Conversation

I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're referring to as Mastodon is actually Fediverse, or as I've recently taken to calling it, Fediverse plus Mastodon. Mastodon is not a social network unto itself, but rather a free component of a fully functioning Fediverse system.

Many people use the term Mastodon to refer to the entire Fediverse, but this is technically incorrect. Fediverse is the collective: the collection of servers, protocols, and software that allow users to communicate with each other. Mastodon is simply one of many applications that can run on top of Fediverse.

The Fediverse is an open source project, and anyone is free to contribute to it. There are many different Fediverse instances that are run by different people and organizations. Each instance has its own unique features and policies.

If you're using Mastodon, you're actually using Fediverse. The next time you want to refer to this software, please use the correct name: Fediverse.