@bumble
"Posts, and replies, are discoverable across the #fediverse"
Unfortunately that's not actually true, as I recently discovered. When you search for a hashtag you only see posts from other people on your server and anyone they follow or interact with. If someone uses the hashtag, but they are on a different server and no one on your server has interacted with them then you won't see that post.
@maegul@sanjay_digital@bumble I think that the problem is that those of us who have used other social media tend to think of the fediverse or Mastodon as equivalent to one of those platforms when it's not. Your server is equivalent to one of those platforms. So, when you do a hashtag search you search posts on your server, just as you would search across Twitter. However, in the fediverse you will also see some posts from other servers (it would be like seeing some posts from Instagram on Twitter when you do a hsshtag search). So the fediverse actually does more than any of those platforms. The difference is that the individual platforms are smaller... 1/2
@maegul@sanjay_digital@bumble (cont)... so your choice of server is important if you want to discover people with similar interests. A platform/server with a large community has the advantage of making it easier to connect with others who are not already part of your network, but risks the problems that caused many of us to migrate here from other social media. I guess we have to ask ourselves what's more important to us. (2/2)
I understand and agree, but, IMO, what you describe is A problem not THE problem.
The idea I was driving at is that allowing the user to piece together and see as much of the fediverse as they like, however large or limited a single server's "reach", is what a true fediverse would be.
Talking about what fediverse servers can/not do misses the point IMO. The question is why are we all so bound to them?
@DrKathyChandler@maegul@sanjay_digital Absolutely agree with all you are saying. The more people use an server/instance and follow/share with others on different instances, the more your own server knows about the fediverse. (that is, the more it's global timeline grows).
I run few instances. One is quite niche. With just over 400 users. It started quite insular but quicky grew as users expanded their use. The server has processed 47m statuses in/out in 6 months and now knows a lot more of the fediverse.
So, sitting on a very niche server runs the risk of knowing little beyond that server, but the local population is what you may be interested in and you can make it grow.
I my view, larger servers run a risk of collapsing. Remember ALL these servers are run by volunteers and based on donations or some sponsorship. The bigger the server the more it costs (especailly storage). If people stop donating enough the server runs the risk of folding. There's been a few lately that grew too much.
End of the day, go with your own instinct. It's getting easier to move servers now. I and one user who moved from a Mastodon instance to here (a #Calckey server), and brougt his 700+ posts with him quite easily.
And unfortunately, these sort of features often need to be more or less universal.
For instance, now that your post history is now a calckey history, you can't come back to mastodon, it was always a one-way trip and may stay that way for a while.
Imagine a world where I can have one account on here (lets' just say Calckey), but I can follow people on Mastodon, Kbin, and Pixelfed. I see all their posts and images and chats. They don't care where I am. And I can interact. Well, that's here, right now. Try the same on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, Reddit account. Not a hope.
Oh for sure ... there's plenty to be positive about ... it's why I'm here!
But it doesn't mean that there aren't issues and that some of them are serious and maybe even difficult to surmount with significant recognition and investment.
In general, and somewhat in your post, there's a potentially false sentiment that once there's some federated connectivity the rest will just come. I'm challenging that, because I do want it to come fast + furious.
@maegul@bumble@DrKathyChandler
The fediverse being able to meet different user desires is challenging. I'm not convinced that a design/default of hyper-connectivity is always desirable. Unless there are really solid, consistent agreed Codes of Conduct & moderation between servers (not easy). Else the same problems of 'hate'/dis-info can occur (and already do).
I think there are many levels between where we are now and what could be built.
Moreover, the general theme is diversity and choice. With richer connectivity/dynamics, some spaces could be hyper-connected (I actually think the "town square" isn't the worst idea in the world) while others could be quite constrained or in between, and you ability to visit or exist in any one at any time could be simple.
Add comment