A community to talk about the Fediverse and all it's related services using ActivityPub (Mastodon, Lemmy, KBin, etc).
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Go ahead. Try to force that upon Friendica that has called its instances "nodes" for almost 15 years now.
Or Hubzilla that not only calls them "hubs" but also resists any and all cultural or technological influences from anything that wasn't created by Mike Macgirvin.
Also what if I told you that (streams) and Forte call them "communities"? You know, like Lemmy's and PieFed's "subreddits"?
People can perfectly understand terms like instance or server...if they are explained to them.
They are also accustomed to concepts like social media and social network that can also be used to explain the Fediverse. Each server is its own social media platforms interacting with eachother through a distributed social network.
But, I actually think the Fediverse require an intermediate point between social media and social network, or something above it.
If the Fediverse (including in this case all decentralised protocols like ActivityPub, Zot/Nomad, Diaspora, Ostatus, AT Proto, etc) is a Social network and each particular instance it's own social media platforms that interact within the network, the software they run and the community they form part of within the wider fediverse is an intermediate stage between social medium and social network.
Now, if each server/instance are social media platforms and the software they run are the social network; the protocol or protocol they use is/are a network of networks and the Fediverse a network of networks of networks of social media platforms.
It's probably too late for that now, but I do think that's a better name
Call them States ... like states within a federation.
As a term, 'instance' is already baked into code, databases, and APIs.
If I wanted to use an API to block 'lemmy.world', for example, I'd call 'site/block' with the relevant 'instance_id'. That's already 2 different terms for the same thing ('site' and 'instance'), which isn't great, but adding 'provider' into the mix means you're now saying "if you want to block a 'provider', use the 'site' endpoint with the ID for the 'instance'", which is arguably worse.
Servers are a better word for it imo. It is what it actually is and average people already understand servers from discord
"Average people" don't even know what Discord is
Servers are a better word for it imo.
Agreed. When I explain Lemmy to my friends I describe instances as "servers."
Discord servers are just groups. Lemmy "instances" are actual separate instances of Lemmy communicating.
I know. What im saying is the word server isnt too technical and is both easier to understand and technically correct
Sure, go ahead. Technically it's not 100% correct. I mean lemm.ee wouldn't be your provider, it'd be the people operating the server who provide the service to you... But I think it's close enough. Only issue I can see is the term "provider" usually being used with commercial services. Like a cellphone provider or ISP. So I'm not sure if people start to think this costs $10 a month or something and is run by for-profit businesses... But we also use the word "provider" for free things, so I'm not entirely sure about that. But generally speaking I think we use different terminology because we don't think of the Fediverse as a product.
I like it. The reasoning's good.
I hate the term "instance". It's hopelessly geeky (it derives from object-oriented programming). It brings to mind nerds and gamers in basements.
It brings to mind nerds and gamers in basements.
Which is pretty much the main users of Lemmy lol
I thought it was just an instance of the lemmy software, for example?
Yes, I know what an instance is, but I never thought that was what people meant.
I wouldn't even mention anything about servers or how it works, since most anyone I would even tell about Lemmy won't understand the technical details, nor would they care. It would only confuse them and push them away.
Just hook them up with an instance they will fit into, and have them use the site. I really think that a lot of the other tech nerds here are overthinking it and trying to get non-tech minded people to switch by giving them technical details that do more harm and cause more confusion than simply having them use the site without knowing jack shit about it other than "it's like Reddit but not shitty."
That's really all you gotta tell most people; "it's like Reddit (or Twitter if you're trying to talk up Mastodon), but not shitty."
I use this approach sometimes and it really works. Provided it's the erm.. simple type of crowd that doesn't ask too many questions lol. They'll wander around and figure it out. If they do, congratulations😂
Sure, but then questions like "why do these subreddits have an @ symbol?" happen, or the dreaded default "local" sort causes problems.
FSP = Fediverse Service Provider
That doesn't sound too bad ngl.
I like server better
That's fantastic. Provider avoids the mostly baseless FOMO (fear of missing out) that instance can invoke.
I think provider more clearly communicates that the majority of the desirable content is going to be available the same through any provider.
I’m afraid that when I say „my Lemmy provider” people will think I’m referring to my drug dealer.
Lemmy and Molly (foss) are the most addictive. 🤣🤣
“Psst… Hey, you. Wanna buy some SoMe?”
usually when I tell someone what an instance is, I throw a few synonyms in there
I feel like just saying "instance/proxy" can help, providers sounds good too, also gateways, servers, relays...
I made an old discussion about this actually
I just say server hosts