The problem with hanging out in Autism communities is you become paranoid that every behaviour you have is a result of it.

I’ve always avoided crowds. I mean, who doesn’t? They’re inefficient, nothing gets done, and the time they waste is almost never worth the end result.

I also like eating in empty restaurants. It’s good to just bring a book, sip some coffee, and take in the silence.

But I’m starting to question things. I don’t eat eggs. I’ve always assumed there’s simply foods out there that everyone doesn’t like. But apparently, not eating eggs is considered “weird” and “quirky” – enough to be considered “autistic”. But why isn’t eating chicken embryos considered weird?

There’s also a hobby I have where I try to find albums on Spotify with 0 listens. I like giving them their first ever listen. It’s just a lot of fun. But that’s considered “autistic” too.

I think I just don’t like being reduced to “autism”. It seems like such a small box to put yourself in. I’d rather be considered for what I am: a three dimensional human being with a few interests, but also ambitions and passions.

I don’t know. Maybe some things are due to autism, but I also don’t like the notion of being defined by it. I don’t think anyone can be defined be one word.

Dive into Overture, a cheeky rogue-like action RPG where your job description is “Professional Monster Annihilator.” And boy, does this game not believe in coffee breaks! Wave after wave of adversaries charge at you as if they’re participating in a marathon. The game is simplicity personified, yet somehow it’s as addictive as your grandma’s secret cookie recipe. I’ve been battling it out all day, and I swear, that first floor might as well be the Mount Everest of gaming. But hey, who doesn’t enjoy a healthy dose of masochism in their gaming, right? Back I go, trying and dying, dying and trying.

The visual appeal is pretty stripped down, just a bit of pixel art here and there, sort of like abstract Picasso, if Picasso had a gaming phase. But let’s chat about the soundtrack. Oh, those chiptunes! They’re the musical equivalent of an adrenaline shot, making you just itch to dive back in.

Don’t let the fact that it’s Windows-focused deter you; I’ve been happily monster-slaying on my Steam Deck without a hitch. The system requirements are as light as a feather: a 2 GHz single core CPU and a measly 1 GB of RAM.

Now, about that pesky boss. We haven’t had our victorious handshake just yet. But persistence is my middle name, and I’m having the time of my life with each spectacular failure. Happy gaming!

Hey there folks, let’s have another friendly chat about calckey.social!

I’ve mentioned it before, but just to clarify, I’m not the one taking care of the nitty-gritty backend stuff of calckey.social - that’s all been the Herculean task of our superstar @kainoa.

They’ve really been giving it their all to keep the wheels of calckey.social turning. It’s not always been a walk in the park, though. Over the past few months, @kainoa has been tackling a few pesky database issues with determination and grit. Just last night, they stayed up all night working on a database migration, but as sometimes happens, things didn’t go quite as planned.

In light of this, I’d love it if we could all give @kainoa a bit of breathing room for the next few days. We’ve had some ups and downs with the uptime, and although it’s not ideal, it’s important to remember that @kainoa is volunteering their time and energy to this project. After their late-night coding marathon, they could really use a break.

So, where do we go from here, you might be asking? Well, I’m in the midst of linking up @kainoa with a few database whizzes who have some clever thoughts on how to sort out the key issues we’ve been facing. Fingers crossed, if things go well in the coming week, they’ll be working alongside @kainoa to fine-tune the system and get calckey.social back on steady ground.

For the time being, it would be a big help if we could steer clear of using calckey.social for any super important stuff. I’ve temporarily hit pause on new registrations, and won’t be dishing out any invite codes for a bit. We won’t have everything patched up in a day - it might take a tad longer than a week.

Above all, let’s remember to be gentle with @kainoa. This project is a true labor of love for them, and they deserve all the support we can give. Thanks for your understanding, and cheers to brighter days ahead for calckey.social!

Well, well, well! Look what we have here, folks.

You know how when your favorite diner suddenly changes their secret sauce, and you’re all like, “Great. Now where am I supposed to get my late-night burger fix?” It’s a bit like that here on the #Fediverse when #Twitter has a boo-boo or when Elon Musk sneezes in a way we don’t fancy.

