I've just seen a lot of post recently complaining what they see on their front pages such as news, politics, endless memes, etc. But you do know if any of those subs bother you or seem excessive, you can filter the subs so that they don't appear on your front page anymore. Filter memes and 196, and about 70 percent of the memes...
Apologies if I missed one that has already been held. But I saw a member census of beehaw, which was really interesting. I'm not suggesting gathering of any personally identifying info, but more generally getting a sense of who is here on kbin.
A certain stage of development has ended - a prototype was created that allowed me to verify whether such a form makes sense in the #fediverse. Until now, it was a project that I developed in my free time. Now, thanks to the great people from Nlnet, I will be able to devote much more time to it. This time, we have already...
The search form has been fixed (if you were experiencing this issue). This time, the Docker recreate may take a bit longer. Moving forward, when making changes, I will create pull requests like everyone else and ask for your review. Sorry for the inconvenience. Soon, the first tagged release will also be available. It's time to...
Yet another question people are asking me: "How can I, a common person, help hasten the demise of #Meta through #ActivityPub?"
Again, I want to re-emphasize this. #Fediblock is not an all-purpose tool. It's useful as a hammer. But in this scenario, we don't just need a hammer. We need drills, pliers, saws, and blowtorches.
That said, we must protect communities that choose to defederate from Meta. Which means that if those servers don't want to receive messages from any Meta-owned services, we must not only be respectful of that, we should make damn sure that those servers are quarantined from Meta. So much of the success of fighting Meta will require safe spaces from Meta.
The next thing we need is lots and lots of nodes. Currently, we only have ~25,000 nodes on the Fediverse but we need more. Preferably, these nodes should be small, agile, and well-moderated. If you have the finances and/or skill to run a node, it's important that you do so. To compete with Meta, we need to build scale -- and the easiest way to build scale is by adding more nodes to the Fediverse.
What will also be key is lobby servers. These will be servers specifically set up for migrants from Meta-owned services to help onboard them towards the rest of the Fediverse. To run such a lobby server, they need to be welcoming, moderated well, and free of the elitists and gatekeepers that poison so much of the Fediverse currently.
How to get people from Meta to try out the rest of the Fediverse? We need people willing to be ambassadors on #P92 who are ready and willing to evangelize the rest of the Fediverse. Folks like @tchambers are very good at this on Twitter, and I have no doubt that we can do the same with P92. Except this time we'll have the benefit of federation already happening 😉
Now if there's one thing I've learned about the growth of the Fediverse it's that bad corporate decisions pay dividends. We've already experienced waves of migration from Tumblr, Twitter, and Reddit. And I have no doubt that it's only a matter of time before Meta makes another corporate mistake -- as they tend to do.
In which case, we need to strike fast. When another Cambridge Analytica happens, we need to remind everyone on Meta about the lobby servers that are on standby, and ready to take them on. Unlike previous migrations, let's not be unprepared for this. Let's be especially prepared since Meta plans to join the Fediverse.
Finally, we need more devs. Specifically, we need devs willing to build innovative server and client software that takes aim at Meta. And to do that, we need to support the devs that currently exist -- show evergreen devs pondering whether they should invest here that we, as a community, are appreciative of our current devs.
If you like #Mastodon, #Calckey, #Kbin, #Friendica, etc., it's important that you open up your hearts as well as your wallets and fund the next stage of Fediverse development.
This will take a lot of work. But if you want to fight Meta, challenge their dominance of social media, this is what must be done.
Personally, I'm hyped about the future of the Fediverse -- regardless of whether Meta eventually lives to tell the tale.
There's a lot of noise with this one. Among the noisiest we've seen. Please know that our teams are on it, and like all blowups on Reddit, this one will pass as well. The most important things we can do right now are stay focused, adapt to challenges, and keep moving forward. We absolutely must ship what we said we would....
It is an existential threat to the very core of Meta’s social media monopoly. Surprisingly, if the goal is to fight against Meta’s hegemony, the most effective strategy may be to federate with them.
“But Chris,” some of you might state, “Even you agree that it might be better to defederate Meta – and you’ve even set up notmeta.social for expressly this purpose.”
Yes, because it’s not everyone’s objective to fight Meta, and there should be spaces where fighting Meta isn’t top of mind. Not everyone wants to be part and parcel of a fight, and that’s okay.
