[1] https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub/ [2] https://activitypub.rocks/implementation-report/ [3] https://fed.brid.gy/
They're also looking to implement OpenID2 so it can be used to log into websites just like Facebook currently can.
Also note that email is federated, yet the majority of users have congregated around Gmail.
I predict that the same thing will happen with Mastodon, and that is not the type of future we should have.
Instead, I urge everybody to use P2P/decentralized networking, where even though there might be strong/reliable federated hosts, YOU fundamentally control your identity and it does NOT belong to a federated host.
With latest WebCrypto, this is perfectly possible now: http://hackernoon.com/so-you-want-to-build-a-p2p-twitter-wit... !
Yeah, owning ones identity and also your followers/friends/etc connection to your account should automatically be updated if you choose to move instances. This is what I believe will allow federation to flourish.
When the shortlived Great Migration to Mastodon took place last year, it was terribly cumbersome if you wanted to move instances — you would lose all of your friends again, at which point you’re required to somehow alert every account which follows you and expect them to go through the steps to add your new account. This is just too messy and for people who have spent years building their perfect social net, this is a pretty severe roadblock when one is forced to choose between a new instance with better culture but losing years of work connecting with interesting people.
I think federated networks are perfectly fine and a good first stepping stone into better decentralization, P2P usually has some problems in usability and moderation/administration.
Mastodon instances allow people with similar interests to live together as a community with a strong bond than what you'd usually encounter in purely P2P networks.
W3C Recommendation: https://www.w3.org/TR/2018/REC-activitypub-20180123/
On this page you see examples of websites you can host yourself. I'll use Mastodon as an example since I've used it. I know about hubzilla slightly but have not used it.
Mastodon is a platform you can run on your own server. That server you're running is called an instance. You can also register on an instance someone else is running.
Think of a single Mastodon instance as a clone of Twitter. One nice thing is: Your server, your rules.
Then, you can also allow your Mastodon instance and its users and their posts to be discoverable by other instances.
I think it's said to be federated because no one entity controls the content that is being shared. the information is passed around from instance to instance by rules that are defined on a per-instance basis.