Image Credit: Night of the Living Dead

With WP Engine & Automattic officially waging a legal war against each other, I do not expect a civil end to this corporate pissing match. Assuming Matt Mullenweg can force WP Engine to pay a federal fine for violating WordPress's trademark (a real possibility), WP Engine could end up dragging this whole fiasco through federal appeals court (a process that could last years).

Doing so would not only enrich affluent lawyers but damage the brand of WordPress worldwide, resulting in regular folks and small businesses looking for the exits. This zero-sum end game would not benefit either Automattic or WP Engine in the long term.

This is why we will probably witness a rebrand by WP Engine and a zombie 🧟‍♂️ 🧟‍♀️ fork of the WordPress code.

What The 🤬 Is A Zombie Fork‽ Why Not A Hard Fork‽

Before explaining why WP Engine will count the costs & consider a zombie fork over a hard fork, Chris Pearson of Thesis fame eloquently sums up why hard forking WordPress is unwise.

Chris Pearson's initial thoughts regarding the possibility of someone doing a soft fork or (what I would call) a zombie 🧟‍♂️ 🧟‍♀️ fork of WordPress are worth highlighting.

So what a lot of people are talking about right now is forking WordPress. Like, is WP Engine going to Fork WordPress, should other people Fork Wordpress. People have reached out to me asking if I want to be on the board of some new entity that they gonna have for running a new Fork of WordPress, this kind of thing.

So I'm gonna give my thoughts on the forking of WordPress. So if you are unfamiliar with open source software, forking is simply uh this idea that, so the software exists & is being run by group A & you decided that group A either isn't going to do the stuff you want to do, doesn't represent your interests, is it moving fast enough, there could be any reason you want & you decided to Fork the software.

So you take off, you...you take that piece of software, move it to a new jurisdiction where you have total control & from that point on, you...all the modifications to that software you're making & then you're responsible for that branch of software.

So, if I were to Fork WordPress (let's say I'd call it ChrisPress or something as an example), I would be responsible for the development of ChrisPress from there on out, and I could treat that however I wanted.

I could watch what WordPress is doing & just copy all the stuff that they've added & add that to each release (which is really lame), or I could go my own way & do that, which is kind of the deal with forking. [...]

What you know what people are talking about right now, they're basically going to mimic what WordPress is doing but under different leadership that they think will be less capricious than Matt Mullenweg. (Transcript excerpt between 0:11-1:35 from Chris Pearson on YouTube, emphasis mine)

Launching a zombie fork of WordPress would have the highest upside for WP Engine, as it would:

• Remove all legal obligations to the WordPress foundation & future licenses to Automattic
• Require zero intelligence or innovation, significantly reducing research & development costs
• Enrage Matt Mullenweg
• Allow seamless integration between WordPress themes & plugins
• Make it easier for current & future WP Engine customers who depend upon WordPress

A WordPress fork is also something Automattic fears, as it was oddly mentioned in a term sheet allegedly sent to WP Engine in an attempt to settle their disagreements behind the scenes.

Prohibition on “Forking.” WP Engine will cease and desist from forking or modifying any of Automattic’s, WooCommerce’s, or its affiliates' software (including, but not limited to plugins and extensions) in a manner that disrupts any partnership between Automattic and its commercial partners. For example, WP Engine will refrain from changing attribution codes included in any software by Automattic. (Term Sheet by Automattic).

While creating a zombie fork would enrage the open-source community, ultimately, the end users who are not fluent in geek will not care as long as their website or small business runs without disruption.

In the end, a zombie fork would benefit both sides. WP Engine would be able to rebrand and openly mooch off of Matt Mullenweg's hard work for free, and @photomatt@mastodon.social would have an evil empire to rally the WordPress community against.

It would be similar to the feud between Apple and Alphabet (formerly known as Google), except much more emotional and brutal.

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With Instagram now officially owning, the coveted domain Threads.com, we will probably expect Meta to rebrand & redirect users from Threads.net to the new domain soon (at least before the social network fully embraces the Fediverse).

However, suppose Meta wants Threads to become the pulse of the planet (a goal Twitter/X tried and failed to achieve). In that case, they may need to consider launching several sister sites, which could help the social media giant dominate emerging and established digital markets and evade government scrutiny.

Laying down a multi-faceted Fediverse foundation could also help Meta earn extra revenue in regional markets and compete against new rivals in new arenas, such as Artificial Intelligence, E-commerce, and banking (via Meta Pay).

Image Credit: Håkan Dahlström

Regional Sites For A Regulatory World

Unfortunately for Meta, the region of Europe has been somewhat problematic. The European Union seems to eschew ads upon Facebook & Instagram. When Meta offered to provide a premium option for users to avoid ads, the @EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu unceremoniously rejected the idea entirely.

This has resulted in Meta declining to offer a Fediverse option for European Union residents, frustrating users desiring to communicate with businesses, governments & loved ones from outside Meta's digital walls via alternative ActivityPub platforms like Mastodon, Peertube, etcetera.

