Just logged in to #Bonfire's demo instance again. My post from last night is still the most recent post in the explore feed there from everyone on the instance.

My header image appears only when logged in.

There are posts from 2 years ago there and this is as far as it's come in that time / how many people are actively using the test instance.

Honestly, unsure what to think other than perhaps someday it may be a thing?

@transicorn I too joined up a few days ago, but I don’t think I’ve really looked at it much.

@saxifraga I spent a bit of time poking around the UI and settings, it seems a bit buggy and no one is there actively using it it appears.

So i'm really unsure of how far it's come given that instance isn't federated and i'm not seeing anyone talking about hosting their own instances with it that are federated here with ActivityPub.

Idk, maybe it's being used by someone, somewhere and i'm just missing it. Just seems quiet for a project at least 2 years into the making.

@transicorn you’re right - after two years, I would’ve thought it might have been a bit busier. But has the demo instance recently gone live? Maybe it will pick up. But I’m staying here for now!

@saxifraga It's been live for 2 years it seems but I think only recently began allowing more signups again.

There are 20 members i can see in the list when clicking on it, trying to load more gives this error.

Tbh i'm not sure if this is ever going to be something people are leaving anywhere for. It might be interesting but i don't see myself using it much even if it does work out given what i'm seeing 2 years into it being around.

@transicorn 20? Hmm. I think I agree with you - not somewhere to leave for.
It might be just another of those things I’ve signed up for and then never use.

@saxifraga There are more than 20 users because my profile isn't on that list.

But the fact that 2 years in to their demo instance running you can't even load the list of users doesn't bode well for the project overall.

It seems like it could be cool but i sincerely doubt it's going to ever be something like the other projects that already use #ActivityPub we all connect with already here.

@transicorn it just seems to be another thing for me to get confused with! I might just leave it alone

@saxifraga I'm interested in decentralization so part of me hopes it will mature and become a thing, but i'm just unsure of how many are using it as well as how many are actually running instances of it that are federated.

If it allows users to natively connect to both #ActivityPub and #ATProto networks without a bridge that would be interesting. Unsure how far along that is but it was something i recall them promoting as a goal somewhere when looking into it initially.

@transicorn I’m getting more and more interested in decentralisation, but I’m just unaware of how it all really works! And happy to be kind of in the dark a little!

@saxifraga It's interesting, i believe it's a much better solution to being on centralized servers and platforms controlled by one entity. It puts more power to choose in the users hands and that's a great thing.

To be honest, if there weren't decentralized choices i don't think i'd be using social media much if at all in 2025 with how things are going on many fronts.

I really like Mastodon and have for many years and the projects that connect with it through ActivityPub.

@transicorn it’s absolutely better, I agree. I only made the decision at the end of last year to get rid of FB, Insta and Threads. Twitx had long gone before then. Still on LinkedIn though.

I very much enjoy Mastodon too, and glad I came here. I’ve only been on just over a year.

@saxifraga I was never a huge FB user, used it long ago for a bit but not often. Used Instagram for a few years for both music and photography which i do but that platform seemed to bring out the absolute worst in people. I used Twitter for a few years on and off to get news and follow companies that make gear i use as well as linux / FOSS info.

I've used Mastodon on and off since 2017 and some of the related ActivityPub projects as well. I just tried Bluesky for 2 years as well until recently

@transicorn couldn’t stand all the hate on those platforms, even as a cis queer person.

I’m on Bluesky, but I’m not sure for how much longer.

@saxifraga Yeah, that's definitely one major plus about Mastodon and related projects... being focused on inclusion and having strong policies against hate / discrimination.

I think you'll find most of the people who've been here a long time are here for that very reason aside from perhaps being techies in some ways as well often times.

transicorn@mastodon.social they definitely received a lot of positive press lately, which had me feeling jealous for a bit (why can't my marketing efforts hit the right note?)

I suppose it's always easier to create hype around promise.

@julian I was surprised when taking a look at it that the demo instance has been there for 2 years, is barely used by anyone, most are abandoned accounts and half of the functions on it don't work...

All while it's getting positive press.

I think you nailed it about the hype around promise.