Instance? Site? Server? System? What word is best for explaining federation?

Bill Statler

US, Tue, 04 Jun 2024 17:01:28 -0700 last edited: Wed, 05 Jun 2024 20:23:49 -0700 from Bunny of Doom

I'm writing yet another "introduction to the Fediverse" article for people who don't know anything about it.

Simple question: Should I refer to an instance as an "instance" or use a more common word?

Instance

0 Votes | 0%

Site

6 Votes | 86%

Server

0 Votes | 0%

System

0 Votes | 0%

Fedithingy

0 Votes | 0%

Something else

1 Vote | 14%

Poll has ended.

Giac El Vecio

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 17:23:01 -0700 from Diversi Spiritus

Remembering years ago :
"I don't use internet, I just use Facebook and YouTube"
🤣

Who never?

Bill Statler

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 17:55:58 -0700 from Bunny of Doom

"I don't use internet, I just use Facebook and YouTube"

I had to think about this for a while, but it's really relevant to my word choice. "I don't use a site, I use an app."

Hmm. This is really forcing me to think about exactly what I'm trying to say. Interesting.

Giac El Vecio

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 18:54:06 -0700 from Diversi Spiritus

It was a phrase that happened to hear about 10 years ago from some relatives and friends ;)

Rollerball

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 19:05:12 -0700 from varanda.online

😑

Waitman Gobble

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 17:38:42 -0700 from Get Ready To Rumbly

e-podium?

chavasaurus mex

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 17:40:55 -0700 from aquí-ahora

maybe something along the lines of "fediverse home, commonly referred to as instance or simply site."

bonus points for "terms such as pod, node, or hub have also been used in the past." But maybe it's not that kind of article 😬

Bill Statler

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 18:07:54 -0700 from Bunny of Doom

Huh, I wonder who used "hub".

I'm writing for a non-technical audience, and I want a generic word that I can just use without defining it first. Here's an excerpt:

{After describing federation...}

...Various independent systems, which might resemble Facebook or X or Instagram or nothing ever seen in commercial social media, have federated and agreed to exchange information via standard communications protocols.

What's more, there isn't just one X-like system, there are literally thousands, of various sizes, operated independently, with their own rules and their own local culture. Ditto for systems that are Facebook-like, Instagram-like, etc. ...

I'm afraid that if I say "instance", 80% of my target audience will say OMG TECHNICAL JARGON and quit reading. I want to focus on how the user experiences federated social networking, and provide a basic understanding, because I strongly disagree with "Just join the Mastodon flagship, and we'll tell you about federation when you're old enough to understand."

hosh

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 18:20:55 -0700 from hubzilla

The terminology is confusing and the terms might not always mean the same thing, so whatever words are chosen need to be described, and since this may not be the only article read, it is probably best to cover all the various terms that a reader might encounter. We also hear about nodes, hubs, cbannels, accounts, profiles, pages...

Mike Macgirvin 🖥️

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 19:14:41 -0700 from Y

I tend to use site and website interchangeably. I think website is a little more precise so as to distinguish it from a toxic waste site, but that's just a nuance. Either works for me.

Bill Statler

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 20:04:13 -0700 from Bunny of Doom

That gives me some amusing ideas for explaining things.

RockyIII

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:08:40 -0700 last edited: Wed, 05 Jun 2024 01:18:57 -0700 from hubzilla

@Bill Statler would say it has to be something like @hosh said

it is probably best to cover all the various terms that a reader might encounter. We also hear about nodes, hubs, channels, accounts, profiles, pages...

i remember years ago when i started i was very irritated by all this different terms up to the point where i understood that i meant all likely the same.. .

"instance" got the most used term in the last years for a hub in the Fedi

... so it would be good to name it and explain that all the other words try to express similar things...

it's kind of complicated... nobody inside the Fed but outside form HZ and streams understands what we mean by "channel"... but universal wordings are kind of imported if we want to communicate

chavasaurus mex

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 07:26:55 -0700 from aquí-ahora

and we know the fediverse has its share of toxic waste sites as well ☢️

Tanja

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 23:46:58 -0700 from hubzilla

I'd go for "site" as well. It's a term that even most non-technical people understand.

lotfi

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:38:01 -0700 from Cirtensis

I would have used site too, but explaining in brackets that some platforms name it Instance or something else.

Waitman Gobble

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:41:43 -0700 from Get Ready To Rumbly

"Server" might be good for the younger crowd

Mike Macgirvin 🖥️

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:48:56 -0700 from Y

Welcome to branding 101. Any red-blooded capitalist will tell you it should be called a peggle. Posts should be piggles. Access lists should be griggles. Other fediverse projects should be called slimeygoo.

Bill Statler

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 20:04:32 -0700 from Bunny of Doom

Grr, okay, it's going to have to be "instance", with a longer explanation hidden behind a [spoiler] tag. I can't use "site" when part of my audience thinks Facebook is an app and not a site.

Although I am tempted by "peggle-e-podium".

Witcraft (Hubzilla)

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 20:23:44 -0700 from hubzilla

I also like the terms node (in a network), host (as a place to start from), entry point, or planet (in a galaxy network, to stretch the universe analogy).

But I guess instance is a word so common for that purpose that it is one of the two or three definitions that can be introduced.