Other nations, like Turkey 🇹🇷 did not like the idea of Instagram sharing data with Threads and forced the company to delete all Threads accounts from users in Turkey.

To comply with an interim order of the Rekabet Kurumu/Turkish Competition Authority (TCA), we will shut down Threads in Türkiye from Monday 29 April. We know this will be very disappointing for the many people in Türkiye who engage on Threads with their community. [...]

The TCA recently issued an interim order prohibiting the sharing of data between Threads and Instagram. We disagree with the interim order, we believe we are in compliance with all Turkish legal requirements, and we will appeal. The TCA's interim order leaves us with no choice but to temporarily shut down Threads in Türkiye. We will continue to constructively engage with the TCA and hope to bring Threads back to people in Türkiye as quickly as possible. (Meta Newsroom)

To circumvent this conundrum, Meta should consider launching its first sister site to connect European Union users to Threads (albeit for a price) and a second sister site to make the first one jealous.

Image Credit: DrRandomFactor

Threads (Europe)

If the price is right, Meta should acquire Threads.eu (which is on sale via Elite Domains and registered with Key Systems) and offer an ad-free, premium federated social network for European Union residents.

Meta should charge between 5€-15€ per month per user. Unlike the original Threads network, usernames would not be pre-reserved or based upon Instagram handles. Except for brands, European celebrities, and government agencies, any user could register any user handle for a monthly fee.

Threads (Europe) would be compatible in both Turkey 🇹🇷 & the European Union 🇪🇺, as the data would not be shared directly with the rest of the Meta network. Like its predecessor, Fediverse sharing would be opt-in by default (necessary to avoid the ire of various European governments).

Image: African Union flag

Threads (Africa)

Around the same time as Meta's European launch, Instagram should acquire Threads.africa (disclosure: I own this domain, which I registered to keep out of the hands of grifters & spammers) & launch a freemium, federated site (where users pay $5 per month for an ad-free experience) for the African continent.

According to Stat Counter, Meta already dominates the African continent via Facebook, with Instagram fighting with YouTube for second place. However, when it comes to text-based social networking, Meta's mini rival X (formally known as Twitter) still dominates & shapes the conversation on the continent.

Twitter which primarily serves as a tool for interaction has since evolved into a medium for advocacy and journalism in Africa.

Hashtags such as #EndSARS in Nigeria and #ThisFlag in Zimbabwe have galvanized mass participation, sparking nationwide movements and drawing global attention to local issues.

The platform has also facilitated the growth of numerous industries, particularly the media. However, other sectors have benefited greatly from the Twitter platform including tech, finance, and business.

These industries have leveraged the platform to foster growth. From promoting businesses and attracting customers to crowdfunding initiatives and launching digital campaigns, Twitter serves as a catalyst for entrepreneurship and economic growth. (Business Insider: Africa)

If Meta desires to supplant X on the continent (and knock Elon Musk's pride down a few pegs), they should consider launching a hyper-localized sister site on the dot Africa domain extension.

Image Credit: Book cover of African Artificial Intelligence by Dr. Mark Nasila

Using AI To Unite Threads Dot Africa

To galvanize support for the African sister site, Threads Africa should announce the desire to have their site localized in every African language (there are between 1200 and 3000 languages spoken on the continent). Meta should request the assistance of Africans, & could even use their homegrown Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help speed up the process.

Meta could also use their AI to help provide direct translation between each African language. If successful, Threads Africa would be positioned as the nexus for communication between the 646 million internet African users within Africa (a number which is expected to rise to 1.1 billion by 2029).

By providing auto-native translation tools, videos, text & audio, Threads Africa could help foster a new age of communication across the continent by allowing Africans to use their mother tongue instead of adopting a language from their former colonial power.

Image: Official Meta Icon

E-commerce, Meta Pay & The Fediverse (Oh My!)

Since Meta does not have to deal with the regulatory interference that is commonplace within Europe, they could integrate Instagram Shopping within Threads Africa, which would enable millions of small businesses in Africa to market their goods to billions of customers worldwide.

Threads Africa could, however, expand Instagram Shop, & help facilitate sales between large local businesses, major industries, & African governments. This could make it easier for Africans to market their goods & natural resources, the latter of which is estimated to be worth around $6.5 trillion.

To facilitate a smooth transaction process between numerous currencies & businesses across 54 nations, @zuck@threads.net should make Meta Pay more widely available, which will benefit both consumers & businesses alike

If adequately managed, Africans on the continent could use their newfound wealth to improve their local livelihoods & improve their future outlook, similar to what Botswana 🇧🇼 did decades ago.

Since Threads Africa would already be a part of the Fediverse (which Meta could encourage people to opt-in towards), users would be able to communicate with their sister sites (Threads & Threads Europe), & the greater Fediverse ecosystem as well.

Image Credit: .Asia Icon

Other Regional Threads Sites & Custom Domains

If Threads Europe & Threads Africa is successful, Meta could try replicating its success with Threads Asia, & use the same strategy employed in the continent of Africa & the region of Europe—however, the domain Threads.Asia is owned by a Russian 🇷🇺 blog site, & US sanctions may make it difficult to obtain that domain.

