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What is the “observable fediverse”?

Simply put, “observable fediverse” is the content that you can see. It was based on the astronomy phrase “observable universe” where it means the part of the universe we, Earthlings, can see.

It is very similar in the #Fediverse. What your account can see is just your account's own “observable fediverse”. This means that, anything you see is actually a very small part of the fediverse. Just as how the universe we can see is just a very small part of the entire universe.

Yes, keyword is “very small part”.

If there are 1M active fediverse users, you are more likely only consuming content from 100 fediverse accounts. The rest, you either ignore or they just don't reach you at all.

In other words, your experience in the fediverse, and what topics you frequently see, were all based on what you created it to be. It also doesn't represent the fediverse network at all.

Examples:
* Account A mainly sees music content; coupled with art and their local news from Country Z.

* Account B sees a lot of news content from Country Y.

* Account C is toxic because the content this account often receives are debates, toxic political discussions, and anti-this and anti-that.

The users of those accounts are the ones who created what they can see and interact with, not the fediverse. And it doesn't represent the kind of content in the fediverse.

In conclusion: What content you see was built by you, and only applies to that account.

Give it a try. Create multiple accounts in different instances and follow different people and subjects. Once you understand this, it gets easier to see the content you want.