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Diffstat (limited to 'docs/federation')
| -rw-r--r-- | docs/federation/glossary.md | 27 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | docs/federation/index.md | 39 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | docs/federation/principles.md | 9 |
3 files changed, 39 insertions, 36 deletions
diff --git a/docs/federation/glossary.md b/docs/federation/glossary.md deleted file mode 100644 index 3362d666a..000000000 --- a/docs/federation/glossary.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,27 +0,0 @@ -# Glossary - -Some commonly-used terms in discussions of federation, and their meanings. - -### `ActivityPub` - -A decentralized social networking protocol based on the ActivityStreams data format. See [here](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub/). - -GoToSocial uses the ActivityPub protocol to communicate between GtS servers, and with other federated servers like Mastodon, Pixelfed, etc. - -### `ActivityStreams` - -A model/data format for representing potential and completed activities using JSON. See [here](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitystreams-core/). - -GoToSocial uses the ActivityStreams data model to 'speak' ActivityPub with other servers. - -### `Actor` - -An actor is an ActivityStreams object that is capable of performing some Activity like following, liking, creating a post, reblogging, etc. See [here](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub/#actors). - -In GoToSocial, each account/user is an actor. - -### `Dereference` - -To 'dereference' a post or a profile means to make an HTTP call to the server that hosts that post or profile, in order to obtain its ActivityStreams representation. - -GoToSocial 'dereferences' posts and profiles on remote servers, in order to convert them to models that GoToSocial can understand and work with. diff --git a/docs/federation/index.md b/docs/federation/index.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..3502e47f2 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/federation/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +# Why Federation? + +GoToSocial uses the [ActivityPub](https://activitypub.rocks/) federation protocol. + +Federation means that you can hang out not just with people on your home server, but with people all over the [Fediverse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fediverse). Your home server is part of a network of servers all over the world that all communicate using the same protocol--they speak the same 'language'. Your data is no longer centralized on one company's servers, but resides on your own server and is shared -- as you see fit -- across a resilient web of servers run by other people. + +Not all of the servers you 'federate' with will be running GoToSocial: popular implementations of ActivityPub include software like [Mastodon](https://joinmastodon.org/), [WriteFreely](https://writefreely.org/), and many others. GoToSocial communicates seamlessly with these other servers. To take a corporate + +This federated approach also means that you aren't beholden to arbitrary rules from some gigantic corporation potentially thousands of miles away. Your server has its own rules and culture; your fellow server residents are your neighbors; you will likely get to know your server admins and moderators, or be an admin yourself. + +GoToSocial advocates for many small, weird, specialist servers where people can feel at home, rather than a few big and generic ones where one person's voice can get lost in the crowd. + +## Glossary + +Some commonly-used terms in discussions of federation, and their meanings. + +### `ActivityPub` + +A decentralized social networking protocol based on the ActivityStreams data format. See [here](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub/). + +GoToSocial uses the ActivityPub protocol to communicate between GtS servers, and with other federated servers like Mastodon, Pixelfed, etc. + +### `ActivityStreams` + +A model/data format for representing potential and completed activities using JSON. See [here](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitystreams-core/). + +GoToSocial uses the ActivityStreams data model to 'speak' ActivityPub with other servers. + +### `Actor` + +An actor is an ActivityStreams object that is capable of performing some Activity like following, liking, creating a post, reblogging, etc. See [here](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub/#actors). + +In GoToSocial, each account/user is an actor. + +### `Dereference` + +To 'dereference' a post or a profile means to make an HTTP call to the server that hosts that post or profile, in order to obtain its ActivityStreams representation. + +GoToSocial 'dereferences' posts and profiles on remote servers, in order to convert them to models that GoToSocial can understand and work with. diff --git a/docs/federation/principles.md b/docs/federation/principles.md deleted file mode 100644 index 643ab9e1b..000000000 --- a/docs/federation/principles.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9 +0,0 @@ -# Principles - -TODO -- describe the principles GtS uses for federating. - -Eg: - -* Why federate? -* Why ActivityPub? -* Broad overview of how GtS fits into the fediverse. |