I'm working on a YouTube mini series explaining the Fediverse!!
Who are the most knowledgeable people in this realm who I should definitely talk to?
What do you think is important to include in my series? I want to hear thoughts!!
I'm working on a YouTube mini series explaining the Fediverse!!
Who are the most knowledgeable people in this realm who I should definitely talk to?
What do you think is important to include in my series? I want to hear thoughts!!
@taylorlorenz me.
@taylorlorenz Don't forget: @mike @coachtony @dansup @greg @michael @ben @rimu @pfefferle @jaz @john @quillmatiq @snarfed @scottjenson @imanijoy
@taylorlorenz @truthbait @PNS @eriner and @thecsb are all fediverse experts.
@PNS@noauthority.social @neanderthalsnavel@noauthority.social @taylorlorenz@mastodon.social @truthbait@noauthority.social @eriner@noauthority.social @thecsb@mastodon.cloud hellthread?
@taylorlorenz The different programs and their forks! (Like #Mastodon, #Pleroma, #Misskey, and the history of their forks)
The #Reddit-style forum #Fediverse software like #Lemmy and #Mbin
Attempts from big tech to adopt the #Fediverse (like #Threads)
i strongly suggest seeking perspectives beyond those of the hegemonic white FLOSS-head user base here, there has been a lot of dialogue and struggle around these issues here. this is a good read:
https://logicmag.io/policy/blackness-in-the-fediverse-a-conversation-with-marcia-x/
@taylorlorenz Heard joke once: Woman goes to scientist. Says she's confused about the Fediverse. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says she feels all alone in a confusing culture where what lies ahead is vague and uncertain.
Scientist says, 'Treatment is simple. Great journalist Taylor Lorenz is in town tonight. Go and see her. That should answer all your questions.'
Woman bursts into tears. Says, 'But sir… I am Taylor.' Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains.
@taylorlorenz What a question! The success has many fathers/mothers, so you will get as many responses.
No fediverse without ActivtyPub. Talk to the people who made ActivityPub. @Gargron was mentioned, but @cwebber and @evan are as important.
Talk to Arnaud Le Hors from IBM. He was chair of the Social Web WG for a very long time. A lot of myth around the creation of Activity Pub was build recently. What I like the most? People/Influencers mansplaining fediverse to @cwebber 😅
@taylorlorenz got to talk to @cwebber who is a real luminary on this technology but also future ideas for new ways to build social apps!
@taylorlorenz you will need to find John Mastodon :)
@taylorlorenz I would talk to @kissane about this: https://erinkissane.com/fediverse-governance-drop
@taylorlorenz I'd second the recommendation for @cwebber
I'd also recommend a glance at my essay on why Mastodon/Fedi is currently the best choice for social networking: https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/202x/2025/11/03/Time-to-Migrate
@taylorlorenz@mastodon.social I have been on fedi since before Mastodon existed. What do you wanna know?
@taylorlorenz@mastodon.social I'm a very strong and independent I can tell you things about the fediverse 🤝💪
@taylorlorenz My name came up in a non-public subthread.
A lot of what I would have to say has been documented in the "people's history" type articles written about a decade back by Robek and Strypey, about the early, pre-Masto Fediverse from a user and social perspective, but I could be helpful with clarifications. (I'll try to locate those articles)
Like many others have pointed out, I would say Evan, CWebber and Gargron have key perspectives not to leave out from a history, protocol, development and hosting perspective, and for modern hosting perspectives and broadness of software and ways of running communities, I'd talk to Jerry and Darius.
I think all of these people have been at-mentioned elsewhere in the thread and I won't spam them further here.
Another interesting branch of the Fediverse historically is the one with Quitter, En Kompis Kompis, Freesocial and the Umeå Hackerspace, but I'm not sure where to find mmn, pettter and peer2hannes these days. If I @ them here, my server gives me the defunct Umeå Hackerspace server.
Oh, and I hope someone digs out that beautiful fedi software landscape poster from that workshop a few years ago.
Founder of the web @timbl
And @pluralistic, author of The Internet Con and Enshitification
@Gargron founder of mastodon
@evanprodromou fediverse activity pub protocol
@alice fedi celeb
@georgetakei world renowned star trek actor
@hannah jeopardy winner and master weaver or yarn
All helped shape my perception of fedi/mastodon.
@jeffcliff@shitposter.world @p@fsebugoutzone.org @lain@lain.com @taylorlorenz@mastodon.social @egirlyuumimain@poa.st @Frondeur@poa.st @lnxw37b2@shitposter.world @sun@shitposter.world @Wiz@tsundere.love should i tell her about how the first few hours matsoc was first online nepfag spammed their servers federated timeline with anime lolis and the n word as a greeting? because that is what the network is actually like in practice as an admin and everyone seems to forget this tradition.
@laescude @taylorlorenz Hey Laura and Taylor! Lia here. 🙋🏻♀️Count me in.
@taylorlorenz Please represent people from the global south, @liaamancio comes to mind
Depends on your angle, but @benjamin and @bortzmeyer are always interesting.
@aeris too if you want hot takes.
@mekkaokereke may point you to good people to talk to about the Black Twitter migration (and he has his own takes)
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