this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2023
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Reddit Migration
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### About Community Tracking and helping #redditmigration to Kbin and the Fediverse. Say hello to the decentralized and open future. To see latest reeddit blackout info, see here: https://reddark.untone.uk/
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Thank you for your service and welcome aboard!
Thanks, I'll really liking it over here so far, kind of rough around the edges but still pretty neat!
Yeah, this place seems super chill to me so far.
actually, i don't even know where i am. are you accessing this info using lemmy or kbin? what is the difference? can i login and read these posts using lemmy, kbin, something else? i am so lost. it is time for a panic attack. what is happening???
I’m on kbin too. If you’re ever wondering where someone is commenting from, you can tap their username and their profile will show the instance name. If you’re ever wondering what platform the comments are hosted on, the sidebar (where it says magazine) is the easiest way to see that. I pay attention to that because I know some instances have different moderation rules - for example, Beehaw (which uses Lemmy) is a community that tries to create a safe and productive discussion environment, so I try to be mindful of my actions there to help make sure I’m not interfering when I visit. :) I like to think of it like traveling from my home country to other countries. Norms and customs might different, but we all have some commonalities in how we’re built and communicate at the end of the day.
Lemmy and kbin are just different types of software for communicating, kind of like how you can use an Outlook account or a Gmail account for email. They use the same protocols, but have different interfaces and features. Personally, I like kbin. But either is just fine. Technically, you could even use Mastodon to read this, though that would kind of be like using a terminal for email. It’s possible (I’m sure), it’s just not fine tuned for this type of content or use case.
You’ll get the hang of it quickly. Welcome, be nice, and have fun!
This magazine (magazines are like subreddits or communities, they are called magazines on kbin) is hosted on kbin. We know this because the address for the magazine is @RedditMigration@kbin.social. The first @ sign is the name of the community, the second @ sign is the address of the instance that community is hosted on.
Your account address is @yesdogishere@kbin.social, so I can see you made your account on kbin.social. So you're probably viewing this from kbin.social as well. Kbin.social is just an instance (a server) that you're using to access the Fediverse.
So the community is on kbin.social, you're on kbin.social, and I also happen to be on kbin.social. But that's mostly just a coincidence. Say if my account were made on lemmy.world, then my account address would be @Helldiver_M@lemmy.world. Because lemmy.world and kbin.social are federated, a lemmy.world user could reply to my comment.
As far as your day-to-day browsing, this isn't super important to know about. But it can be helpful. For instnace, sometimes federated content can take awhile to move from instance to instance. This thread is still pretty new when I'm typing out this comment, so it might not have shown up on other instances yet. That's why if you look around right now, it's mostly people with kbin accounts participating. But give it an hour or two, and there might be a few comments from people using different instances in the fediverse.
I know that was a bit of an info dump, please let me know if there's anything else I can help clarify. I'm still learning this too and find it pretty interesting.
Hey, that's a really good explanation! Thanks for that!
yup we need more explanations like this. What we don't want is knowledge being privately held and people being told "oh dont worry it all works just accept it". That's a recipe for alienation and disaster.
(im curious:
what is a "fediverse"
what is a "magazine"
exactly where is the info stored in the world
exactly who has control of which info)
Is there a diagrammatic wiki where all this is explained? Otherwise it will be too easy for nefarious, evil, greedy, cruel, powermonger types to later on capture the whole of kbin or lemmy or whatever for themselves, and nobody will know what is going on until it is too later. sadly, it is already happening, if you read some of the replies. ugh. cliquey powermonger types..
the worst is where lemmy etc becomes like crypto - nobody knows what the fuck is going on except the very few, who all use big power words to pretend they are smart and hide functionality from everyone. that then produces fascist dictatorships, more hitler-type personalities will arise, then WW3.
I think there's a balancing act that we can achieve to this end. To use driving a car as an analogy, someone doesn't need to know 100% of how a car works in order to learn how to drive it. But there are some basic mechanical things they can learn about that makes it safer for them. Like, how to check their oil.