Let’s first acknowledge the technology through which federation happens. #ActivityPub is an open standard protocol that enables the decentralized social networking that powers the Fediverse. It allows different social media platforms (#Mastodon, #Calckey, #Kbin, etc.) to interoperate, meaning that users on one platform can communicate with users on another platform. Federation is the process by which these platforms connect and share content, forming a decentralized network.
The most important thing to understand about ActivityPub is that, more than a technology to merely send and receive messages, it’s also a common ruleset – a gentleman’s agreement that everyone will play nice when sending and receiving messages.
Now when Meta opts to use ActivityPub, they’re abiding by the agreement: to play by the same rules as everybody else. Should they renege on this agreement, they are no longer using ActivityPub. They’re using something else.
But let’s assume for a moment that Meta is abiding to use ActivityPub, and they indeed will play by the same rules. Knowing Meta, this is a tall order – but still, let’s assume.
ActivityPub means that whatever of Meta’s userbase that’s exposed to federation will diversify into other platforms. This is because, through ActivityPub, smaller platforms can connect with each other and offer a combined user base that competes with Meta’s centralized network. This diversification reduces the dependence of users on a single platform, giving them more choices and potentially drawing them away from Meta.
This creates an erosion of Meta’s network effects. Meta’s entire monopoly is based on ownership of their platforms’ network effects, where the value of the platform increases as more users join. Suddenly, by federating, Meta no longer own the network effect. This is because federation challenges this by breaking down barriers between platforms, allowing users to interact regardless of the platform they are on. This reduces the exclusivity and advantage Meta holds, as the network effects become distributed across multiple interconnected platforms.
Federation also gives Meta’s users power that they never previously had. Federation promotes decentralization by giving users greater control over their data and interactions. With ActivityPub, users have the freedom to choose which platform they prefer without sacrificing connectivity. This user empowerment threatens Meta’s control over user data and engagement, potentially leading to a loss of influence and advertising revenue.
ActivityPub poses a tangible threat to Meta’s monopoly on social media. By choosing to federate, Meta might be opening Pandora’s box. The moment Meta’s users receive a message from a server not owned by Meta is the moment they’re exposed to something else beyond Meta’s control. Inevitably, this will create more diversity of ActivityPub-enabled platforms – not less. This will erode Meta’s network effects. For people who use Meta, the power of decentralization – giving them more freedom – will prove revelatory.
Of course, this is a fight. And just because Meta federates doesn’t mean it’s game over. In the next post, I will explore what Meta is hoping to gain by joining the #Fediverse.
With Meta beginning to test federation, there's a lot of discussion as to whether we should preemptively defederate with Threads. I made a post about the question, and it seems that opinions differ a lot among people on Kbin. There were a lot of arguments for and against regarding ads, privacy, and content quality, but I don't...
I see a lot of posts on fediverse trashing reddit, Twitter, spez, musk and so on, and rightfully so. But like it or not, the mass majority of users on the internet still use these sites, and some of us still want to interact with the friends and communities we are a part of on those sites. And there's nothing wrong with that...
New migrants please be patient. This is a lot like Nov 2022. It will be choppy, but get sorted out. This is another golden opportunity to break down corporate social media.
1/
Honestly, I’ve been really enjoying making these, probably the most I’ve been excited to model something for months. So I exchanged some sleep for a faster turnaround :) Previous post here...
A ton of moderators have been making changes to their subreddits' rules (e.g., only allowing certain posts, going NSFW, loosening rules a ton) to protest without getting kicked out. Do you think this strategy of turning a subreddit into shitposts is effective or not?...
Right now, downvotes (reduces) don't federate to (and from?) Kbin instances. This lack of federation makes the downvote counter really inaccurate—a comment that looks like it's +10 might be -15 when you look at it from lemmy.world....
So I notice that KBIN and BEEHAW and LEMMY all have duplicate pages dedicated to the same content. Are we as a community going to have to decide which page will be the 'main' page, will we have to subscribe to each magazine for each instance, or will they consolidate eventually?...
So I did figure out that yes, #Mastodon can federate #Lemmy and #Kbin content. The problem is that Mastodon doesn't know what to do with it, so it (the group) looks like a user that boosts all posts and comments.
I found myself browsing the "federated group" @selfhosted over on https://kbin.social, as I think Kbin has a nicer UX for it.
