I'm working on a YouTube mini series explaining the Fediverse!!

[smartmanapps@dotnet.social]

@taylorlorenz
@mapache who wrote Badgefed, a guide on how to federate Wordpress blogs, and several other projects

[aktbar@mastodon.social]

@taylorlorenz I’d recommend @CiaraNi

[chrisoliver@indieweb.social]

@_elena and @FediTips

[santiago@mastodon.uy]

@taylorlorenz talk to @cwebber and @evan

[danielbowmaniel@mastodon.sdf.org]

@taylorlorenz

Try @catsalad

[paul@oldfriends.live]

Thanks, Logan. #HashTagGames just went through a server crash and we had to use Fediverse magic for a week or so and the games went out without a hitch to the many players that come out at 9pm EST every night since fall 2022 to play the game live. I learned extra benefit to the Fediverse and how it operates in that ordeal...
@HashTagGames@hashtaggames.online

edit: the old account is @hashtaggames

@LoganFive @taylorlorenz

[mossyquartz@social.vivaldi.net]

@taylorlorenz Already you are getting many good responses to your question, and I notice many names whom I recognize as some of my favorites. Sometimes one of them posts something I simply take as fact, without my bothering to verify. One thing I have not verified, but have treated as if a fact, is from someone with a YouTube channel who posts content in the English language, but who speaks another language in his home country. He posted that the new AI thing with YouTube altered his carefully selected English subtitles without him knowing or being notified. This was an issue for him because he and some of his viewers use English as a common language, but the AI generated changes to his captions did not help or improve this communication choice. When he posted that, I deleted my YouTube account and now spend more time on PeerTube.

[mossyquartz@social.vivaldi.net]

@cjd Maybe I'm too neurodiverse or too old or maybe I lived too long in polyglot cities or maybe you're referencing the computer-literate as opposed to the water-coloring and sewing enthusiasts, but the people and people-equivalent who generate the posts/toots populating my feeds are more than one out of two halves. I do sometimes see something I don't want to see, so I guess there's the posts I would look at the and the posts I would choose to eliminate from my feed. Are those the two halves?

[adamsaidsomething@mastodon.social]

@taylorlorenz

For some more great and diverse perspectives maybe speak to @Yehuda who runs a Native owned and operated BIPOC friendly instance and advocates for more BIPOC visibility and fairer representation in the Fediverse, and @vantablack creator of @FediPact and Legendary Defender Of The Fediverse

[a_minion@mastodon.social]

@taylorlorenz

I"m fairly new here, I know I am missing much but don't know what I don't know. A Map a simple map would be helpful with a short comment on each branch & leaf.

Peace

[laescude@mastodon.cr]

@taylorlorenz Please represent people from the global south, @liaamancio comes to mind

[ericdere@mastodon.nl]

@taylorlorenz I would like to input a controversial one: @mosseri

He made federation with Threads possible. (You probably won’t get him)

[ericdere@mastodon.nl]

@taylorlorenz

Definitely @dansup @Gargron

[isaac@hachyderm.io]

@taylorlorenz you might be interested in @mike, head of Flipboard and host of the Dot Social podcast.

[jeremiah@shitposter.world]

@thekerker @taylorlorenz @Gargron note one "favorite" to this question after 5 hours. That clown is well known for building the Mastodon software, but he's hardly the wizard of fedi.

[michel404@mas.to]

@taylorlorenz how about Nicole, but you can call her the Fediverse chick?

[charityhl@mastodon.social]

@taylorlorenz The trending page usually have people different than the typical userbase I'd encounter on american platforms. It is decentralized, so sometimes I get to see dutch or german posters even if I don't know any of their language.

Mastodon fediverse is part of why I have a home here. I get to avoid meeting the same group of chronically online posters raking over 200k posts since 2010s and reading about whatever irks them.

[joshsusser@autistics.life]

@taylorlorenz I think the most important concept is that Fedi is social networking, not social media. There is no media company publishing us as their product here. It's just people talking to each other. Pretty much everything else follows.

I think it's also worth looking at how many governments and institutions have an official presence on Fedi now. Many have chosen that path to enable direct connection with the public instead of being mediated by a private company with its own interests.

[harueb@mk.absturztau.be]

@taylorlorenz@mastodon.social I think the main thing outsiders need to know is that the instance you are on matters a lot.

Instance admins determine which other instances you see, which is good if they are blocking bigots and other overt toxicity, but bad if they are blocking instances because they don't like the owner or some of the users.

Unfortunately, it's usually impossible to tell which reasons an instance is blocked for, if you even notice at all. Block lists with reasons are rarely made public because it tends to create drama.

All this to say, you must have a good deal of faith in your instance admin team to both protect you from overt toxicity but also to respect you as an adult to choose who to follow even if admins don't like some of those people.

I don't think it's reasonable to place that trust in a moderation/admin team on a very large instance (e.g mastodon dot social or any instance with more than a couple hundred daily active users) but I do hope you get some replies contrary to this opinion, if for nothing else than to hear both sides of the argument.

[jawnsy@mastodon.social]

@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.