration fiscale. La transparence, le dialogue et les plateformes numériques ne sont pas des “atouts”, mais essentiels pour instaurer la confiance.

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