Regarding custom domains, Meta should consider hosting government accounts on their servers, which could help them build up some (much-needed) goodwill amongst regulatory authorities. It may also encourage more world leaders to join the Fediverse under a domain they control.

Offering custom domains may also encourage some governments to return to the Fediverse, as some have given up on Federated accounts self-hosting their accounts on their servers due to a lack of activity (note: props to @fediversereport@mastodon.social for reporting this news).

As far as custom domains for celebrities, businesses & individuals, Meta may feel it is wiser to let other Fediverse players (like Mastodon & WordPress) serve those individuals.

Image Credit: From the Sister Sister show

Does Threads Need Sister Sites‽

Running multiple sister Threads sites may not seem ideal for Meta, who probably prefers a singular solution that serves the masses. However, if Meta wants to move beyond the regulatory hurdles & squash a significant text-based rival, launching a sister site might be a better alternative.

As a bonus, Meta could display the power of the Fediverse by running multiple sites on different domains, which could help inspire more companies, countries & citizens to embrace the Fediverse for themselves, helping to connect all of humanity (at least digitally).

Image: Unofficial Fediverse Icon by @eudaimon@fe.disroot.org (props to @hello@social.wedistribute.org for the information)

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I have been highly critical of how Matt Mullenweg has handled his confrontation with WP Engine. The fallout from this fight has hurt numerous customers and damaged WordPress's brand online.

However, it appears that Automattic's (the company behind WordPress and WordPress.com) feud with WP Engine has been simmering in the background for years and has only recently spilled over into public view.

Recently, @photomatt@mastodon.social went on @ThePrimeagen@hachyderm.io show on YouTube to try to defend his reputation to a skeptical audience and explain why he took drastic actions against a corporate behemoth that services thousands of WordPress customers.

After watching the video, I noticed that Mullenweg is frustrated that WP Engine is freeloading off of Automattic's Research & Development and taking advantage of the free labor from WordPress contributors. WP Engine allegedly does not assign employees to contribute work hours to improving the core of WordPress, & instead merely profits from the labor of others.

However, one item that seemed clear is that Mullenweg could not demonstrate why WP Engine needed to legally contribute back to the WordPress community (via work hours or financially) & instead is pursuing the trademark violation route in court.

So, Who Is In The WordPress Right‽ (Truth & Legalities)

Truthfully (or ethically) speaking, Matt Mullenweg is correct in demanding that WP Engine's relationship with WordPress be reciprocal, & wants the most successful WordPress company outside of Automattic to contribute back to the community, as well as remove the revisions restrictions.

Legally, I do not see how Automattic could force WP Engine to give back to the community. I am also highly skeptical that the courts will side with Mullenweg regarding the use of WP as a trademark violation, as plenty of other companies and individuals are also using WP without being sent a cease-and-desist order.

If my non-legal mind could offer a legal prediction in favor of Automattic, it would be that WP Engine is ordered by the courts to pay the WordPress Foundation between $1 and $10 million (yes, between one dollar and ten million dollars), and WP Engine rebrands itself under a different name.

WordPress Reprieve Towards WP Engine Customers

Matt Mullenweg wisely offered a brief reprieve to WP Engine to limit the collateral damage to businesses that depend upon WordPress.

I've heard from WP Engine customers that they are frustrated that WP Engine hasn't been able to make updates, plugin directory, theme directory, and Openverse work on their sites. It saddens me that they've been negatively impacted by Silver Lake's commercial decisions. [...]

We have lifted the blocks of their servers from accessing ours, until October 1, UTC 00:00. Hopefully this helps them spin up their mirrors of all of WordPress.org's resources that they were using for free while not paying, and making legal threats against us. (WordPress Foundation)

To my knowledge, WP Engine already has created a workaround to avoid this scenario from affecting their customers, but the temporary unblocking should help ensure WordPress customers are not hurt while the corporate giants battle it out in court.

Why Can't We Be Friends‽ (Possible WordPress Solution)

If I could wave a magic wand & resolve this issue with the least amount of money and emotional drama, I would require WP Engine to provide a dedicated team of employees (around a dozen) whose only job is improving the core of WordPress.

I would also require WP Engine to provide a premium option for unlimited revisions to satisfy their customers and WP Engine's finance department.

As far as Matt Mullenweg goes, I would have him step down as head of the WordPress foundation, & replace him with someone who is not connected to Automattic to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. I would leave it up to Matt to appoint his replacement (I suggest Mark Jaquith, but he may not want the job 😅).

Ultimately, what really matters is that both Automattic & WP Engine strive to make life better for the WordPress community overall, as a civil war between the two will only benefit proprietary solutions (who may or may not have users' best interests at heart).

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On the official WordPress Foundation News site, WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg had some strong words for WordPress managed hosting company WP Engine, whose approach to WordPress revisions has greatly displeased Mullenweg.

It has to be said and repeated: WP Engine is not WordPress. My own mother was confused and thought WP Engine was an official thing. Their branding, marketing, advertising, and entire promise to customers is that they're giving you WordPress, but they're not. And they're profiting off of the confusion. [...]

