Is there an easy way to see if something is an instance or community on the fediverse, or ‘just’ a forum on the web? For instance, would it always be mentioned in a sidebar? I know there are lists of instances, but i am hoping for something easier. I might be overlooking something glaringly obvious, but i thought i would ask.

  • _thisdotEnglish
    3•1 year ago

    it’s up to them tbh. Things like Lemmy are ultimately ways to build your own forums. Whether they want to be part of the federation or keep it hidden is their choice. But I guess there’d be some way to build a browser extension to figure out if the website is using any popular fediverse platforms (mastodon, lemmy, etc.)

    • @PapancaOPEnglish
      2•1 year ago

      Well, it would be nice if they had something like a setting that is activated by default to show they are part of the federation and when they would want to hide it, to switch it off. I don’t know, not a programmer. You bring up an interesting point though; i did not think of the fediverse as just a way of building your own forum. Thanks for your input