If the barrier for entry for any social media, let alone Federalized social media, was 100% knowledge of everything, then no one would use it. However, there are absolutely a few things that should be known to stay empowered and safe.
The Fediverse is a collection of severs that talk to each other that publish info and host files. These severs are owned by lots of different people, they are hosted in many different locations, they run on different protocols. Kbin runs off of the Activity Pub protocol, so it can talk to other severs using Activity Pub. (The majority of the Fediverse uses Activity Pub currently).
Kbin has a Magazine where you can discuss the broader Fediverse: https://kbin.social/m/fediverse
A Magazine is what Kbin calls communities. We are currently on /m/RedditMigration (/m/ standing for Magazine). I just mentioned /m/fediverse. Some other good Magazines to note are /m/help for asking questions about Kbin, and /m/kbinMeta for discussing more administrative related issues about kbin.
Lots of different places. If I recall right, Kbin is hosted both in Germany and Poland. But Kbin is not the Fediverse. Kbin is just one little part of it. So far, I've found this resource to be good to see more info about different servers: https://fedidb.org/network.
That is an extremely broad question. There's lots of different information, different context in which that information is important, different touchpoints where different people might have control over what you see or don't see.
Magazines or communities have moderators, much like how Reddit had moderators in Subreddits. Sever administrators can determine what instances they want to federate or defederate with. Individual users can block instances or other users.
Long story short, what makes answering that question so difficult is that the Fediverse is very decentralized. If we were talking about Reddit, then ultimately the puck stops with greddy little piggy /u/Spez, he controls your information. But since we're on a much more decentralized platform, authority is held between many different people. I see it as a good thing imho.
I have to answer a question with a question: what is a diagrammatic wiki? I've not heard of that before, and a quick google didn't really give me a clear answer.
As far as where to go to have all this explained, the wiki article on the Feidverse is a good start imho if you really want to dig in: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fediverse. Otherwise, the magazines I listed earlier are good resources. There will be more resources in the future, this is all still very very new, particuarly on kbin. I've been piecing this all together by using the platform and learning about it for about 2 weeks.
They're federated, so it doesn't matter too much what instance your on, when it comes to content consumption.
Thank you both for explaining this. I feel lost as well; but will happily figure it out… with a bit of help
Everyone feels a little lost here at first. You just have to roll with confusion and take everything at your own pace. The best part is that 99.9% of the users are new here (within the last month), so no one's gonna give you shit for not fully understanding.
Welcome!
You can access most places (if not all) in the Fediverse using your kbin account.
At the top, 'threads' are like posts on Reddit. 'Microblogs' are like posts on Twitter. 'Magazines' are like subreddits.
Every magazine gets their own wall for threads and microblogs.
So you can sign up for a specific instance of lemmy or kbin, and then see and interact with any content from any other instance of the Fediverse, provided they have not defederated. Where things get a little weird is how upcoming apps will function. I was told that Sync for Lemmy will likely require you to have a Lemmy account to sign in, but will still allow you to browse and post to any Fediverse content. This may end up being just a short-term issue until developers can "line up API endpoints", whatever the Treknobabble that means.
What you've heard is right. If things keep progressing the way they are now, Kbin will also have mobile apps. It's just that Kbin's Application Programming Interface (API) isn't finished yet. That's what app developers need in order to easily make an app for Kbin. Lemmy does have an API, so that's where most of the app development is taking place right now.
But Kbin will make it's API available and there will be mobile apps for Kbin. I'm aware of at least one app that's already in development, Artemis. The developer has a magazine here with a pinned FAQ: /m/Artemis.
I don’t fully know the answers but if it helps I’m using Kbin right now. Also I’ve discovered a web based Lemmy client called wefwef that is remarkably similar to Apollo - so I might well sign up for a Lemmy account too:
https://wefwef.app/posts/lemmy.world/all