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Joined
3 yr. ago

Coder, Creative, Fungi🍄

  • Technical innovations are often named after representations from nature or society. Take the paper bin on windows or the whole file system. These are all metaphors for complex concepts.

    Could be that federation will be the metaphor to go but I think there are better ones out there.

  • Ok I think I'm not sure what you mean

  • No, I meant it like: there are corporate networks, each are their own universe. There is the fediverse: also its own universe. That's sealed.

    What now if the other universes are gone? A universe of federated services doesn't make sense if you have no other universes.

  • Why?

  • Ok, looks complicated :D But it sounds good. I will add it to my reading list. Thanks

  • For me the protocol is the most important part. Making social interaction and networking work dezentrally in the web is a huge deal.

  • Ok thanks. I think I will take that :)

  • The universe sounds sealed to you? Do you know what the universe is? Also what does that have to do with VR?

    If you put it that way of course not. But look at it that way: people are in their own universe. They are a universe away from other parts of the web. I think that sounds pretty sealed. Also counterquestion: why universe to begin with. Why not web or net? I feel like it was chosen just because it sounds cool.

    If you want a graphic, that's how I see it (the black lines symbolize pulling for engagement, e.g. through links):

    The right one resembles much more of what I think of the so-called Fediverse.

  • Why do you find it irritating?

    1. Why universe? It has nothing to do with virtual reality and it sounds very sealed. But what we currently see with the introduction to ActivityPub to Wordpress for example is that it actually becomes a part of the Web. Its more similar to the web than it is to virtual universes.

    2. The concept “federated” only makes sense in the current context. We have centralized social networks. They are bad. We want something else and think federation could do it. But it would be nice to have a metaphor that somehow stands on its own legs without relying on the old system. And the main thing that ActivityPub brings us is that the web becomes a social place.

    That’s why I find “social web” better. It’s more future-oriented and less defensive.

    Regarding the rest: the ActivityPub network is not a diffuse mesh that propagates basic info. Its more of a copy, store and forwarding system, and the instance servers (and admins 😏 ) would be the monks in my previous analogy.

    Ok, now I get it. My bad. However: the analogy misses the main part of the Fediverse: the protocol. Where do you get the monks the messages from?

    1. Why universe? It has nothing to do with virtual reality and it sounds very sealed. But what we currently see with the introduction to ActivityPub to Wordpress for example is that it actually becomes a part of the Web. Its more similar to the web than it is to virtual universes.

    2. The concept "federated" only makes sense in the current context. We have centralized social networks. They are bad. We want something else and think federation could do it. But it would be nice to have a metaphor that somehow stands on its own legs without relying on the old system. And the main thing that ActivityPub brings us is that the web becomes a social place.

    That's why I find "social web" better. It's more future-oriented and less defensive.

  • I'm not a fan of fungi, I just think its a good metaphor for what ActivityPub does.

    But I see your point: fediverse makes sense in the context, however:

    1. The context in which the Fediverse was created is one that should be overcome. We don't want walled gardens, in a world without them, the term Fediverse doesn't make sense anymore. I think what we need to achieve as a society is a true implementation of the "social web". And federation is not a main thing here, it's just a by-product that could make it work.
    2. I still think it would be great to have a handy metaphor that basically explains itself and that makes sense without having to explain centralized social networks first

    For me it runs down to this: how do you explain the Fediverse to someone when walled gardens don't exist anymore? Its a term created with respect to the old times. I think its contraproductive. The term "social web" is much better imo.

  • I think it's bigger than that. The verge says it will create an open social graph IN the web. I think it could have great potential to transform society for the better.

    Your explanation makes sense but I think it doesn't convey the full potential of it.

  • I think with these fungi-terms there are much better metaphors attached to it.

    Look at videos explaining the Fediverse to people. It's almost always with a very abstract universe-metaphor. In the mastodon video you have mammoths on islands that communicate with each other. It's cute but doesn't make much sense.

    The fungi-metaphor is also abstract, but after all, the concept of dezentralized social networks is abstract in itself. But explaining it with something that at least exists in the real world I think could be much more effective.