It’s never a party. Suddenly, all these reluctant folks start streaming in, not because they fell head over heels for our humble Fediverse or had a ‘Eureka!’ moment that this is indeed the promised land. Nah, they’re here because their fave social space has turned into the virtual version of a traffic jam, and they’re scrambling to find a detour—what they consider to be the runner-up in the race of platforms.

Sure, we’ve seen the writing on the wall for a while now. And boy oh boy, have we tried to warn the Twitterati. But, many of them are like those band musicians on the sinking Titanic, playing their hearts out till the very end. “Abandon Twitter? Over my blue-check-marked profile!” they said, determined to stay till Twitter became as useful as a chocolate teapot—which, as fate would have it, was last weekend.

Now, here’s the thing. Those of us who were into #Mastodon before it became the ‘Twitter refugee camp’, we kinda moved here because we weren’t fans of Twitter to begin with. Yup, you heard it! We didn’t dig that one-stop-shop setup. We didn’t groove with the idea of the Musk-man playing puppeteer. And we certainly didn’t want our social lives behind walled gardens.

So, you see, it’s like mixing oil and water. One group yearns for the good ol’ Twitter days, centralization – before its Musk-ification. The other, let’s just say, wouldn’t touch Twitter with a ten-foot pole, even if Musk threw in a free Starship ride. Obviously, we’ve got a recipe for some serious popcorn-munching drama.

But hey, it doesn’t have to be a sequel of Mad Max here. We can all get along. Let’s not let the Musk do the divide, eh? After all, the Fediverse is big enough for all of us to play nice and share our cat memes, isn’t it? Or maybe, just maybe, we can learn to appreciate each other’s viewpoints.

Alright, alright, alright, so here we are. You’ve got the Twitter-ites, yearning for their old haunt, and the Mastodonians, who couldn’t be more chuffed to be away from all that Twitter hullabaloo. It’s a bit like a salsa dancer at a breakdancing competition, isn’t it? Yet, despite the differences, there are ways to make this unlikely mashup work.

First, remember that communication is king. Instead of throwing virtual side-eye, try opening a dialogue. Learn about each other’s views and quirks. Think of it like a social media exchange program, without the jet lag and lost luggage.

Next, let’s introduce some common ground. Maybe you’re a #GameofThrones fanatic, or perhaps you just can’t get enough of those insanely cute #BabyYoda memes. Heck, you might even be part of the passionate #PineappleOnPizza debate squad. There’s bound to be some overlapping interests that can bridge the gap.

Also, let’s remember that change can be challenging. The Twitter crowd didn’t necessarily choose to emigrate—they got caught in a digital diaspora. So, let’s cut them some slack, offer a helping hand, and share the best tips and tricks to navigate the Mastodon landscape.

Now for the grand finale, my friends. Let’s think of this great Twitter-Mastodon mashup as a chance for evolution. It’s like adding a new ingredient to your grandma’s traditional stew recipe. Sure, it’s different, maybe even a little weird at first, but give it a chance, and who knows? It might just be the best darn stew you’ve ever tasted!

So, in the wise words of the legendary Bill and Ted, “Be excellent to each other!” With open minds and a dash of humour, we can turn this potential ‘clash of the titans’ into a harmonious federation of diversity. After all, that’s what the Fediverse was meant to be all along, wasn’t it? Now, let the cat meme sharing, hilarious hashtag games, and friendly banter begin!

Welcome to the neighbourhood, Twitter refugees. We’re glad you’re here.

101,525 people joined Mastodon in the past 24 hours.

To put that in context, 84,657 people joined Mastodon in the previous 6 days.

Twitter’s new “temporary” rate limit on reading tweets has caused a significant increase in Mastodon's popularity and user base.

Source: https://mastodon.social/@mastodonusercount/110645793505347332

@fediversenews

Federation with #Meta actually hurts Meta.

It is an existential threat to the very core of Meta’s social media monopoly. Surprisingly, if the goal is to fight against Meta’s hegemony, the most effective strategy may be to federate with them.

“But Chris,” some of you might state, “Even you agree that it might be better to defederate Meta – and you’ve even set up notmeta.social for expressly this purpose.”

Yes, because it’s not everyone’s objective to fight Meta, and there should be spaces where fighting Meta isn’t top of mind. Not everyone wants to be part and parcel of a fight, and that’s okay.