WordPress is a content management system, and the content is sacred. Every change you make to every page, every post, is tracked in a revision system, just like the Wikipedia. This means if you make a mistake, you can always undo it. It also means if you're trying to figure out why something is on a page, you can see precisely the history and edits that led to it. These revisions are stored in our database.

This is very important, it's at the core of the user promise of protecting your data, and it's why WordPress is architected and designed to never lose anything.

WP Engine turns this off. They disable revisions because it costs them more money to store the history of the changes in the database, and they don't want to spend that to protect your content. It strikes to the very heart of what WordPress does, and they shatter it, the integrity of your content. If you make a mistake, you have no way to get your content back, breaking the core promise of what WordPress does, which is manage and protect your content. [...]

What WP Engine gives you is not WordPress, it's something that they've chopped up, hacked, butchered to look like WordPress, but actually they're giving you a cheap knock-off and charging you more for it.

This is one of the many reasons they are a cancer to WordPress, and it's important to remember that unchecked, cancer will spread. WP Engine is setting a poor standard that others may look at and think is ok to replicate. We must set a higher standard to ensure WordPress is here for the next 100 years. (WordPress News)

I was shocked when I read this statement. I thought every WordPress installation preserved revisions, which is very useful when your site crashes.

In disbelief, I actually visited the link @photomatt@mastodon.social mentioned, and I was very surprised to see an explanation of why WP Engine turns off revisions on their support page.

Post Revisions

WordPress Post Revisions, or autosaves, store a record of each saved draft or published update for a post. This system allows a user to see the last few changes and to restore a page or post to a previous version. While great in theory, revisions cause the database to grow exponentially and a large database can directly impact site performance.

Every WP Engine site has WordPress revisions disabled by default. If you need a more extensive revision management system, we recommend using a third-party editing system rather than relying on WordPress revisions.

**Revisions can only be enabled by contacting Support.** Revisions cannot be enabled in the wp-config.php or php.ini files, as this will be overwritten at the server level.

If you migrated a site with existing revisions that you would like to preserve, reach out to Support to have revisions enabled.

• Support can help you enable 3 revisions for your posts to start. Revisions should not exceed 5.
• Old revisions will be automatically removed after 60 days.

NOTE

Enabling revisions is not a retroactive change. Only revisions generated after the feature has been enabled will be stored moving forward.

If you would like to clean up your database and delete any existing database revisions, the following query can be run from phpMyAdmin. (WP Engine Support Center)

Mullenweg is almost correct in calling out how WP Engine handles WordPress software. However, calling WP Engine a cancer is over the top, as disabling a core software feature is not akin to a disease that kills approximately 10 million people every year.

WP Engine is obviously limiting revisions to reduce the cost of hosting (as properly hosting WordPress sites is more expensive than rival platforms), but I believe WP Engine should at least provide a premium option to clients for unlimited revision hosting.

Disclosure: I host four blogs on WordPress.com, a WordPress hosting solution by Automattic (& technically a rival to WP Engine) that Matt Mullenweg founded many moons ago.

If you are wondering why I typed this up on a WriteFreely blog instead of WordPress, let's say I enjoy the simplicity of WriteFreely, & the managed hosting solution via Write.as (both founded by @matt@writing.exchange) is world class!

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So Instagram is not thrilled with Threaded, an app by Lumaa that shares a similar look and name to Threads.

While Meta’s lawyers may not be able to force the app to change its look, they are threatening legal action against @lumaa@techhub.social if @Threaded@mastodon.online does not change its name.

Threaded is in danger.

I have received a confidential email from Instagram, LLC about trademark issues. While this is ongoing, what could happen to Threaded?

The future of... Threaded?

• What could happen is that Instagram, LLC forces me to change the name of Threaded into something different. This would have me change the logo, copyright, all of the promotional images and videos. This would take a few weeks to change.
• Instagram, LLC could understand that Threaded is not similiar to one of their registered trademarks and dismiss this case.

Laws!

If you have knowledge in American laws, or more specifically Californian laws, PLEASE. Reach out to me. This issue will take me literal years to handle as I barely know my rights. And if you didn't already know, I'm French. And I don't even know common American laws.

What's CURRENTLY next...

I am in a confidential discussion with Instagram, LLC. And I cannot disclose any confidential information. I will update you all on this very important issue. Even if it means that Threaded will have to change its name. (I hope not).

Final Words

This case is, on my end, documented to turn this into a video documentary or Lemmy post. Whatever happens to Threaded or its name, this project is my baby and I will fight whatever or whoever tries to go against me and my will. All future App Store updates are post-poned until this case is resolved.

Love you all, – Lumaa

Before the Fediverse folks grab their figurative pitchforks and digital tar and threaten to give @zuck@threads.net a rowdy welcome, they need to realize that Instagram is required to file these legal actions to prevent the loss of its trademark.

Even though Lumaa’s app is specifically designed for Mastodon, the app has a similar look & feel to Threads, which could confuse users seeking out to join the latter.

