@lippyduck

Ahh, Thank You for the explanation! From your OP ("just the Fediverse") I believed what you were describing was integrated.

But you were posting about apples and I was trying to find oranges. Now it makes sense.

I'll google the Lemmy server thing and explore it. It truly does sound interesting.

Thank you again for helping me understand.

Peace!
😎 👍 👍

@lippyduck @Mark_Harbinger Actually, this wasn’t posted on Mastodon at all—I don’t use Mastodon. I use Akkoma.

You’re seeing it on your Mastodon account because Mastodon isn’t a closed system. It’s part of the Fediverse, which lets different platforms talk to each other. So my messages don’t “work on Mastodon”—you’re receiving them because Mastodon and Akkoma can communicate.

Same idea with Lemmy and Piefed. They’re not Mastodon add-ons. They’re their own platforms that can talk across the Fediverse.

@lippyduck @Mark_Harbinger Ah! Well, if you’d like to see this in practice, here’s a post that originates on my Akkoma server. Notice the handle tagged at the end:

atomicpoet.org/@atomicpoet/pos…

Which resulted in the post being crossposted to Piefed:

piefed.social/post/1215534

Which automagically gets federated to Lemmy:

a.lemmy.world/lemmy.world/c/vi…

You can also see it on mastodon.social if you search for @videogames@piefed.social—but it won’t look as nice as on Piefed or Lemmy.

Chris Trottier (@atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org)

Army Men (1998) for Windows 95.This was the title meant to pivot 3DO from console maker to full-fledged game developer—and for a short while, it worked.Army Men became a franchise almost overnight....

^{atomicpoet.org}

Chris Trottier

2025-09-01 22:27:35

Army Men (1998) for Windows 95.

This was the title meant to pivot 3DO from console maker to full-fledged game developer—and for a short while, it worked.

Army Men became a franchise almost overnight. A real-time tactics game where little green plastic soldiers fought it out with dark humour, explosions, and more personality than you’d expect from a box of toys.

It wasn’t enough to save 3DO in the long run. But in 1998, it felt like the start of something big—and for that brief window, it really was.

@videogames

@lippyduck
Agreed. Much appreciated for the explainer

However, the fediverse is also still a techno-feudal fiefdom (run by various admins).

That there is a plurality of instances and admins is a mitigating factor for the worst symptoms of technofeudalism; but it isn't *necessarily* any more indicative of democratic values (free speech, representation) that Bluesky or even Xitter.

If we ever get democracy back, it will have to include (truly) public-owned and -run Social Media.

@Mark_Harbinger @lippyduck There’s actually a few co-operatively owned Fediverse servers operating. I, myself, am starting one up for PeerTube.

No matter how you slice it, there is a cost for running a Fediverse server. Which is also true of anything on the Internet.

@Mark_Harbinger @lippyduck Ultimately, calling the Fediverse “a techno-feudal fiefdom” is just lazy.

If you’ve got the technical chops, you can run your own server. A Raspberry Pi and a bit of time is all it takes. If you don’t, you can still join a co-op and have a real say in governance.

Let’s not ignore the obvious. You’re posting from a non-profit’s server—kept alive almost entirely by donations. That’s the opposite of feudalism.

I’ve written more about this here:

atomicpoet.org/@atomicpoet/pos…

Chris Trottier (@atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org)

The Fediverse is not “a techno-feudal fiefdom (run by various admins).” That line is lazy, defeatist, and flat-out wrong.What it actually is: a network held together by open protocols like Activity...

^{atomicpoet.org}

@lippyduck

Respectfully, I can afford to be lazy when you make my point for me. How does 'running your own server' refute techno-feudalism? That's the very definition of it.

A collection of people all talking from within their bespoke 'individually owned' rooms isn't the same as a public square.

Co-ops and NFPs are all well and good and can be a valuable counter-measure. But the opposite of private is public, not 'lots and lots of more private instances'...

@Mark_Harbinger @lippyduck If by “public” you mean government-owned servers—yes, those exist. The EU itself runs an official Mastodon instance:

ec.social-network.europa.eu

But if by “public” you mean government-run servers where every citizen can freely register—that’s something people in a democracy need to demand. And some have. The snag is validation: governments are risk-averse and won’t roll this out without real political pressure.

Still, the technology makes it entirely feasible. Which is why calling the Fediverse “techno-feudal” misses the point—unless you believe that only government-operated platforms count as public space.

I don’t share that belief. Governments aren’t necessarily interested in running a public square.

European Commission on Mastodon

Mastodon instance managed by the European Commission.

^{Mastodon hosted on ec.social-network.europa.eu}

@lippyduck

Just as a basic matter: Government owned and operated = "public". Yes, that's the definition. Neither of our beliefs, yours or mine, are relevant, btw. That's the definition.

The idea of what any particular government might or might not be interested in, politically, is a separate question.

@Mark_Harbinger @lippyduck You’re flat-out wrong if you think “public” only means government-owned.

In the corporate world, a public company is a company listed on a stock exchange, with shares that anyone can buy and sell. That’s why Apple, Microsoft, and Toyota are all called public companies—they’re subject to SEC filings, shareholder votes, and disclosure rules precisely because they’re open to public investment.

Meanwhile, in the government sector, public refers to state-owned institutions like schools, hospitals, and broadcasters.

And outside those spheres, the word just means open and accessible: public parks, public events, public records.

Your definition fits in one narrow lane, but it collapses everywhere else. Language depends on context, and in finance, “public company” is the industry-standard term worldwide.

Pretending otherwise is like insisting “bank” only ever means the side of a river—technically possible, but absurd in practice.

@lippyduck

Okay, as you've noted, words can have more than one meaning.

Yes "public" can mean various things. "Public" was also the name of Emm Gryner's 1998 album. And these various meanings do include 'owned by stockholders' in the private sector. None of which matters in this discussion.

What I am talking about is the public sector. I thought the context of the thread was clue enough as to which definition I was referring to.

Anyway, this might help:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_s…

public part of the economy

^{Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)}

@Mark_Harbinger @lippyduck Calling something “public and democratic” just because it’s government-owned is self-evidently ridiculous.

If that were true, then the CIA would somehow be “public and democratic.”

Your logic collapses under its own weight.

@lippyduck

Uh-huh. We've now reached the point where you are arguing with yourself—so I'll leave you to it.