this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2023
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Fediverse
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This magazine is dedicated to discussions on the federated social networking ecosystem, which includes decentralized and open-source social media platforms. Whether you are a user, developer, or simply interested in the concept of decentralized social media, this is the place for you. Here you can share your knowledge, ask questions, and engage in discussions on topics such as the benefits and challenges of decentralized social media, new and existing federated platforms, and more. From the latest developments and trends to ethical considerations and the future of federated social media, this category covers a wide range of topics related to the Fediverse.
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So how is Kbin going to cover its operating costs? If a fediverse server must survive on donations, it seems like donating should be built into the user experience. For example, there could be a Kbin Gold similar to Reddit Gold.
I remember years ago when Reddit Gold first became a thing there was a progress bar on the site indicating how much of their daily server costs had been covered by Reddit Gold. Something like that might be useful.
You misunderstand what kbin is, if you think there's A server that has to cover operating costs. kbin isn't a site, it's just server software, it's meant to be run in many many places, and those individual servers talk to each other.
Who's going to be paid for the ongoing maintenance of the software? Who's going to pay for the servers the software's run on? A decentralized architecture doesn't remove the operating costs of a large scale social media site. As the article alludes to, it might even increase operating costs.
To be honest, I'm not interested in small, niche communities. I want the fediverse to grow into something that can rival social media giants like Reddit, and Twitter. How a site is monetized is as key of a feature as anything else, because without monetization, a site is doomed.
I'd imagine no one in particular. It's donations and open-source model. Eventually (if it gets popular) it might get some other business model or grants from FOSS funds. Remains to be seen.
Same here. Donations and/or whoever hosts the servers. Instances should grow to whatever their maintainer can afford/has planned. Then they should close signups. Other instances might pop up. There are currently a lot of Lemmy instances and some people are starting to spin up new kbin instances.
Eventually someone is probably going to try ads for their site.
But fediverse is not just "a site". It's many. They all have their own rules, plans and ambitions.
I never thought of how capping sign ups doesn't affect you in the fediverse... you can just sign up on a different instance! Very cool to think that server hosts can stay within their own limitations.