The presence of Threads within the Fediverse remains a polarizing and controversial subject, with a deepening divide between those that want to embrace it, and those who want to keep it out. Recently, these calls seem to be renewed, with community members even demanding that Mastodon’s flagship instance block the server.

A number of instance admins opened their Private Mentions this week to see the following message:

Hi,

Could I ask, has [your instance] now defederated threads.net?
The rules for being listed on fedi.garden will require blocking instances cited in human rights reports on genocide. This would require blocking Threads.

The rules for being listed on fedi.garden will require blocking instances cited in human rights reports on genocide. This would require blocking Threads.

Of course it’s your decision what you do, I’m asking just so I can update the fedi.garden website accurately.”

These admins had been making use of Fedi.Garden, a community index intended to point prospective new members to vetted parts of the network. Reflecting a recent policy change, the service operator began reaching out to their members.

What is Fedi Garden?

Fedi Garden describes itself as “a small, human-curated list of nice, well-run servers on Mastodon and the Wider Fediverse.” As a service, it follows in a long tradition of directories designed to help connect people to individuals or communities based on interest, location, profession, or politics.

For newcomers, an entry point for discovery can be crucial in deciding whether they stay on the network, or go elsewhere. This initial point of contact can set expectations on behaviors, norms, and other points of connection to discover.

A Change in Policy

For the most part, Fedi Garden’s long-standing policy for included instances mirrored the Mastodon Server Covenant, setting basic standards on community stewardship and admin competency. For many instances, it’s a great starting point for providing a consistent quality of life, in terms of what to expect.

Recently, the project announced the addition of a policy that every listed server will be required to block Threads.net. To be clear: the service operator is not going to defederate with instances who federate with Threads, nor are they advocating for admins to treat each other this way.

“I don’t think it’s nice to federate with a company that has been cited in multiple independent reports of massacres/genocides,” FediGarden’s operator tells us, “That’s why I’m adding the rule about not federating with such companies. If servers want to do that it’s their decision, but it doesn’t seem a nice thing to do. I can’t honestly recommend such servers.”

Why Block Threads?

Aside from the fact that Threads is a Meta product, it also appears to have policy issues that stand in stark contrast with the rest of the network: a recent report by GLAAD reveals that homophobia and transphobia have largely flourished within networks stewarded by Meta, and transphobic content still seems to flow freely from accounts like Libs of Tiktok on the platform. Similarly, Facebook’s own moderation practices have exacerbated cultural tensions to the point of promoting violence and genocide.

Threads has also remained problematic with regards to news and politics: according to The Verge, the platform’s head boss doesn’t see politics and hard news as being worth the risk. Given the platform’s aversion to political content, this could raise questions about organic discovery coming from the rest of the Fediverse to Threads.

Community Members React

Many people celebrated the change, citing the protection against vulnerable users as a valuable decision. Not everyone was happy, though: Some admins, like Cliff Wade from All Things Tech, feel uncomfortable about the fact that they hadn’t agreed to additional requirements when they joined, and now feel pressured.

“It wasn’t really about the stupid ‘I want to change the rules’ thing so to speak,” he writes, “It was all about how we as admins were approached with a bullying attitude as that’s what several other admins mentioned, long before I ever mentioned it.”

Cliff and his co-admin Kyle Reddoch are now working on their own alternative index, that doesn’t include this requirement. It’s a massive undertaking, and requires vetting communities asking permission for inclusion, and regularly checking in on community developments. Still, they’re optimistic.

“[We] are making a list on our Wiki of instance that both federate and defederate from Threads,” Kyle writes, “we feel people [should] have the choice themselves and not have someone else choose for them.”

Moving Forward

Fedi Garden’s operator has updated the rules on their site, and adjusted their lists. Various projects have been tracking FediPact adoption, such as the tracker on Veganism Social. One thing that’s important to understand, though, is that Fedi Garden and this FediPact tracker aren’t the only tools for tracking safe spaces in the network.

“FediGarden is a tiny site with a tiny following, its account has about 1% of the follower numbers of FediTips,” FediGarden tell us, “FediGarden isn’t some massive gateway onto the Fediverse, it’s just a small list of servers that are Covenant-compliant but also under a certain size, to encourage decentralisation.”

With the Fediverse being what it is, we’re bound to see more indexes and discovery tools come and go, with their own processes and policies for inclusion and promotion. There is no singular landing page for the network, nor a standard point of discovery to the network.

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