Let’s first acknowledge the technology through which federation happens. #ActivityPub is an open standard protocol that enables the decentralized social networking that powers the Fediverse. It allows different social media platforms (#Mastodon, #Calckey, #Kbin, etc.) to interoperate, meaning that users on one platform can communicate with users on another platform. Federation is the process by which these platforms connect and share content, forming a decentralized network.

The most important thing to understand about ActivityPub is that, more than a technology to merely send and receive messages, it’s also a common ruleset – a gentleman’s agreement that everyone will play nice when sending and receiving messages.

Now when Meta opts to use ActivityPub, they’re abiding by the agreement: to play by the same rules as everybody else. Should they renege on this agreement, they are no longer using ActivityPub. They’re using something else.

But let’s assume for a moment that Meta is abiding to use ActivityPub, and they indeed will play by the same rules. Knowing Meta, this is a tall order – but still, let’s assume.

ActivityPub means that whatever of Meta’s userbase that’s exposed to federation will diversify into other platforms. This is because, through ActivityPub, smaller platforms can connect with each other and offer a combined user base that competes with Meta’s centralized network. This diversification reduces the dependence of users on a single platform, giving them more choices and potentially drawing them away from Meta.

This creates an erosion of Meta’s network effects. Meta’s entire monopoly is based on ownership of their platforms’ network effects, where the value of the platform increases as more users join. Suddenly, by federating, Meta no longer own the network effect. This is because federation challenges this by breaking down barriers between platforms, allowing users to interact regardless of the platform they are on. This reduces the exclusivity and advantage Meta holds, as the network effects become distributed across multiple interconnected platforms.

Federation also gives Meta’s users power that they never previously had. Federation promotes decentralization by giving users greater control over their data and interactions. With ActivityPub, users have the freedom to choose which platform they prefer without sacrificing connectivity. This user empowerment threatens Meta’s control over user data and engagement, potentially leading to a loss of influence and advertising revenue.

ActivityPub poses a tangible threat to Meta’s monopoly on social media. By choosing to federate, Meta might be opening Pandora’s box. The moment Meta’s users receive a message from a server not owned by Meta is the moment they’re exposed to something else beyond Meta’s control. Inevitably, this will create more diversity of ActivityPub-enabled platforms – not less. This will erode Meta’s network effects. For people who use Meta, the power of decentralization – giving them more freedom – will prove revelatory.

Of course, this is a fight. And just because Meta federates doesn’t mean it’s game over. In the next post, I will explore what Meta is hoping to gain by joining the #Fediverse.

I’ve been around for a few migrations to the #Fediverse. They follow similar patterns.

First, some Big Social service does something bad, something so egregious it pisses off a vocal set of people on Big Social.

A bunch of people on Big Social realize they don’t want to be beholden to some company trying to get rich off their work, so they look for an alternative. They land on the Fediverse because it’s the one space that is resistant to centralized control. They want something specific: social media that is decentralized. This first group of migrants tends to be the most enthusiastic.

The next group of people who migrate don’t care as much about centralization or decentralization. But they like the first group, and they generally want to be supportive so they take the step of migrating.

After that comes a group motivated by FOMO. They see something happening, want to be part of it, and go where they perceive the crowd is going. They like the high of a mass movement happening, and love participating in something bigger than themselves. This group is very influential, as they generate hype and a sense that the Fediverse is “the hotness”.

Thereafter comes influencers, usually people who are influential on other platforms and want to go where they believe the audience is going. But not always. Some of them are wannabe influencers with dreams of grandeur, and want to be “first” at a space they perceive is in its infancy.

What’s next? Journalists. And to be specific, I’m not talking about journalists who are already active on the Fediverse, but those who come in cold, are already overworked, and are probably bitter about visiting what they perceive to be a convoluted nerd “site”. They don’t understand what’s going on, but they were given an assignment from their editor, and so they have to write something – anything – to explain it (what they perceive to be it) to the masses.

Finally, there’s the “mainstream”. These are people who read something in Android Authority or the New Yorker or the Washington Post, have minimal curiosity, and try registering an account. They give what they initially think is a “site” a glance, just so they can say they’re in the know. They now know what the big deal is, or think they do.

Most of these migrants won’t be here for the long term. And some of them might even become detractors, angry that the Fediverse doesn’t work like “everything else”. And that’s okay. The Fediverse can’t be all things to all people – yet.