Threaded is a great app, and instead of spending funds on lawyers, they could opt for a cooler name instead (say, “Needle” or something similar).

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Most people tuned into the Apple Event out of anticipation for the latest & greatest iPhone 16 Pro features (myself included).

Although the new iPhone 16 Pro is impressive, Apple could make billions of dollars selling AirPods 2 to the industrial and medical masses.

According to the Apple Hearing Study — a longitudinal, virtual public research study conducted in collaboration with the University of Michigan School of Public Health and the World Health Organization — one in three people are regularly exposed to loud environmental noise levels that can impact their hearing. That can include common scenarios like taking the subway while commuting, mowing the lawn at home, attending a sporting event, and many more.

In order to help users prevent exposure to loud environmental noise while preserving the sound signature of what they’re listening to, Hearing Protection comes to AirPods Pro. The ear tips help to provide passive noise reduction, while the H2 chip helps to actively reduce louder, more intermittent noise at 48,000 times per second. On by default across all listening modes, Hearing Protection is helpful in a variety of loud settings. Plus, with an all-new multiband high dynamic range algorithm, sounds at live events like concerts remain natural and vibrant. [...]

Learning about hearing loss is a critical step to getting necessary assistance, which can often be challenging due to cost and access. Global research shows hearing loss often goes untreated. In fact, the Apple Hearing Study revealed that 75 percent of people diagnosed with hearing loss haven’t received the assistive support that they need.

AirPods Pro add an innovative over-the-counter Hearing Aid capability for users with mild to moderate hearing loss. Using the personalized hearing profile from the Hearing Test, this new feature seamlessly transforms AirPods Pro into a clinical-grade hearing aid. After setup, the feature enables personalized dynamic adjustments so users have the sounds around them boosted in real time. (Apple Newsroom)

Numerous manufacturing plants worldwide have buildings containing machinery operating at (quite literally) deafening levels.

While standard earplugs help reduce the amount of audio trauma ears experience, the drawback is that they can also reduce communication between people, even if they are nearby.

If AirPods 2 is able to filter out the noise (via loud machines, moving vehicles, etcetera) & help people focus on each other’s voices when talking, companies could have a high tech ear plug that protects employees without sacrificing communication.

What About The Hearing Aid‽

Yes, this is also important, but not because of the technology (which is by itself amazing!).

One issue with many hearing aids is that they can make a person stand out from the crowd as most hearing aids are not designed with beauty in mind.

However, the new AirPods 2 devices can help those suffering from hearing loss to “blend in” with the crowd, as the first assumption upon first glance is that a person is just listening to their favorite tune.

If Apple’s AirPods 2 is as great as they claim it is, the Cupertino giant could end up generating tens of billions of dollars from what was originally an iPhone accessory.

The only cause of concern is whether or not AirPods would function just as well on Android devices as Apple Devices (note: probably not).

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If one stat is misleading about Threads, it is the follower count. Yes, seriously.

When you visit my Threads profile (@darnell@threads.net) within the iPhone app or on the web, Threads reports (as of this post) that I have 595 followers.

However, if I view my Threads account within my Mastodon account (which is @darnell@one.darnell.one), my follower stats boast a slightly more impressive 621 brave souls (as of this post).

Perplexed by this apparent discrepancy, I decided to view my Threads profile within my Flipboard account (which is @darnell@flipboard.com), & Flipboard confirmed that I also boasted 621 followers (as of this post).

Note: Viewing my Threads profile via my Misskey and Pixelfed accounts proved futile, as neither can accurately display the correct stats of Threads profiles.

If either Mastodon or Flipboard’s numbers were off, one would easily assume that there is an error with either platform. But the fact that they both are reporting the same number leads me to conclude that Threads is only reporting the total number of Threads users following a Threads profile. The extra 26 followers are accounts from the Fediverse (outside of Threads) following my account.

You can see the same discrepancy on larger accounts as well. Threads claims that @zuck@threads.net boasts 4.4 million followers.

However, within the Mastodon app, they claim Mark Zuckerberg has 4.5 million followers, which is off by a staggering 100,000 accounts.

Unlike Threads and the official Mastodon app, Flipboard displays the actual number of Zuckerberg’s followers instead of a rounded stat (note: Many third-party Mastodon apps also display the actual number instead of a rounded stat), which differs from Threads' stat by almost 150,000 users.

So What Does This Mean‽

Although Threads overall total numbers are impressive, it appears that only a tiny percentage of users are turning on ActivityPub & engaging with the wider Fediverse as a whole.

It would be great if Threads would follow Flipboard’s lead & provide stats for both fediverse followers & local followers on a profile.

We may need to revisit the top 10 Fediverse account rankings, as the current list on FediDB (by @dansup@mastodon.social) reveals that eight out of the top ten accounts are powered by Threads, when in reality Mark Zuckerberg would only make the top 30.

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So Automattic is attempting the most significant technical hurdle the company has ever faced by replacing Tumblr’s foundation with WordPress.

