Defederated means that the server has been forbidden from connecting and communicating with specific other servers that have decided to defederate with it, so users from the server can’t see or interact with users and posts on the server that defederated it and vice versa. Hopefully I was clear and coincise.
Comment on Top 50 defederated instances
bouldering_barista@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Newbie question here… What’s the difference between federated and de-federated?
gianmarco@feddit.it 11 months ago
nia_the_cat@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 months ago
One way to think of it is to think of each instance as a person, and everyone that they federate with is someone they follow, and anyone that they’re defederated with is someone they’ve blocked.
So if one instance follows (federates) with another, that instances users will see posts and users from that other instance.
If an instance blocks (defederates) with another, it prevents the instance from sending or receiving any new posts or comments with the blocked instance, cutting all communication.
Instances that aren’t explicitly federated or defederated yet (unknown) are sort of in a limbo, they won’t be seen at all by any users unless someone from either instance actively searches for it via a link, then those server will follow (federate) with each other.
Akagigahara@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Federated means that any instance that is federated with them receives their content and can bee seen on that instance.
Defederated means they are not federated anymore, thus blocking both users and content.
It’s usually done to combat content you don’t want on your instance
bouldering_barista@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Ok ok… So me using Lemmy.world is a specific instance of Lemmy, so it’s almost like its own server? And other instances (maybe lemmy.unitiedstates?) is its own federated instance likely related to just U.S. posts and it can communicate with other instances? Do de-federated instances have no other communication with instances?
Apologies if these are silly, I feel like a dum dum because everyone else seems to grasp this except me.
Blaze@discuss.tchncs.de 11 months ago
When you use Gmail to send an email to Outlook, those two servers are federated.
Defederation blocks communication between servers.
Vanix@lemmy.world 11 months ago
You pretty much got it! One nitpick, your example of Lemmy.unitedStates is not NECESSARILY a federated instance, just an instance. It may or may not be federated with other instances.
De-federated instances lose communication to/from the instances that said “im gonna de-federate from these Nazis”, so again you pretty much got it right :) not silly questions at all! It’s a new concept to many people and I promise you MANY people have and will ask these “dumb” (but not actually) questions!
bouldering_barista@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Got it! Tysm for the help I’m learninnnnng