Fediverse

See also: fediverse

English

Alternative forms

• fediverse

Etymology

Blend of federation +‎ universe. The earliest known mention of fediverse on Twitter was in 2012. It has been in use since. The earliest known use of fediverse in W3C was in 2013.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɛdɪvɜː(ɹ)s/

Proper noun

the Fediverse

1. (Internet) The distributed social network of federated services using open standard communication protocols, especially ActivityPub and historically OStatus. [from 2012]
   • 2020, Jessica Megarry, The Limitations of Social Media Feminism: No Space of Our Own, Springer Nature, →ISBN, page 303:

     While there is clearly a strong appetite amongst women to move away from the digital giants, Spinster is hardly free from their reach, or indeed from hostile men within the wider Fediverse network.

   • 2022, “Decentralized networks vs the trolls”, in Hoda Mahmoudi et al., editors, Fundamental Challenges to Global Peace and Security, Springer Nature, →ISBN, page 149:

     The migration of Gab marked a major test for the Fediverse. Because no one authority controlled the policies of the network, it would be impossible to bar Gab with a single sweeping action, the way centralized social networks such as Facebook or Twitter might.

   • 2022 November 14, Will Knight, “The Man Behind Mastodon Built It for This Moment”, in Wired‎^[2], →ISSN:

     Instead of creating a single unified platform, the the^[sic] protocol that Mastodon uses, called ActivityPub, allows anyone to use open-source software to boot up a server that hosts a Twitter-style community with its own rules. Together those servers, and other, non-Mastodon ones, form a collective of interlinked communities dubbed the “Fediverse.”

Usage notes

• Fediverse, Federation and Free Network have historically been used interchangeably. However, in recent usage, Fediverse refers more specifically to the existing network of ActivityPub servers, including those of Mastodon, Pleroma, Misskey, etc. The other terms are more general and may encompass various protocols.
• Convention on capitalisation is unknown; both Fediverse and fediverse are commonly used.