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Top-level
 In the blogpost ⬆️ I mention the history of #StatusNet (the software), #OStatus (the protocol), and identi.ca (the biggest instance). Identi.ca used to be about 1/10th of all of "OStatus-verse". Then it got redeployed using incompatible software and tore the heart out of that decentralized social network. I feel this history is very relevant today, as mastodon.social is about 1/10th (by monthly active accounts). And continues to grow. 🧵/2 9 comments
Finally, I give a laundry list of things that I believe need to happen to mitigate the risk stemming from #Mastodon monoculture on the #Fediverse. I also list some things every person using fedi can do themselves to help mitigate that risk. I've already seen one vibrant decentralized social network wither on the vine due to monoculture and flagship-instance-itis, and while fedi is much bigger and more resilient already, I do think we should worry about it here too. 🧵/4/end  @rysiek I think something missing from the list is: Set up limited defederation, which hides new posts from mastodon.social on public timelines but keeps followers and followings active. This amplifies decentralised accounts while not impacting existing relations. @sheogorath I thought about it and decided against it for now. But that's just my opinion, of course.  @rysiek Perhaps mastodon.social should be the learner instance: the one you join when you first start using the fedi but which you're expected to migrate off of to a more appropriate to you instance in a reasonable time (6 months?). (I have slightly more nuanced thoughts on the actual implementation but does the principle make any sense?) @edavies it would definitely make more sense if it was set up that way, than the way it is set-up today. @edavies It would work if the mastodon.social domain would be changed to something like mastodonbeginners.social. With such domain name many people would migrate to other instances naturally, as soon as they would start to feel uncomfortable with "beginners" part. #MastodonSocial #MastodonBeginners #MastodonMonoculture #Mastodon #Fediverse @rysiek @chlopmarcin Yes, something like that might help. I've tooted on this idea once before: the other one mentioned this: https://functional.cafe/@edavies/110264604135941189  @rysiek Thanks for your valuable thoughts - yes, the monoculture Mastodon is and will be a problem in the #Fediverse .
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Gregory's Server
I also dive a bit into why the apparent monoculture of #Mastodon on the #Fediverse is a risk to the whole network, and why identifying all of Fediverse with just Mastodon leads to problems.
For example, if we only talk about Mastodon, people will (and do!) demand features to be implemented in that project even though there are other, compatible, projects that might already have them, and might fit the particular use case or community better.
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