Have you ever used a telephone to call someone? If so, you have already used a network very similar to the Fediverse without even realising it.
If you call someone, your phone provider will connect to the provider of the person you’re calling. You don’t need to be on the same provider because the providers talk to each other. Phone calls work worldwide and seamlessly, because all the hundreds of phone providers in the world are connected together. From the user’s point of view it’s as if all phones in the world are on the same network, even though in reality they are on hundreds of different networks.
The Fediverse (or “Fedi”) is basically the same idea, but for social media. The Fediverse is a collection of thousands of independent social media servers that talk to each other seamlessly. This means that the millions of users on these servers can interact with each other as if they were on a single social network. The most popular type of Fedi server at the moment is called Mastodon (or “Masto”) and works a bit like a calmer, more friendly version of Twitter.
There are many kinds of Fediverse servers, often with a specific purpose such as photo sharing, video sharing, livestreaming, book clubs etc. Although the various types of servers work very differently, they talk to each other with a common technical standard called ActivityPub. The common standard means people on totally different kinds of servers can follow and interact with each other seamlessly. Mastodon is currently the most popular kind of server on the Fediverse which is why it is mentioned so often, but there are many other kinds too.
The process of interacting with other servers on the Fediverse is so seamless, most people don’t even notice that they are communicating with other servers. This is the same experience that people have with phone calls, where they have no idea they are talking to someone on another provider.
I’m still a bit lost. Is there anywhere I can get more info for beginners about the Fediverse?
Yes! For example here’s a cute animated video about Mastodon ⧉ that explains the basic principles of a federated social network, or click here for an even simpler explanation video ⧉. You might also want to watch this excellent short film introducing the Fediverse for absolute beginners ⧉, or this animation about the Fediverse ⧉ that emphasises the importance of common technical standards.
Wait a minute. If different kinds of servers can talk to each other, how do they interact? What do people see on their timeline?
Let’s suppose someone has an account on a Mastodon server. They can use this account to create short posts, follow other people, reply to posts, share posts, like posts etc. That person can follow and interact with accounts from other Mastodon servers, but they can also follow accounts from completely different kinds of Fediverse servers too.
For example, if they follow a video account from PeerTube, videos from the PeerTube account will start appearing in their Mastodon timeline just like Mastodon posts do. If they reply to one of these video posts within their timeline on Mastodon, that reply will also appear as a comment below that video on PeerTube.
There are many other kinds of server on the Fediverse, such as Pixelfed for photos, BookWyrm for reviewing books, WordPress for writing blogs etc. All of them can be followed and interacted with from Mastodon accounts.
I thought the Fediverse and Mastodon were the same thing? Where does the word “Fediverse” come from?
Mastodon is currently the most popular kind of Fediverse server, but it’s just one kind. There are many other kinds, communicating through a common standard to form a single network. The collective term for this network of compatible servers is “The Fediverse”, which is short for “Federated Universe”.
Who owns Mastodon? Who owns the Fediverse?
No one owns Mastodon or the Fediverse, each server is totally independently owned by whoever set it up. Ownership of the network is spread across thousands of independent server owners.
Why is the Fediverse like this? Why is it spread out on so many servers?
There are lots of important reasons for the Fediverse being spread out like this.
What actually IS Mastodon, in technical terms?
Mastodon is the free open source software that runs on Mastodon servers. Like all other kinds of Fediverse servers, Mastodon servers are totally independent and the Mastodon software developers have no control over the servers that use their software.