@oli thanks! and yeah it is kind of weird that GtS asks me to approve a self-reply, i'll double-check to see if it's still happening on the latest version and if so file a bug

Congrats ... and timely too!

And yes, good article @Sarahp

@julian

@oli my infosec.exchange acount (Mastodon) can see the reply from blahaj.zone (Sharkey) but not the reply from GoToSocial.

Nope, it showed up immediately in my home feed here. Oh well. Not much that can be done really ... island networks FTW

@jdp23 @oli

A good report as always, and agreed about the importance of @nodebb's release.

With @pixelfed , it's important to highlight that the moderation story is a disaster waiting to happen. @dansup himself has said that he still needs to implement key functionality like moderation roles and a dashboard, and that he doesn't have a moderation team in place. Others have pointed out multiple unfixed bugs related to reporting.

A high-profile Pixelfed fiasco (or worse, blatantly illegal content) could not only destroy the reputation of Pixelfed, but the sharpnel could have an impact on fedi as a whole -- especially at a time when regulators in the UK are clarifying enforcement of the Online Safety Act, and anti-LGBTQIA2S+ fascist oligarch who run social networks that compete with fedi are in power in the US.

It would be great if Dan changes his stance -- turning off open registration on pixelfed.social until he has the moderation situation under control would be an easy first step that could make a big difference.

And also, we really need to think about what we can collectively do to limit the damage to fedi as a whole.

@fediversereport @fediversenews

#fediverse #pixelfed

@mho interesting rise in Mastodon! How does Flipboard compare?

@shellsharks also I added a link to "Cloudy with a chance of not enshittifying" to the Appendix of "links on Bluesky and decentralization that are worth reading even though they don't mention Blacksky" in https://privacy.thenexus.today/decentralization-and-erasure-blacksky-bluesky-and-the-atmosphere-2/ ... you made some good points in that article!

@shellsharks Fair enough, "hysterical" wasn't a great word choice by me, so my apologies. And I certainly do agree that there's another wave in progress -- and not just with Pixelfed, I was posting just last night about momentum in general. https://infosec.exchange/@thenexusofprivacy/113859291551534363

As to whether "the Fediverse" is more popular than ever ... I guess it depends on the definitions of "the Fediverse" and of popular. Is Bluesky part of the Fediverse? If so then sure, by any metric it's more popular than ever. But by that definition Free our Feeds would be throwing money at the Fediverse so I'm pretty sure that's not how you're defining things.

But if you're defining "the Fediverse" in terms of ActivityPub (which is what it seemed to me you're doing ... well, I'm really not sure what definition of "popular" this would currently be true for. I think mindshare was much higher in late 2022 (when Mastodon was seen as the major alternative to Twitter, as opposed to now when Bluesky is the new hotness). The current surge is exciting but at least so far noticeably smaller than November/December 2022, and June 2023 surges. Last time I checked (at the end of last year) the percentage of newcomers who stick around hasn't improved ... maybe things will be different with this new surge but we don't know that yet. And while I agree that MAU isn't the primary measure of a network's health (bigger isn't necessarily better) but personally I do think it's a reasonable measure of popularity.

So, while I certainly think that there's still plenty of potential, I also think it's important to be realistic. If you're writing about why people chose one platform over another for their investment, it's one thing if both platforms are growing (which is what your framing of "more popular than ever, but struggling to get mainstream appeal" implies) and another if one platform is growing and the other isn't!

@josemurilo

Another important tip - and one of the key ways it's very different here - is that there are thousands of different instances in the fediverses – each with their own policies, norms, culture, and software.

An instance isn't a silo; people on different instances can often interact with each other -- following, liking, resharing, replying, mentioning, blocking, etc etc etc. Still, the instance you're on has a big impact on your experience here. So if you're not wild about your first choice, consider looking around for another!

What instance is likely to work out well for you? It depends on what you're looking for, and unfortunately it's not as straightforward is it could be to get some of the information that's helpful. Still, With a little effort you may well be able to find what you're looking for.

Resources for choosing the right fediverse instance has a lot of links to instance directories and catalogs as well suggestions about how to approach the process. It's long, but there's also a section on "If you just want to get started as easily as possible ...", so if you don't want to deal with the complexity feel free to skip ahead.

Resources for choosing the right fediverse instance (UPDATED DRAFT)

A daunting choice -- but not irrevocable!

The Nexus Of Privacy (privacy.thenexus.today)

(Also, this is still a draft, so feedback welcome!)

What resources and/or suggestions do you have for newcomers?

It's great to see so many newcomers ... and with campaigns like #HelloQuitteX and #vamonosjuntas (and other social networks getting worse and worse) it really feels like we're at the start of another wave. Welcome!

The fediverse is very different than corporate social networks, and can be confusing -- especially at first. Fortunately, there are a lot of good tips and resources to make it better. Long-timers, please share your insights! Newcomers, if there are resources or suggestions you've found helpful -- or quetions you have -- please join in!