    Its also a nice claim: why are basically trying to implement what nature already does. Now we adapt it for human society. How cool is that? Currently it's like: there is this very abstract fediverse that's different than everything that people experience on the web currently but it's awesome, please join. I don't find this a very confincing narrative.

  • Why an alternative term?

    I find the term fediverse irritating and I'm currently writing a short story about the Fediverse.

    If you want something that carries more meaning then those proposed terms are maybe not the best as a mycelium network does not represent very well what the fediverse does.

    For me, ActivityPub does for the web about the same thing that fungi do in the forest: they allow communication about the content in the web without a central entity.

    If you want some more practical comparison then maybe a network of scribes in monastery libraries that copy texts and exchange them via a postal network?

    But they aren't sharing only text. Also: the monk doesn't exist. The communication works dezentralized through a protocol.

  • Solarpunk @slrpnk.net

    Which alternate term for the Fediverse do you like best: Wood Wide Web, Fungal/Fungi Web or Fungiverse?

  • I was thinking the wise person wasnt necessary to join the fungiverse, more so that they explained some things. Like they arent necessary, just helpful. Just like how often people new to the fediverse need some help from existing members to get tips and information about it that they might not quite grasp at first.

    Yeah ok, I get that. As long as it optional and not too pushy, I would be okay with that. Just a fan of self-exploration. But asking people can of course be a part of that.

    Good luck on the edits! Im excited to read the next draft when its ready :)

    Thanks, so far making good progress. Hope it will be ready soon :)

  • Sounds cool, maybe I will check it out sometime

  • Right, this is well thought-through, but I will probably stick to my idea of the fungi-metaphor. I think it could be easier to understand for people.

  • I like druids from an asthetic point of view, although I don't want the Fungiverse to become something that you have to reach some kind of higher state of mind to join. It should be simple. You eat a mushroom and that's it, you're in. Druids could of course just be parts of myzels in the Fungiverse.

    Also: if you want specific feedback, id be happy to annotate a copy of the story or something for you.

    Thanks for the offer, though right now I'm reworking the story and there is much text flying around. Feedback is in general great, currently most helpful would be which parts are fun to read and which are boring.

    Edited to add: i would leave the metaphore to the fediverse as unspoken-- i think the allegory works well and directly stating that it is like this real world thing would break some of the magic & lessen the potential for the allegory to work on multiple levels.

    Fully agree, for the new version of the story I'm also going to make a new title without Fungiverse in it. The story should speak for itself.

  • Really like the town example; thinking of fediverse server as towns is cool. Although one shouldn't overdo it, because that's exactly the point of the Fungiverse/Fediverse: to connect people that are not locally at the same place.

    I think adding an additional action is needed for defederation. It could of course be solved by many people concentrating on defederation, but then: what if a myzel has a leader. The members could just defederation without telling them.

    I think it would be cool if leaders could be declared by them eating a certain mushroom, which grants them certain abilities like defederation. Of course, there might be myzels in which everyone can defederate. So basically the mushroom-eating-idea would allow more diverse forms of server-governance, which I think would be cool.

  • Solarpunk @slrpnk.net

    What should a fedipunk-novel be about? (fedipunk = solarpunk+dezentralized social media)

  • Solarpunk @slrpnk.net

    I tried to write the first fedipunk novella (free to read and no copy-right). Its called: "Lamella on My Mind - Across the Fungiverse"

    rant.li /fedipunk-stories/lamella-on-my-mind-across-the-fungiverse-a-novella
  • Fediverse @lemmy.world

    Lamella on My Mind – Across the Fungiverse (A Novella)

    rant.li /fedipunk-stories/lamella-on-my-mind-across-the-fungiverse-a-novella
  • Science Fiction @lemmy.world

    Lamella on My Mind – Across the Fungiverse (A Novella)

    rant.li /fedipunk-stories/lamella-on-my-mind-across-the-fungiverse-a-novella
  • Fediverse @feddit.de

    Lamella on My Mind – Across the Fungiverse (A Novella)

    rant.li /fedipunk-stories/lamella-on-my-mind-across-the-fungiverse-a-novella