There’s an interesting schism happening in the Fediverse, illustrating two competing visions for the network. One advocates for massive growth and universal adoption as a means for changing the shape of the Web. The other advocates for a smaller, more personal network shaped by individual consent and intention.

In a nutshell, this debate is what we could call “Big Fedi vs Small Fedi“. As platforms such as Threads and Flipboard bring massive amounts of new people to the network, a different group is embracing the concept of “Island Networks”.

What is an Island Network?

Island Networks take the concept of federation, and leverage it on a scale where individual operators choose who they want to connect to. The community is made up of smaller servers, usually with a capacity for a small amount of people on each, and federation is done with an allowlist-only model by admins.

One approach to this is Website League, an island network that aims to use Fediverse technology to build its own member community.

The Website League, as a “federated” system, is a collection of small social media sites that are connected together (as compared to being one big one, like Twitter or Cohost).

You can sign up for any of those websites; users on any website can see posts and follow users from any website in the League. Instead of a username, users have an address that works like an email address: “@username@website.org.” You don’t need to know anything technical, or how to make a website, to participate.

There are a few interesting caveats that member sites have to take into consideration. Operators are required to disable all forms of post metrics, remove the federated timeline, and disallow users from seeing or accessing each others’ follower / following lists. The Website League describes these as dark patterns, which drive unhealthy interactions within social media.

Website League volunteers have been busy developing a governance framework to help guide instance admins on how to work within their system. Patches have been developed for GoToSocial and Akkoma, to provide allowlist-only communications. The ultimate goal is to provide all of the information an instance admin needs, while taking out the complexity required to participate.

Upsides and Downsides

Island Networks are a fascinating experiment in leveraging open technologies to build safe spaces with unified sets of policies and vetted communities. Theoretically, this could be one approach to building dedicated federated communities without having to connect to countless servers across the network. In thinking about this paradigm shift, I wanted to break things down between potential benefits, and potential liabilities.

Upsides

• Unified Governance: to be allowed to participate in a given island network, each instance is required to adopt an overarching set of policies and norms, although individual instances can apply more rules for their own server. In theory, this could provide an inclusive and friendly social framework for network participants.
• Intentional Connections: because servers only connect to one another through an allowlist, interaction with servers outside of the island network is impossible. This could potentially cut down on trolling and harassment, while providing a cozy space for people who actually want to talk to each other.

Downsides

• Limited Reach: Given the nature of Island Networks, people can’t realistically expect for their posts to move outside of their mutual server connections. This is by design, but this option would effectively trade a larger communication reach for more direct, intimate forms of personal conversation.
• Admin Fiefdom: instance admins in the Fediverse today tend to have total control over their respective community servers, and can easily block entire communities at their own discretion. Sometimes, this can be wildly abused due to personal vendettas. Can an island’s social contract reduce this from happening?
• Weaponized Ostracism: When the main thing holding your community together is unified governance and intentional connections, the prospect of being banned from the entire network can create some weird dynamics and incentives. Granted, banning an instance is kind of the nuclear option, but the idea of being cut off from the network entirely is definitely something to think about.

How do I Join?

For now, the Website League is in early stages. The best way to get in touch would be to join the Coordination system, announce your intentions, and request access to the project’s shared allowlist. Get your instance added to the list, import it, and you should be able to get your initial connections to the rest of the island network.

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