Since Automattic acquired Tumblr we’ve made it more efficient, grown its revenue, and worked to improve the platform. But there’s one part of the plan that we haven’t yet started, which is to run Tumblr on WordPress. I’m pleased to say we’re kicking off that project now!

We’re not talking about changing Tumblr. We’re not turning Tumblr into WordPress. That would defeat the purpose. We acquired Tumblr to benefit from its differences and strengths, not to water it down. We love Tumblr’s streamlined posting experience and its current product direction. We’re not changing that. We’re talking about running Tumblr’s backend on WordPress. You won’t even notice a difference from the outside.

Running Tumblr on WordPress will make it easier to share our work across platforms. We can build something once and bring it to both WordPress and Tumblr. We can run Tumblr on the rock-solid infrastructure behind WordPress.com. Tumblr will benefit from the collective effort that goes into the open source WordPress project. And WordPress will benefit from the tools and creativity we invest into Tumblr and contribute back to WordPress. (Automattic)

If successful, Tumblr users could begin to activate WordPress plugins on their sites, which means that we could finally witness Tumblr users entering the Fediverse via the WordPress ActivityPub plugin.

However, this is easier said than done, & there is a high risk that the whole thing could fail due to technical hurdles. Tumblr could also give up waiting for change to arrive & end up fleeing to other federated platforms (like Goblin, Loforo or even Micro Blog) or even non-federated alternatives like YouTube (yes, seriously!).

But Automattic needs to do something to revitalize Tumblr, especially after they promised to bring Tumblr to the Fediverse before realizing the process was too expensive using Tumblr’s current code.

Discovered via TechCrunch)

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day 📧 darnell@darnell.day

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Hours ago, France 🇫🇷 arrested the CEO of Telegram, Pavel Durov (@durov@telegram.me) for failure to provide adequate moderation over his social messaging platform (props to @chris@threads.net for alerting me about this story).

French authorities have detained Pavel Durov, the French-Russian billionaire who founded the messaging app Telegram, at an airport outside Paris, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV. [...]

Durov, 39, was wanted under a French arrest warrant due to the lack of moderation on Telegram which led to it being used for money laundering, drug trafficking and sharing pedophilic content, according to BFMTV.

According to BFMTV, the Telegram founder had not regularly travelled to France and Europe since the arrest warrant was issued. (Cable News Network)

The move has rattled corporate leaders of other large platforms, including Elon Musk (@elonmusk@x.com), who has posted several times about the incident, often portraying Europe as a region lacking in freedom of speech.

Musk's snark aside, Pavel Durov's arrest will create a precedent among social media administrators and CEOs (Corporate Executive Officers), as it means the leaders and administrators of each respective social media network can be held accountable for failing to properly moderate their networks.

For example, Elon Musk is already facing legal challenges in Australia 🇦🇺, Brazil 🇧🇷, & the European Union 🇪🇺 (which comprises of 27 countries, plus an additional 4 in the Schengen Area) for moderation failures, & it would not be surprised if arrest warrants were issued.

Note: The United States 🇺🇸 would probably intervene if any international arrest warrants were issued, mainly because Elon Musk is already embroiled in numerous court cases within America 🇺🇸 (😂🤣😂), & the US government would object to the opportunity of dealing out justice themselves upon an American 🇺🇸 citizen who is violating American 🇺🇸 laws.

So Why Should Social Media Admins In The Fediverse Be Worried‽

Although most Fediverse admins are probably too small to be noticed by most governments, they could still be subject to raids by authorities over offensive content, which happened to a reasonably active Mastodon instance last year.

In May, Mastodon server Kolektiva.social was compromised when one of the server's admins had their home raided by the FBI for unrelated charges._ All of their electronics,_ including a backup of the instance database, were seized. [...]

According to Kolektiva, the seized database, now in the FBI's possession, includes personal information such as email addresses, hashed passwords, and IP addresses from three days prior to the date the backup was made. It also includes posts, direct messages, and interactions involving a user on the server. Because of the nature of the fediverse, this also implicates user messages and posts from other instances.

To make matters worse, it appears that the admin targeted in the raid was in the middle of maintenance work which left would-be-encrypted material on the server available in unencrypted form at the time of seizure. (Via @eff@mastodon.social on Electronic Frontier Foundation Blog)

Like most Federated instances, Kolektiva probably relied on users to report offensive content to moderators. However, some content ended up slipping through, which resulted in a surprising raid by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Automated Solutions For Fediverse Admins

Fediverse Admins managing ActivityPub powered sites with over 1,000 plus monthly active users (MAU) &/or 100,000 total users should consider integrating automated tools that can detect objectionable content like Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) & financial fraud.

A few automated tools for detecting CSAM that are available to admins are Safer by Thorn (more info here), & a CSAM Scanning Tool by @cloudflare@cloudflare.social, the latter which is freely available for Cloudflare customers.

Automatically detecting fraud is more complex & more probably more expensive. However, several companies are designed to automatically detect fraud at scale, which can assist admins in moderating their online content. Mateusz Pniewski has an excellent list of 13 companies that admins may want to check out, which could make it easier for Admins to detect fraud on the federated platforms.