I didn't really want to create a separate account for group stuff, but that might be what we do in the short term. 🤔
see attached image, but basically having the images on the right side makes it so hard to "read" a post with an image, going back and forth with your eyes to "get" the whole post. So much easier to just put the images between the up-/downvote buttons and the text post....
Ya'll do realize you can customize what you can/can't see on kbin/lemmy, and your experience is about about how you make it right?
I've just seen a lot of post recently complaining what they see on their front pages such as news, politics, endless memes, etc. But you do know if any of those subs bother you or seem excessive, you can filter the subs so that they don't appear on your front page anymore. Filter memes and 196, and about 70 percent of the memes...
OC Can we have a kbin census?
Apologies if I missed one that has already been held. But I saw a member census of beehaw, which was really interesting. I'm not suggesting gathering of any personally identifying info, but more generally getting a sense of who is here on kbin.
Kbin Roadmap 2023
A certain stage of development has ended - a prototype was created that allowed me to verify whether such a form makes sense in the #fediverse. Until now, it was a project that I developed in my free time. Now, thanks to the great people from Nlnet, I will be able to devote much more time to it. This time, we have already...
/kbin contribution and information for instance owners
The search form has been fixed (if you were experiencing this issue). This time, the Docker recreate may take a bit longer. Moving forward, when making changes, I will create pull requests like everyone else and ask for your review. Sorry for the inconvenience. Soon, the first tagged release will also be available. It's time to...
Since most posts for Artemis have been about iOS, here's a little preview for you Android users!
Curious, if you were/are a Reddit user, will you be leaving the platform for good or have you already? CEO has called unpaid moderators' concerns "noise", that will be "passing soon."
There's a lot of noise with this one. Among the noisiest we've seen. Please know that our teams are on it, and like all blowups on Reddit, this one will pass as well. The most important things we can do right now are stay focused, adapt to challenges, and keep moving forward. We absolutely must ship what we said we would....
When you encounter your own posts on other parts of the fediverse.
Remember that the button at the top of the sidebar expands the options to disable federation.
A case for preemptively defederating with Threads
With Meta beginning to test federation, there's a lot of discussion as to whether we should preemptively defederate with Threads. I made a post about the question, and it seems that opinions differ a lot among people on Kbin. There were a lot of arguments for and against regarding ads, privacy, and content quality, but I don't...
There's nothing wrong with using Reddit, Twitter, and other mainstream site still while being active on fediverse.
I see a lot of posts on fediverse trashing reddit, Twitter, spez, musk and so on, and rightfully so. But like it or not, the mass majority of users on the internet still use these sites, and some of us still want to interact with the friends and communities we are a part of on those sites. And there's nothing wrong with that...
OC I’m back with several more community icons: check out Artemis (future kbin app), Urban Details, 3D Modeling and some other stuff
Honestly, I’ve been really enjoying making these, probably the most I’ve been excited to model something for months. So I exchanged some sleep for a faster turnaround :) Previous post here...
What do you think of subreddits protesting with rule changes (e.g., only allowing John Oliver)?
A ton of moderators have been making changes to their subreddits' rules (e.g., only allowing certain posts, going NSFW, loosening rules a ton) to protest without getting kicked out. Do you think this strategy of turning a subreddit into shitposts is effective or not?...
What's the plan for downvote federation?
Right now, downvotes (reduces) don't federate to (and from?) Kbin instances. This lack of federation makes the downvote counter really inaccurate—a comment that looks like it's +10 might be -15 when you look at it from lemmy.world....
OC Improved Collapsible Comments - Script that lets you collapse replies by clicking a line to the side of each comment
Download it from greasyfork...
Duplicate Pages Across Fediverse
So I notice that KBIN and BEEHAW and LEMMY all have duplicate pages dedicated to the same content. Are we as a community going to have to decide which page will be the 'main' page, will we have to subscribe to each magazine for each instance, or will they consolidate eventually?...
Memery Alpha - Star Trek memes and shitposting (kbin.social)
A place for enjoying Star Trek memes in the kbin quadrant
The growing list of subreddits going to be dark, but these are Lemmy or /kbin equivalents
Based on this...
What if Reddit joined the Fediverse?
So I have thoughts about what if platforms that we seemly are trying to move away from such as Reddit decided to Fedirate and join the Fediverse....
images on the left side would make kbin easier to read
see attached image, but basically having the images on the right side makes it so hard to "read" a post with an image, going back and forth with your eyes to "get" the whole post. So much easier to just put the images between the up-/downvote buttons and the text post....