So, I'm still confused with Instances and how usernames interact with different Instances. I hear there's different content on different Instances, but I'm not sure if I need a new username to log in there, or if I just don't know how to log in using my lemmy.world username.
I hope I'm not too rambly. I'm getting used to the jargon and a little confused.
Thank you. I've been letting the instance concept just kind of float by undetected figuring I didn't need to understand it to navigate it I suppose. But I much prefer to understand :) thanks for the concise wording
I mean you can do whatever you want. The fediverse is provided as a free service by a bunch of hosts. It not like hosts are offering competing services.
Mastodon is also able to interact with Lemmy directly to a limited degree.
It's all ActivityPub, basically, and each platform just has its own different approach to how it handles that data. Mastodon displays them like Twitter posts, Lemmy displays them like Reddit posts with upvotes/downvotes and all, and Kbin has a bit of a hybrid model along with some sort of boost mechanic I don't understand.
Mastodon uses the boost button as well. I think it’s similar to an upvote, it just kind of helps the post get more attention. Since kbin is a kind of hybrid of mastodon and Lemmy, it uses both the upvote/downvote buttons and boost button. I’m not sure if boosting Lemmy posts does anything though. I haven’t used kbin or mastodon very much so some of my info may be incorrect.
I don't know either, but as long as federation works between them, it makes no difference to me. I follow communities on both from one Friendica account. If I decide to self host one day, I'll choose one based on the software stack.
This, to me, is the marvelous power of federation.