I've recently been thinking about getting back on Tumblr. There just isn't a good FOSS/Fediverse alternative. The twitter-copycat interface of Mastodon, Pleroma, Misskey, Soapbox etc just doesn't cover everything like people seem to think it does. I don't know, though, maybe I just miss how internet communities were in the late 2000s. It seems most people online today are there for entirely different reasons. Back in 2009 if someone added you somewhere, they wanted to connect. Today they're probably advertising or promoting. It's all so supremely exhausting...

🌻 softwarepagan

Mar 15 · 2 months ago · 👍 mimas2AC

10 Comments ↓

🍄 Ruby_Witch · Mar 15 at 16:50:

There's no real harm in trying Tumblr again, I hear that it's become a decent place to interact after being a mess for a few years there.

For me, Mastodon is exactly the place for what you're describing. I've made some good connections with people and they seem eager to interact and nobody's advertising anything.

The only "issue" with Mastodon as compared to other social media sites is that you're not likely to connect with your offline friends through it. But maybe that's more of a feature than a bug...

😺 gemalaya · Mar 15 at 19:37:

Just wanted to mention Aether, which is a P2P forums application.

— https://getaether.net/

🚀 stack · Mar 15 at 21:50:

Yeah, I miss the old net too. However, consider that you don't really need to be on the shitweb. There are other ways to keep up with people you care about instead of having gazillions of 'friends' who don't really matter.

😈 dimkr · Mar 16 at 11:13:

If your main issue with the fediverse is the interface and you want something more minimal or text-based, maybe you'll like https://brutaldon.org or https://github.com/dimkr/tootik.

🐙 norayr · Mar 17 at 01:20:

yes, i also think if you don't like twitter like interfaces, then there are 2 tootik instances afaik, so you can use fedi via gemini browser. there is also snac2 - it is a minimalistic web software for activity pub. there is also

— epicyon

i only left a link to epicyon, but do not hesitate to ask for the links to other mentioned services instances or source code.

also there is friendica and hubzilla - thoe two, as well as socialhome, support both diaspora and activity pub protocol. so deos socialhome, take a look at one of my instances, this one for photography community:

— կէտ.հայ photo club

🐙 norayr · Mar 17 at 01:26:

eventually, try to join a diaspora pod - this is how they call instances.

diaspora protocol is much simpler and arguably, better designed. it looks like

— google plus have had stolen the design of diaspora.

and, btw, tale about libre software: google closed google plus. but diaspora communities exist. where did google plus people go? the set up own diaspora pod and were socializing fromit.

🚀 blah_blah_blah · Mar 20 at 11:08:

Aether is dead. It's main author is MIA, and there hasn't been any movement on the file since 2021.

👻 darkghost · Mar 21 at 23:14:

I dunno I'm pretty fond of the community here so far. It's small and that's how I like them. But maybe I'm nostalgic for the Internet communities of the mid 90's! It was a magical place. Folks from many walks of life exploring new technology all converging in a new space.

🐙 norayr · Mar 23 at 01:09:

on tumblr: i have heard they are adopting activity pub protocol. and i think they didn't kill the rss, so they look less evil than many other commercial services.

however i have not much hope that nomething commercial on the internet will not abuse their users. i think investing in such a platform doesn't worth it.

🐙 norayr · Mar 23 at 01:13:

also on oldschool internet communities: i use xmpp (jabber) and i connect to some irc chats of open source projects to follow developments or ask questions.

if you get a jabber account on any server start by joining geminauts group at xmpp:geminauts@chat.kwiecien.us?join

i think internet communities today are amazing and in some respects better than ever, let's say more inclusive.