What About A Decentralized, Less Expensive Solutions‽

Unless one is a Cloudflare client, implementing automated tools like this is prohibitively expensive and probably not affordable for most admins. However, there could be a way to extend automated protection to the Fediverse without contracting assistance from a corporate giant.

Even as the digital world has transformed over the years, with social media platforms like Pixelfed becoming hubs for visual sharing and communication, the challenge of spam remains as relevant as ever. Pixelfed's ingenious implementation of the Naive Bayes classifier to combat spam is a testament to the algorithm's versatility. By analyzing the captions accompanying images, Pixelfed's spam filter can swiftly determine whether a post contains genuine content or is simply trying to clutter your feed with unwanted promotions or irrelevant information. (Pixelfed Blog)

@dansup@mastodon.social has created built-in anti-spam features for Pixelfed instances, which theoretically could be tweaked to thwart more offensive content upon each instance without sacrificing privacy.

This would probably require a massive amount of time, energy & collaboration between the Fediverse Founders (as well as funds). However, if successful, it would help safeguard the Fediverse from unsavory actors attempting to ruin the internet for everyone normal.

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day 📧 darnell@darnell.day

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Previously, when I first typed up the top Fediverse sites, it was more of an apples-to-oranges comparison, as I could only locate the total number of users on many instances, instead of using the standard monthly active users (or MAU) metric.

However, thanks to David Morley of @fediverseobserver@fediverse.one fame, we can view a list of most of the Fediverse sites on Fediverse Observer (note: donation link for Morley), & rank them based on MAU.

One surprising fact is that the Fediverse now boasts over 300 million potential users (two of the largest sites are still beta testing ActivityPub, hence the word potential), a stat I expected the Fediverse to reach near the end of the year.

Note: Standalone blogs are not included in this list. However, if blog platforms (based on software) were listed, WordPress would boast 16,571 MAU out of 24,472 TU (Total Users) across 8,452 active servers, & WriteFreely would boast 11,352 MAU out of 160,921 TU across 569 active servers. These stats are from FediDB, a free service created by @dansup@mastodon.social of Pixelfed fame (donation link over here).

Without further ado, here are the Top Ten Fediverse Sites based on monthly active users (note: the top three sites' stats are not from Fediverse Observer, but the rest of the instances listed mentioned are from Fediverse Observer).

1) Threads

• Domain: Threads.net
• Monthly Active Users: 200 million
• Total Users: Unknown
• Brand Handle: @threads@threads.net
• Software: Threads (Proprietary)
• Fediverse State: Beta
• ActivityPub Default: Off (users must activate ActivityPub to join Fediverse)
• Type: Micro Blog
• Founders: @zuck@threads.net & @mosseri@threads.net
• Summary: Threads was started by Meta as an alternative to Twitter (now X), & is the largest instance in the Fediverse. Meta's goal is to grow Threads to over a billion users.

2) Flipboard

• Domain: Flipboard.com
• Monthly Active Users: 145 million (latest stat from 2020)
• Total Users: Unknown
• Brand Handle: @flipboard@flipboard.com (note: not yet federated)
• Software: Flipboard (Proprietary)
• Fediverse State: Beta
• ActivityPub Default: On
• Type: Micro Blog
• Founders: @mike@flipboard.com & Evan (latter is a co-founder)
• Summary: Flipboard is a social news network whose presence is a realistic alternative to tech news sites operated by Google, Apple & Microsoft. With tech giants geo-banning nations now or throttling political content, Flipboard may end up becoming the news hub of the Fediverse (& potentially the planet).

3) Minds

• Domain: Minds.com
• Monthly Active Users: 300,000 (2018 & 2020 stat based on TechCrunch & Quartz combined numbers, respectively)
• Total Users: 14 million
• Brand Handle: @minds@minds.com
• Software: Minds (Open Source)
• Fediverse State: Active
• ActivityPub Default: On
• Type: Social Network (blogs, groups, chat, etcetera)
• Founders: @ottman@minds.com, @john@minds.com, @mark@minds.com, @iancrossland@minds.com
• Summary: Minds positions itself as the “free speech” social network where users can voice opinions without fear of banishment within the confines of American constitutional law (with a few caveats for spam, harassment, etcetera). Minds probably is more of an alternative to Facebook than a traditional blog or microblog, & they have recently offered managed hosting services for those who want to power their own social network (including official apps on Android & iOS/iPadOS).

4) Mastodon (Social)

• Domain: Mastodon.social
• Monthly Active Users: 225,299
• Total Users: 2,054,354
• Brand Handle: @mastodon@mastodon.social
• Software: Mastodon (Open Source)
• Fediverse State: Active
• ActivityPub Default: On
• Type: Micro Blog
• Founder: @Gargron@mastodon.social
• Summary: Mastodon software has become the face of the Fediverse, & helped popularize the concept of the Fediverse overall. Mastodon Social is the Flagship Mastodon instance, & is the largest Federated Mastodon instance online.

