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Before there was social media , there were internet forum . Millions of assembly sites continue to operate , which is why it ’s notable that one top forum software system provider , NodeBB , is now connect thefediverse , also make out as the open social web .
The fediverse today includes apps like decentralized X rivalMastodon , Instagram alternative Pixelfed , open YouTube competitor PeerTube , and others . These “ federated ” services are power by a protocol called ActivityPub , which permit for decentralised social networking .
As users began to transfer out from centralized societal spiritualist apps have by billionaires like Meta ’s Mark Zuckerberg and X ’s Elon Musk , the ActivityPub protocol has been adopted by a wider range of software applications and services . This includes the ActivityPub integration enabled byWordPress(andWordPress.com),Flipboard , Medium , and even Meta itself with itsInstagram Threads app . Substack competitorGhostis working to federate as well .
With NodeBB ’s connexion , assembly operators will now also have the option to join the decentralized social web , too .
As NodeBB co - beginner Julian Lam explains in apost , the melodic theme first come up about in mid-2023 when he had the idea to connect NodeBB forum to each other . Initially , this was going to be a centralized servicing , he say . But while researching this construct further , Lam come across Mastodon and ActivityPub and realise that the projection could be decentralized instead .
In addition , funding from theNLNet Foundationallowed NodeBB to implement the ActivityPub communications protocol more promptly . “ Their financial backing was instrumental in provide the fiscal stability to try out with ActivityPub and to take part in developer circle , such as the SWICG , FediForum , and much more , ” Lam pen .
go forward , any new forums produce with NodeBB will federalize with the wider open social web mechanically . However , existing customers will have the choice to interact with other NodeBB forum and any other ActivityPub - powered software package , like Mastodon .
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Unlike another cyberspace forum resolution , Discourse , the option to federate will be native to NodeBB , not just an add up - on .
“ We opted to make this a core feature instead of a plugin , since there were many changes made to core to support even the concept of accepting subject from outside itself , ” Lam noted in his announcement .
The new feature article is available in v4 of NodeBB and was already used to federate Lam ’s annunciation fromNodeBBtoMastodon .
Lam assure TechCrunch that because NodeBB is receptive source software , they do n’t have numbers on utilization . ( Plus , they try not to pass over that information for privacy reasons . ) However , you could get a gumption of the rough count by viewing the download counts for the default NodeBB theme . Though not a unmediated translation to the number of NodeBB installs , the projection was downloaded 4,582 times last week .
In addition , 882 NodeBB installs check in within the last 24 hour , Lam told TechCrunch . ( However , this also undercounts the dependable exploiter base as installs do n’t crack in on a regular basis . )
NodeBB currentlypowersforum site like Opera , Moz , MLB : The Show , Bleeding Edge , The Daily WTF , Vivaldi , f.lux , andothers .
