• Elaine Cortez@lemm.eeEnglish
    2·
    2 months ago

    Hi!

    Since you’re on Lemmy, I’ll explain the part of the fediverse that I know best. The best way I can articulate it based on what I know is this… it’s a bunch of different sites, using the same software, known as Lemmy. Each site using the Lemmy software is called an instance, and these instances are able to correspond in a way that is pretty seamless as if it’s all one big site! Although you never actually leave your native instance, it doesn’t feel that way because when you post to an instance that isn’t your native one, it’s like sending a request to that instance to push your post forward. In no time, your post appears on the remote instance!

    One of the best things about this is each instance is independently operated, so you don’t have to worry about a rogue admin making unfavourable changes. For instance (hehe) I’m on the lemm.ee instance, but I’m posting to Ask Lemmy@lemmy.world via this page! lemm.ee/post/62441272

  • Varyk@sh.itjust.works
    2·
    2 months ago

    a bunch of forums that talk to each other.

    a decentralized collection of independently operated social media platforms that can choose to share information with each other.

    • unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de
      0·
      2 months ago

      Whenever anything is “federated” the easiest comparison is email. Everyone can use different email servers and applications, but they can all still communicate with each other. “Email” is the shared protocol that structures how data is exchanged between servers and clients.

      The fediverse instead uses a protocol named “activitypub”, but works similar. Just a bunch of servers that speak the same technical language which enables them to freely exchange information. But while email only supports single messages, activitypub supports more complex structures that developers for platforms like lemmy or mastodon can use to make actual applications with an interface that gives you an easy way to display and structure that data like as a forum or blogging platform.

      • General_Effort@lemmy.world
        0·
        2 months ago

        Whenever anything is “federated” the easiest comparison is email.

        Yes, but how many people know how email works? More to the point, how many people, who aren’t looking for the answer on GitHub, know?

        • unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de
          01·
          2 months ago

          Literally everyone who uses email knows that not every email address ends in the same way and that people use different websites and tools to access their emails.

            • unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de
              0·
              2 months ago

              Nah this xkcd really doesnt apply here. If you can can see and have at least the intelligence of a 6 year old then you can see that something is different about email compared to whatsapp or signal. With even the most basic pattern recognition skills you will find that everyone you know uses different apps, sites and addresses. Compare this to normal messengers where literally everyone will have the exact same app, interface and way to contact people.