However, there will also be some who stay because they realize there’s something about the Fediverse that speaks to them. These people become incredibly active, big evangelists for the Fediverse, telling people they know about its benefits.

Each migration builds the network effect of the Fediverse. Each migration builds awareness.

And more importantly, each migration builds further upon what is possible with the Fediverse.

Android Authority doesn’t get it.

Compared to #Reddit, #Lemmy sucks. And so does #Kbin. We all know that.

The #RedditMigration isn’t about any app being better than Reddit. It’s about a company that’s grown on the backs of volunteer labour now claiming ownership of that labour.

Reddit didn’t write those posts, draw those illustrations, make those videos. We did.

And Reddit sure as hell didn’t create those communities, nurture them, and moderate them. We did.

I agree with tech writers who say that the average person just “wants their memes”. But Reddit never made those memes. We did.

Content might be king. But who makes content? We do.

I have no doubt that the average person just wants content. But while we might be providing content for free, we’re not dancing monkeys. Who decides why content is made, how it’s made, and where it exists? We do.

The Fediverse doesn’t exist merely as an engine for content. It exists so that people can share what they love.

Why are people coming to the Fediverse specifically? Because we rightfully see ActivityPub as insurance for our content – which, again, is made by and for us.

Not Reddit. Not Big Social. Us.

If I’m giving my content away for free, then so long as it is federated, no one company can own it – putting up gates, demanding payment for my work. Instead, my work is out there, living on 24,000 nodes that presently exist.

Android Authority might dismiss this as “suffering the same fate” – what fate they perceive, I don’t know. But to me, the true “suffering” is when a company like Reddit claims ownership of my work, locking 3rd party developers out from API access.

For this reason, I’m locking Reddit out from my work.

Perhaps the author of this post, Dhruv Bhutani, doesn’t consider that he’s writing for a, well, blog. And that this blog exists on its own domain, with its own design, as its own property. He could have written this entire post on Reddit, but he didn’t.

Why? I suspect it’s because he believes his work has value, and Reddit simply doesn’t give him what he believes is his worth.

Same deal with me. I’m not looking to get paid for my work on Reddit. I do it for fun – always have. But if I’m doing something for fun, it’s still going to be on my terms.

Not all of us creatives are willing to be a cog in Big Social’s machine. That’s why I’m here on the Fediverse right now. I don’t give a damn whether the average person just wants memes. I create for me.

So yeah, Lemmy and Kbin suck. I can live with that – they will both improve. And I have no doubt that, with time, they might prove to be better than Reddit.

But this isn’t about how good Lemmy or Kbin are. Nor is this about the insatiable appetite for memes.

This is about my need to create on my terms – and I’m not alone here.

Decentralization is the killer feature here.

https://www.androidauthority.com/reddit-alternatives-lemmy-3335429/

@fediversenews

There’s a #RedditMigration to the #Fediverse happening right now. And many of those former #Reddit users are creating accounts on #Lemmy and #kbin.

Funny enough, last December, I predicted there would be another Big Social migration to the Fediverse. I even predicted it would happen in June.

I just did think that Reddit, of all platforms, would be the one to cause the migration.

Big Social has a habit of creating shitty user experiences, and attempting to squeeze every bit of ARPU possible.

Until recently, if you didn’t like it, your only option was to kick rocks.

Reddit doesn’t give a damn. There have been plenty of Reddit alternatives in the past, and almost all of them have crashed an burned.

Except this time, when people join #Lemmy and #kbin, they are interacting with a network of 10 million Fediverse accounts – possibly more. No Reddit alternative has ever had 10 million accounts.

Understand this. Even if Lemmy and /kbin make up and insignificant chunk of the Fediverse right now, everyone who uses those services can talk to 10+ million Fediverse accounts.

Which means that this time Reddit detractors have serious options.

And believe me, there will be another Big Social platform is going to cause another migration to the Fediverse. Each time this happens, that detraction will compound more and more.

Reddit probably doesn’t think this is a big deal. They probably think this is like the other times users expressed dissent.

But this time, these Redditors are discovering the Fediverse.

When I look at the most active servers on the Fediverse, Mastodon isn’t dominating.

