A question I got yet again: "Why do you differentiate between Mastodon and the Fediverse? Isn't it all just Mastodon?"

Well, click this link:

https://open.audio/

...and tell me if you perceive that site as "Mastodon":

See, the problem is that once I show people Fediverse apps that aren't Mastodon, I get the inevitable question:

"WTF does this have to do with Mastodon?!"

Let's be honest. The only possible way everything gets perceived as "Mastodon" is if it looks like Mastodon.

Many (most?) Fediverse apps don't look like Mastodon. Neither do they do what Mastodon does.

It's better that we have an entirely different term for "stuff that interoperates with each other on a federated level".

That term is: Fediverse.

So the next question I inevitably get regarding Fediverse app that aren't Mastodon:

"Hows does this stuff interoperate with Mastodon?"

This is where open protocols like ActivityPub come into play:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActivityPub

Every social app that has ActivityPub can effectively talk to each other.

You can receive posts, comment on posts, boost posts, bookmark them, etc.

@atomicpoet I think part of the problem lies in the fact that there are a lot of us out here that don't have a clue how that interoperability really works. I know it's there but I don't know how and I've yet to see an article that explains it in simple layman's terms.

@lakelady This graph here might help you understand how interoperability works.

@atomicpoet that explains the concept but not how it functions within various servers. For example if I post to my pixelfed account it doesn't show up on mastodon and I can't sign in to pixelfed with mastodon credentials. The basics of HOW is far from transparent. The most I've been able to grok is how to communicate with other mastodon servers within the mastodon portion of the fediverse.

@lakelady This chart explains what gets seen in your Mastodon feed and why.

This applies not just to Mastodon but the greater Fediverse.

@atomicpoet that seems to only describe mastodon to mastodon instance . . . not the whole fediverse.

@lakelady As I said, it also applies to the Fediverse at large.

@atomicpoet I think I just figured out a key - and awkward - part. Example - in order for me to see photos I post on pixelfed in my mastodon timeline I have to follow my pixelfed account. This is the part that's so off-putting for most people. We want a simple, all-inclusive solution. Not a patchwork that's a bit threadbare.

@lakelady That's understandable. Problem is, that federating with *everything* gets to be quite expensive -- especially when an admin is paying out of pocket!

This is because the way the Fediverse works is that everything is a duplicate. When you're hosting a photo, and your instance is federated by 1,000 instances, your photo is getting duplicated 1,000 times!

So consider this. If a photo is 5MB on Pixelfed, and 1,000 instances receive that photo -- imagine how much bandwidth is needed!

@atomicpoet is it getting duped 1000 times or only the number of people that follow me?

@lakelady If 1,000 instances are federated with your instance, it's getting duped 1,000x -- showing up in the federated (global) feed.

@atomicpoet is there a way that only a thumbnail to get shared and not a whole photo? Then if you wanted to link to opening pixelfed instead of mastodon? this could be especially helpful for small instances.

@lakelady There's many alternatives to what's happening currently. To be real, I talk about this problem often.

And I'm currently in talks with coders regarding hosting—making this easier for people who want to get up and running quickly.