5) Baraag

• Domain: (Not Safe For Work!!!!) Baraag.net
• Monthly Active Users: 42,826
• Total Users: 294,674
• Brand Handle: @baraag@baag.net
• Software: Mastodon (Open Source)
• Fediverse State: Active
• ActivityPub Default: On
• Type: Micro Blog
• Administrator: @satori@baraag.net
• Summary: Repulsive, albeit legal in the United States 🇺🇸, Baraag features content that would offend most people on planet Earth. The site features offensive content & has been domain-blocked by many (if not most) large instances in the Fediverse. Unless you work in law enforcement or are an activist trying to make the world safer for children, it is advised NOT to visit this site.

6) Pawoo

• Domain: Pawoo.net
• Monthly Active Users: 31,284
• Total Users: 947,405
• Brand Handle: None‽ (@pawoo@pawoo.net is inactive)
• Software: Mastodon (Open Source)
• Fediverse State: Active
• ActivityPub Default: On
• Type: Micro Blog
• Administrator: @pawoo_support@pawoo.net
• Summary: Pawoo is the most prominent Mastodon instance in Japan 🇯🇵 & the site has changed owners over the years. Pawoo's history has been controversial due to its past content (which rivaled Baarag), but the new administrators have been waging a war to clean up the site as of late. Pawoo's content is primarily in Japanese & anime is a favorite topic of the site. The site is owned by SujiTech.

7) MSTDN (Japan)

• Domain: MSTDN.jp
• Monthly Active Users: 20,817
• Total Users: 407,298
• Brand Handle: @mstdn_jp@mstdn.jp
• Software: Mastodon (Open Source)
• Fediverse State: Active
• ActivityPub Default: On
• Type: Micro Blog
• Administrator: Same as Brand Handle
• Summary: MSTDN (Japan) is the second largest Japanese Mastodon instance in the Fediverse. The site is owned & operated by the same company that runs Pawoo (SujiTech) Pawoo), although its history is far less controversial than its larger sibling. Aside from the content primarily being in Japanese, this Mastodon instance is relatively normal.

8) MSTDN (Social)

• Domain: MSTDN.social
• Monthly Active Users: 18,747
• Total Users: 233,716
• Brand Handle: @mstdn@mstdn.social
• Software: Mastodon (Open Source)
• Fediverse State: Active
• ActivityPub Default: On
• Type: Micro Blog
• Administrator: @stux@mstdn.social
• Summary: If you enjoy cats & having fun, then MSTDN (Social) is an enjoyable instance to interact with. The site is run by Stux, who also manages a hosting company Stuxhost based out of the Netherlands 🇳🇱. Stux is famous for hosting various Fediverse sites, but MSTDN (Social) is the largest one Stux manages.

9) Lemmy (World)

• Domain: Lemmy.world
• Monthly Active Users: 18,358
• Total Users: 164,386
• Brand Handle: @lemmyworld@lemmy.world (inactive)
• Software: Lemmy (Open Source)
• Fediverse State: Active
• ActivityPub Default: On
• Type: Forum
• Administrator: @ruud@lemmy.world
• Summary: Lemmy (World) is the most active instance of Lemmy in the Fediverse. The forum is run by Ruud, who also runs various other instances (although this is the only one on the top ten list).

10) Loforo

• Domain: Loforo.com
• Monthly Active Users: 15,828
• Total Users: 48,380
• Brand Handle: @loforo@loforo.com (inactive)
• Software: Loforo (Proprietary)
• Fediverse State: Active Albeit Limited
• ActivityPub Default: On
• Type: Blog
• Founders: Unknown (will update once confirmed)
• Summary: Loforo is the second most popular blogging application in the Fediverse, although the site could eclipse WordPress by the end of the year. The site portrays itself as an alternative to Soup.io, & is partially Federated (you can broadcast into the Fediverse but not interact with it, similar to Threads).

Image via: LicenseSpring

Is The Future Of The Fediverse Proprietary‽

As some of you may have noticed, the most active users (approximately 99%) will experience the Fediverse firsthand from either Threads or Flipboard.

While this stat may discourage proponents of FOSS (Free Open Source Software), the reality is that this ratio could easily change once people begin activating ActivityPub within popular blogging platforms like WordPress & Ghost (the latter who will embrace the Fediverse soon).

According to Hostinger, approximately 810 million WordPress sites exist around the world. As awareness of the Fediverse increases in the public sphere, we could witness hosting companies promoting the ActivityPub WordPress plugin to customers.

Whether on a proprietary platform or via an open-source alternative, the Fediverse is on track to reach billions of users by the end of the decade. This means the ActivityPub power ecosystem could achieve something that Twitter has always aspired to become but ultimately failed to achieve: to become the pulse of the planet.

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day 📧 darnell@darnell.day

🕺🏾 Follow my adventures upon: 🐘 Darnell (One) 🦁 Darnell (Movies, Opuses, Entertainment) 📸 Darnell (Out Of Office)

🦹🏾‍♂️ WordPress Workarounds: 💻 Darnell (TeleVerse) 🌍 Darnell (Africa) 👨🏾‍🎨 Darnell (Creative Outlet)

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