Here’s the actual breakdown of the 10 most active servers according to server type:

1. misskey.io (Misskey) - 3.9M posts per month
2. mastodon.social (Mastodon) - 1.7M posts per month
3. pixelfed.social (Pixelfed) - 754K posts per month
4. botsin.space (Mastodon) - 648K posts per month
5. mstdn.social (Mastodon) - 634K posts per month
6. nijimiss.moe (Misskey) - 627K posts per month
7. mstdn.jp (Mastodon) - 588K posts per month
8. misskey.gamelore.fun (Misskey) - 497K posts per month
9. fedibird.com (Fedibird) - 431K posts per month
10. misskey.cf (Misskey) - 425K posts per month

Once you expand to the next 10 more active servers:

- 8 are #Misskey
- 6 are #Mastodon
- 3 are #Pixelfed
- 2 are #PeerTube
- 1 is #Fedibird

What does this mean?

When we measure for activity – not accounts – Mastodon isn’t even in first place. Misskey is.

Mastodon is in 2nd place.

And other server types, like Pixelfed, aren’t doing so shabby either.

But what’s more interesting is what this all means when you also take into consideration account sign-ups.

It’s true that according to total accounts, mastodon.social is the biggest server on the Fediverse with 1,159,110 accounts. In comparison, misskey.io only has 183,549 accounts.

However, misskey.io is producing 2x more content than mastodon.social.

Some people wonder if this is because of spam.

As someone who actively monitors both misskey.io and mastodon.social, it actually looks like mastodon.social produces more spam. I have yet to encounter spam on misskey.io, nor have I received spam from there. I can’t say the same about mastodon.social – seeing how I received crypto spam to my inbox from there twice last month.

What’s going on?

First, I must acknowledge a fact. The Fediverse is simply more popular in Japan. When I look at the 10 most active servers on the Fediverse, 6 of them are Japanese. Yes, even the Mastodon servers.

And in Japan, it looks like Misskey is overtaking Mastodon. This is not yet true in terms of sheer account numbers, but the fastest growing servers are clearly Misskey. In terms of raw post production, though, Misskey has already overtaken Mastodon.

Something I often hear is, “So what if something’s big in Japan? Lots of bands are big in Japan too, and we don’t hear a whisper from them here in the West.”

While comparing software to music is silly, it is a mistake for Westerners to ignore the cultural impact of Japan and other Asian nations.

We live in an era where many Western kids grow up with Japanese video games, anime, and J-Pop. Many of them don’t even look at Japanese media as “foreign”. It’s simply part of their cultural rubric.

Why do I bring this up? Because while the majority of Fediverse accounts are from the West, the majority of Fediverse content is from Japan. And while there is a language barrier, it’s only a matter of time before that content finds its way out West.

But if you’re a content producer making stuff for the Fediverse, I also think it’s important to ask yourself, “What are Japanese content producers doing right?”

As it turns out, a lot. The Japanese Fediverse is less focused on technology and politics, more focused on art. And there’s a ready community willing to interact with that art.

This is not so true for the West’s version of the Fediverse. Over here, the culture is to deem art “unimportant”. There have been times when I’ve shared thoughts on video games and music, and someone came out of the woodwork to tell me I was wrong for doing this since some political thing in the USA was happening, and I was insensitive for sharing my interests.

For the Fediverse to take root in the West, it must be as much about art as it is about politics and tech.

All this said, there is a further fact that likewise underlies my contention: the 3rd most active server on the Fediverse is pixelfed.social, Pixelfed’s flagship server.

Why is this? Because #Pixelfed is based on images, not text. Which also means that, as a result of content filtering, it is more focused on art than politics and technology.

Interestingly, pixelfed.social is focused on English speakers. As it turns out, the desire to share art is universal – not exclusive to people who speak Japanese. Most people like art.

Don’t get me wrong, politics and technology have an important effect on our daily lives. But it’s art that makes life worth living.

My takeaway: if we want the Fediverse to be as big in the West as it is in Japan, we need to share art.

Source: https://fedidb.org/

PLEASE BOOST: Right now Mastodon is only receiving appr. $21,000/month through Patreon.

This is not enough to handle the 1 million new accounts that will be made this week.

Currently, only 4,720 patrons are donating to Mastodon.

However, if everyone chips in $2/month, this will ensure the continued survival of Mastodon!

Be a hero! Donate now! https://www.patreon.com/mastodon