I'll kick things off ...

• fedi.tips has a lot of great tips, beginning with their getting started guide.

• If you use a screenreader, check out Accessibility resources for Mastodon and compatible software

• How to find interesting people to follow? Check out hashtags, the local and explore feeds, directories like FediDevs' starter packs, and Mastodon’s Account Recommendations

• Including "alt text" on pictures makes a huge difference for people who rely on screenreaders. Please do! Or, if you don't have the spoons (or are dealing with software that makes it hard to add alt text), use the #altText4Me hashtag to ask for help. FediTips has more details, along with other suggestions about how to make posts more accessible to blind and low-vision people.

• There are a lot of different apps out there, and many people prefer them to the "official" ones. Personally I like Phanpy, both on my phone and laptop, but there are lots of other options too. If you've got a recommendation, please leave it in the replies!

What else? Suggestion welcome!

#welcome #fediverse

Pixelfed's rapid growth is very exciting. Still, until you have a mod team -- and the underlying software supports mod dashboards and roles -- please consider switching to invite-only registration (and encourage or even require other instances listed on pixelfed.org to do the same).

The opportunity isn't going to go away: Meta and Instagram aren't going to get any less evil, so people who are interested now will still be interested one you've got the team and softrware in place. In fact many other social networks have successfully used invite-only phases to build pent-up demand.

But a moderation disaster (which is increasingly likely as things grow without the proper tools and teams in place) could permanently damage Pixelfed's reputation in a way that's very hard to recover from. And, until there's good moderation support in the software, you're putting both the people who sign up and the people who are hosting instances at risk.

@dansup

@josemurilo There's certainly a lot to critique about #FreeOurFeeds but reducing it to "we're going to build another Relay so that Bluesky's 'fire exits' are real" is just silly. The overall approach they're taking is similar to #SWF: there's a lot of money potentially floating around the ecosystem but investment is currently low,; and, there's a lot of concern about one big player dominating (Meta for ActivityPub and Bluesky in the ATmosphere).

So there's a win/win opportunity for an independent multipolar non-profit entity to complement the dominant corporation. Bluesky benefits just as much from FoF as the AI-focused companies (including Mozilla) who are the majority of the FoF 'custodians'. The need for an alternate Relay is just a convenient artifact that many people have (for whatever reason) focused on.

BTW this from the article was hysterical:

"The "Fediverse" has been around for a while and though it has never been more popular than it is now,..."

No, actually, the Fediverse had more than twice as many active users two years ago than it does today. Don't get me wrong, there's still a lot of interesting stuff happening here, but let's be realistic!

yeah really. great thread! @grimalkina

@fediversereport really excellent analysis!

Pixelfed (the software) does support federation with Threads. I'm not sure which (if any) Pixelfed isntances are curently federating.

@mastodonmigration @Jared @wendinoakland

Yeah. People are putting up larger-scale relays as well -- @edavis.dev recently mentioned experimenting with a non-archival relay for < $30/month (not bad at all!). Rudy Fraser has also posted about looking at doing a non-archival Relay for Blacksky. So I agree with your view -- there are llkely to be a few bumps in the road but there don't appear any barriers to solving the technical problem of running an independent whole-network Relay.

What's still an open question is the economic motivations for anybody other than Bluesky to running a whole-network Relay. The Free our Feeds approach of trying to get the community to pay for it as a public good is interesting. From Bluesky's perspective, it's great to have them be an independent organization -- and if the reports they're on track to closing another round of funding are accurate, it's very timely.

Of course Free our Feeds approach of having most of the "custodians" be AI-focused doesn't encourage confidence. Neither does the heavy involvement of Mozilla. So we'll see how it works out in practice.

@moira @mastodonmigration @joeinwynnewood @pluralistic

Members of Meta's Civil Rights Advisory Group have "grave concerns" with their recent content policy changes. No, ya think?

https://cdt.org/insights/letter-meta-civil-rights-advisory-group-members-grave-concerns-content-policy-changes/

"Meta’s failure to engage even its own advisory group of external civil rights experts shows a cynical disregard for its diverse user base and calls into question Meta’s commitment to the free speech principles to which it claims to want to “return.”

A bad process makes bad policy. In your announcement, you touted Meta’s commitment to free expression, but the changes will significantly harm free speech."

#meta #threads #FediPact

The "Free our Feeds" announcement is very much along the lines of the NPIC appointing itself architect of the future of decentralized social media.

"The Social Web Foundation convenes the network of platforms connected via ActivityPub. SWF's executive director is involved in the #FreeOurFeeds campaign as a custodian and you can read more about in her blog post"

@ophiocephalic

@alshafei very exciting ! many thanks to you and everybody else involved in charting this path forward

@Gargron kudos to you for making this decision, I’m sure it wasn’t an easy one but it’s certainly the right path going forward!