For context i did not know you can use an account from a single instance to post on another. With this in mind I have a few questions:

  1. If I can use one instance account everywhere, why can I make multiple accounts?
  2. Why isn’t there a centralised account system?
  3. What’s the use of having per instance accounts?

I’m currently considering keeping this main account and deleting the ones on other instances, because if i can interact with those instances I don’t see the need for an account.

  • Matt
    16•1 year ago
    1. It’s probably better to think of each instance as its own website, except each website can talk to any other website. You can make multiple accounts because each instance is standalone (think of them like separate forums, if it helps), they don’t share account data with each other.
    2. There’s not meant to be. Accounts are owned by each individual website, and the entire system is designed to be entirely decentralised.
    3. In practical use, not much, but depending on how each instance federates, you may find it useful to view content that is blocked by one instance and not on another.
    • Corhen
      4•1 year ago

      its a funny hybrid model, since i can subscribe to communities outside of my primary instance, and vote, comment, ect on them!

      • Matt
        4•1 year ago

        Yep, that’s how all the ActivityPub protocol platforms are designed! They’re an attempt to get away from the same 5 websites ruling over the entire internet, and let people participate in their own little corners of the internet (like the old forum days), while also being able to interact with the rest of the internet without having to make separate accounts everywhere (like you had to during the old forum days!).

    • skyeOP
      4•1 year ago

      ah, i see. thank you for the answers :)

      • Matt
        5•1 year ago

        It can definitely be a little confusing if you’re not used to the federation concept, and are only used to the big “platforms” that currently exist.

        Lemmy is not really a “platform” in the same way that Reddit or Facebook are, it’s just software that runs on a website (similar to say, a phpBB forum board) that also gives the website the ability to talk to other websites running compatible software.

        As you use it more, it should start becoming clearer - Lemmy and other Fediverse platforms are not necessarily complicated, just use some systems that people are not used to after the rise of Meta and Twitter.

    • @dan1101
      1•1 year ago

      I think that could work well if there was account migration.