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+#+date: <2021-01-04>
+#+title: A Simple Guide to the Fediverse
+#+description: 
+
+
+* What is the Fediverse?
+
+The fediverse is a federated universe of servers commonly used for
+sharing content, like social media. So, instead of having to rely on a
+single organization to run the server (e.g. Facebook), the fediverse is
+a giant collection of servers across the world, owned by many people and
+organizations.
+
+Take a look at this depiction of a federated network. Each server in
+this photo is owned and run by different administrators/owners.
+Federated networks are best explained as email servers: you have an
+email account that exists on a server (e.g. Outlook), your friend has an
+account on a different server (e.g. GMail), and another friend has an
+account on a third server (e.g. ProtonMail). All three of you can talk
+and communicate back and forth without having to be on the same server.
+However, responsible email admins are there to set rules and control the
+traffic going in/out of the server.
+
+The main objective of this architecture is to decentralize the control
+within the internet connections. For example, if you run your own
+Mastodon instance, you and your users can't be censored or impacted in
+any way by authorities of another Mastodon instance. Some users have
+praised these features due to recent criticism of popular social media
+websites that may be over-censoring their users.
+
+This strategy is great for making sure control of the social web isn't
+controlled by a single organization, but it also has some downsides. If
+I create a Mastodon instance and get a ton of users to sign up, I can
+shut the server down at any time. That means you're at risk of losing
+the content you've created unless you back it up, or the server backs it
+up for you. Also, depending on the software used (e.g. Mastodon,
+Pixelfed, etc.), censorship may still be an issue if the server admins
+decide they want to censor their users. Now, censorship isn't always a
+bad thing and can even benefit the community as a whole, but you'll want
+to determine which servers align with your idea of proper censorship.
+
+However, these are risks that we take when we sign up for any online
+platform. Whatever your reason is for trying out federated social
+networks, they are part of the future of the internet. However, the
+popularity of these services is still yet to be determined, especially
+with the increased difficulty understanding and signing up for these
+platforms. Perhaps increased regulation and litigation against current
+social media sites will push more users into the fediverse.
+
+* Federated Alternatives to Popular Sites
+
+The list below is a small guide that will show you federated
+alternatives to current popular websites. There are many more out there,
+so go and explore: you might just find the perfect home.
+
+** Reddit
+
+- [[https://lemmy.ml/instances][Lemmy]]
+
+** Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr
+
+- [[https://joinmastodon.org][Mastodon]]
+- [[https://diasporafoundation.org][Diaspora]]
+- [[https://friendi.ca][Friendica]]
+- [[https://gnusocial.network][GNU Social]]
+- [[https://pleroma.social][Pleroma]]
+
+** Instagram
+
+- [[https://pixelfed.org][Pixelfed]]
+
+** Slack/Discord
+
+- [[https://element.io][Matrix]]
+
+** Youtube/Vimeo
+
+- [[https://joinpeertube.org][Peertube]]
+
+** Spotify/Soundcloud
+
+- [[https://funkwhale.audio][Funkwhale]]
+
+** Podcasting
+
+- [[https://pubcast.pub][Pubcast]]
+
+** Medium/Blogger
+
+- [[https://writefreely.org][WriteFreely]]
+
+* Get Started
+
+The best way to get started is to simply sign up and learn as you go. If
+you're comfortable signing up through a Mastodon, Pleroma, or Friendica
+server, here is [[https://fediverse.party/en/portal/servers][a list of
+themed servers]] to choose from. If you're looking for something else,
+try a web search for a federated alternative to your favorite sites.
+
+Find a server that focuses on your passions and start there!