TLDR: This is a long post, so a shorter question you can respond to is:
What are some organizations you know that share some of the values the Fediverse has?
Big or small, it doesn’t matter :)
One of the problems right now is that smaller hobby instances come and go because of lack of funding, time, or expertise. Lemmy.film was a good one that was growing, and it could have been a great hub for all the TV show communities before it went away. I’m not going to touch on why that’s bad, I think we all get it.
It might be better to find larger existing organizations with similar values and goals. They would have the momentum to keep going for longer, and bring more legitimacy and trust for new users. If they’re already registered non-profits then that’s even better. Another big advantage is that they are less likely to implode with bad decision-making, since they’d be better about complying with existing laws (while upholding values), storing the data safely, moderating diplomatically, etc.
There are so many organizations that are trying to do good in the world, many of which have complained about the negative effects of modern social media. With some help, they could help themselves while helping improve the internet. If we got organized, the process might look like:
- Identify the organization that would be good to host, and what type of platform they are good for
- Figure out what they need which the Fediverse still lacks. That would give some focussed things to work on
- Reach out to someone from the organization and work with them to get them running (recommend providers, talk about what they need, etc.)
- If they don’t host, they might just make accounts for themselves on existing instances.
Some overlapping values that organizations might share (please share more that come to mind)
- free access to information
- supporting and advocating for people in their field
- freedom from censorship / oppressive governments
- advocating for better social media / moderation issues
- digital autonomy / privacy (we have some of those already)
- community development and empowerment
When I started this thought train, I was just brainstorming film related organizations before I realized I don’t know much about that world. I listed out some organizations that came to mind, please offer thoughts :)
Regional
- I know mstdn.ca is working with the CIRA, and I like the idea of local instances (better latency, efficiency, storing data in the country, stronger local communities/identities). Some countries can’t do that because of oppressive governments, but would still benefit from instances with a shared identity.
- Any local organizations come to mind from where you are?
Journalism
- Having a trustworthy org in charge would give journalists confidence that their private information will be stored securely, and they would get better reach from having their profiles listed with other journalists.
- Microblogging is what came to mind. While larger media outlets should really just host their own instances, independent journalists or those from smaller orgs could also use an instance they can trust.
Organizations that could host: Reporters Without Borders (RSF)?, Bellingcat?, Propublica?, Associated Press?, what else…
Film / TV:
- I don’t know if there are organizations that would be good for this. I don’t think media studios should run them else they could remove criticism and just use it to advertise. Are there good organizations in this area? The acting/writers guilds perhaps?
Research
- There are a lot of great organizations out there pushing for open access, improving journals, etc. Should they host the instances? Maybe organizations for a particular field? Affiliated universities?
Everyone should be on the fediverse, but should everyone self host? I’m not sure we’re there just yet.
I guess what I mean is, which orgs should we start with right now?
With the drama of independent instances, I would not want my org’s availability held at the whims of some rando. Better to pay for your own hosting and federate. As long as people understand the official instance will probably ban any bad press.