cross-posted from: https://hachyderm.io/users/maegul/statuses/111820598712013429

Is decentralised federated social media over engineered?

Can’t get this brain fart out of my head.

What would the simplest, FOSS, alternative look like and would it be worth it?

Quick thoughts:

* FOSS platforms intended to be big single servers, but dedicated to …
* Shared/Single Sign On
* Easy cross posting
* Enabling and building universal Multi-platform clients.
* Unlike email, supporting small servers

No duplication/federation/protocol required, just software.

#fediverse
@fediverse

  • Kaldo
    10•11 months ago

    I think the biggest issue is account management. Having all these different instances wouldn’t be as bad if it were easy to switch accounts or combine their subscriptions, making it truly user-driven instead of depending on the behavior of each individual instance.

    • maegul (he/they)OPEnglish
      4•11 months ago

      Exactly. And that’s kinda part of my point. Federation is all about copying content from server to server, so that the central organising structure is the server or instance. Duplicate enough content and a user won’t need to move … is kinda the idea. The reality though is more complex than that, as platforms and their designs get in the way, as does defederation and unpredictable admins. Reality is that the fediverse isn’t user driven, and once you see that, the whole decentralised thing starts to become more questionable (IMO).

      So given all of that, I’m wondering what happens if you take away the whole federated idea but still retain some of the aims and principles and try a more straightforward approach that uses the tools and technologies we already have.