Joining the fediverse can be a daunting proposition, and it is understandable that many end up on larger more centralised servers that are easier to find. I have also had some bad experience with smaller servers also. The first one I arrived on was very quiet, almost inactive, and I should have taken that as a warning sign. Later it went down and I had to join another. Unfortunately the next server was mastodon.lol and so within a year I had to deal with the drama of that one shutting down. At least this time I had six months notice to migrate.
But bigger servers have their own pitfalls. It is easy to get lost in them, being disconnected from the admins. Many are poorly moderated and willing to federate with problematic instances that increase your chances of encountering more explicit forms ablism, racism and queerphobia. And in recent weeks we have seen the willingness of these larger servers to connect to a new service made by Meta, Facebooks parent company, with the onslaught of bigotry that will bring.
So whether you are thinking of joining the fediverse, or are already here but thinking of either migrating or forming other accounts, this guide is for you. It is also for you to share to queer friends that want to join.
Feel free to expand on this list with suggestions in replies. I will try and keep it up to date with which instances are open/invite only, if people can help me notice.
Microblogging (Twitter like interfaces)
Mastodon
The most popular microblogging software on the fediverse. Good app support
Currently open to new members
- https://chaos.social (two admins, one a polyam lesbian)
- https://queer.af (run by Erin who helped draft the ActivityPub protocol the fediverse depends on. I think she is a German trans woman? I might be remembering wrong. Will edit if someone clarifies.)
- https://toot.lgbt (run by Julia, a Scottish trans woman)
- https://plush.city (run by nonbinary and pan/bi furries)
- https://anarres.family (run by anarchist trans woman inspired by sci-fi of Ursula le Guin)
- https://girlcock.club (run by trans women for trans people)
- https://eightpoint.app (run by trans bi lesbian)
- https://lgbtqia.space
- https://chaosfem.tw (trans admin)
- https://towns.gay
- https://pagan.plus (its primarilly for pagans, but admin is agender)
- https://tech.lgbt (for lgbt people in tech)
- https://peoplemaking.games (admin is bi and genderfluid, but server is for those involved in making games)
Invite only
You might need to network with admins or users of the following instances to get an invite
- https://weirder.earth (all LGBT admin team that includes nonbinary, bi, aroace, queer, transfemme representation, many also adhd, autistic and one light skinned black)
- https://goblin.camp (admin is pan enby)
- https://queer.group (run by bisexual lesbian and trans lesbian)
Calckey
Less app support (I use Milktea which is okay), but supports a lot of features that mastodon lacks, like emoticon reacts and markup
- https://blahaj.zone (run by the two Australian trans women that also run this server)
Social Networking (Facebook like interfaces)
Friendica
- https://embers.social (run by the two Australian trans women that also run this server)
Forum (Reddit like interfaces)
Lemmy
- https://beehaw.org (large instance, several mods are openly queer)
- https://lemmy.blahaj.zone (this server, run by trans women)
lemmy.blahaj.zone unfortunately federates with lemmygrad.ml, which is a forum that puts gleeful support for the soviet union and the CCP above all other concerns, and accuses you of being brainwashed by the CIA if you take exception to Stalin executing gays. Beehaw.org is kind of a hugbox but they have many openly queer admins/mods and a dedicated LGBT+ community.
Thanks. I’m sure that is just oversight on the admin here’s part. I’ve seen no indication from either that they are tankie friendly. I’ll let them know. I’ll also add beehaw.org to the list.
@toni@lemmy.blahaj.zone It wasn’t an oversight as such, more that I am naïve to the politics involved. In my mind, as long as they weren’t attacking queer rights, then it wasn’t a priority for me.
However, prompted by several requests, I’ve done a bit of a deep dive to bring myself up to speed, and have made the choice to defederate lemmygrad.
Was this decision reversed recently? I’m noticing a ton of lemmygrad stuff in my feed now.
lemmygrad.ml self reports as 48% queer. https://lemmygrad.ml/post/723191
It’s beside the point, but I’m not aware of Stalin executing anyone for being gay. I’m definitely not aware of this being done in any significant numbers. Do you have a source? It IS true that he was a raging homophobe, as most people were back then. According to wikipedia, the Soviet Union imprisoned about 800 - 1000 people per year from 1933 - 1953 for the crime of being gay. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_history_in_Russia
This is fairly comparable to western countries at the time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_the_United_KingdomStill an unfortunate blemish on socialist history. But not one that convinces me that capitalism is the “One true way”. Things are changing, and in my opinion, as well as many others, communism offers the brightest future for us. Cuba is currently leading the way in LGBT rights: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Cuba
Stalin made homosexuality illegal again. While it was not punished by death, but many gay people got rounded up for anti-communist behavior. So while technically there was just a prison sentence in practice many homosexuals got killed.
He was a disgusting human being anyway. This is not about wether capitalism/communism is good or bad, but people like us have suffered or we would suffer under a monster like that. There is nothing redeeming about him if we wouldn’t be allowed to live a normal life. Unfortunately that’s a major point many tankies/Nazis or other extremist apologists miss or ignore. No tollerance for the intolerant!
I’m not sure how correcting some casual misinformation is being “an extremist apologist”. A prison sentence is not equivalent to a death sentence. And it still wasn’t out of the norm for the time. We aren’t talking about something as horrific as reimprisoning holocaust victims here, which West Germany most certainly did. I dunno about you, but I would rather live in East Germany. https://time.com/5953047/lgbtq-holocaust-stories/
Why is it that Stalin is the worst person ever for making homosexuality illegal, while western leaders get a complete pass? If we are to take the extremist viewpoint that you are suggesting, shouldn’t all of these countries not be tolerated? Or are we to only not tolerate leftist countries? I am not the biggest fan of any US President, but I actually have some respect for FDR, DESPITE him setting up concentration camps for his own citizens.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internment_of_Japanese_AmericansIt’s hypocritical to scream about intolerance to other countries while being from some of the most intolerant countries that the world has ever seen. Nazi Germany built the Final Solution based on what the US did to the natives.
https://towns.gay has served me well, it’s got a focus on urbanism and tbh I find the local feed a little boring sometimes but it isn’t too defed-happy and seems very stable.
Thanks. I have added it to the list.
