Helping Universities Move to the Fediverse

Convener: Misha Velthuis (@mishavelthuis@social.edu.nl)

Website: https://opentech-auc.org

Notes

• Misha:

  • Our collective: OpenTech(AUC) https://opentech-auc.org

• Joan:

  • Sent email to communications department: hey, what about the Fediverse/Mastodon

  • They don’t understand that it’s not yet another protocol.

  • On conferences as well: people think “ah, yet another platform”.

• Samir:

  • Telling people to leave is not going to work

  • But we can start growing the alternative (while not leaving the existing platforms)

  • Asking universitites to move means more work for communication staff

  • Management nervous about having an account on some guy’s attic.

  • Bluesky alternative?

  • Proposal:

    • Meet-ups with shared experiences with other universities.

    • How it is simple. How you meet interesting people that you wouldn’t find otherwise.

    • Don’t talk about ditching existing platforms, but tlak about expanding reach.

• Joan:

  • interesting contact from U-Mass: Ethan Zuckerman (but I think he just moved to a university in Canada)

• Misha:

  • Great developmnet in the Netherlands: Mastodon server run bij Surf (IT-cooperative of all higher education in the Netherlands): https://social.edu.nl (so universities don’t have to run their own Mastodon server).

  • Our latest project with OpenTech(AUC):

    • FediScreen:

      • Basic logic: we have asked the dean for a screen, somewhere visible in the building.

      • We maintain an “allow-list” of Fediverse group accounts of student committees/communities

      • Whenever those accounts post something with the hashtag “#Fediscreen” their posts will show up on the screen. This way they have an extra incentive to post things on the Fediverse.

        • Prototype: https://opentech-auc.org/fediscreen.html

        • Code: https://codeberg.org/opentech_auc/website/src/branch/main/static/fediscreen.html

• Ben:

  • Right now building a Mastodon server.

  • Trying to convince to join.

  • For Colorado university

• Misha:

  • Mastodon sometimes feels like a big ocean for newcomers.

  • We now also run a Bonfire instance as a more welcoming place.

  • But still: frustration. Students are up for it, but they still barely join.

• Ben:

  • I would approach it from a content perspective

  • Empty room party syndrome.

  • Bring interesting content. Universities have a lot of content. Great opportunity.

  • People will go to where the announcements are.

• Misha:

  • Yes, good idea. Forms to attract:

    • Give the scoop to the Fediverse (news, free tickets, opportunities etc.). Publish on other platforms later.

    • For teachers: publish certain non-obligatory content on the Fediverse: for example mock exam questions on Bonfire.

• Joan:

  • Marketing people look at quantity

  • The promise of the Fediverse is also on quality. Different kinds of interaction.

  • That makes it had to sell

• Olivia:

  • Student union of Sheffield: first student union of the UK to join Mastodon

  • https://mastodon.social/@SheffieldSU

• Joan:

  • Experience with Matrix

  • Group for PhD candidates

• Olivia:

  • WhatsApp still has the killer communities.

  • We wait for that on Signal.

  • This is also what make Discord good.

  • Bonfire is a reasonable alternative maybe.

• Misha:

  • We use this to self-host:

  • https://coopcloud.tech

• Joan:

  • https://yunohost.org