This paper examines the potential of the Fediverse, a federated network of social media and content platforms, to counter the centralization and dominance of commercial platforms on the social Web. We gather evidence from the technology powering the Fediverse (especially the ActivityPub protocol), current statistical data regarding Fediverse user distribution over instances, and the status of two older, similar, decentralized technologies: e-mail and the Web. Our findings suggest that Fediverse will face significant challenges in fulfilling its decentralization promises, potentially hindering its ability to positively impact the social Web on a large scale.

Abstract

This paper examines the potential of the Fediverse, a federated network of social media and content platforms, to counter the centralization and dominance of commercial platforms on the social Web. We gather evidence from the technology powering the Fediverse (especially the ActivityPub protocol), current statistical data regarding Fediverse user distribution over instances, and the status of two older, similar, decentralized technologies: e-mail and the Web. Our findings suggest that Fediverse will face significant challenges in fulfilling its decentralization promises, potentially hindering its ability to positively impact the social Web on a large scale.

Some challenges mentioned in the paper:

  • Discoverability as there is no central or unified index
  • Complicated moderation efforts due to its decentralized nature
  • Interoperability between instances of different types (e.g., Lemmy and Funkwhale)
  • Concentration on a small number of large instances
  • The risk of commercial capture by Big Tech

What are your thoughts on this? And how could we make the Fediverse a better place for all to stay?

  • 1984@lemmy.todayEnglish
    5·
    17 days ago

    I think its been interesting to watch. What has happened is that there is now a super large instance in Lemmy.world, and a handful of smaller ones with above a thousand users.

    The promise of proper decentralization didn’t really happen. There are hundreds of small instances but they are not self contained and completely depend on the larger ones to get content.

    Defederation seems to be common since admins don’t want to deal with moderating hostile conversations, which makes a lot of sense. But it also makes it a echo chamber to some degree. We see mostly memes and jokes instead of meaningful discussions. So it’s great for a fun time but not so much more than that.

    Still, I’m happy it’s an alternative to reddit and those shitty services. I love that it’s run by ordinary people and not tech companies. And no ads or tracking. All good stuff.