How do you know if your server (e.g. lemmy.world) is federated with another server? (lemmy.world)

submitted 7 months ago by captainjaneway@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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I want to see a list for each popular server (e.g. the top 10 lemmy instances) and I want to see - for each instance - with whom they federate. How can I do this? Any sure-fire way to know if a instance like HexBear.net is being federated with lemmy.world? How do you know?

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[-] zeppo@lemmy.world 22 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Go to the bottom of any page and there by the link to the modlog is a link “Instances”. That’s a long list of all instances that server is federated or defederated with. (It’s actually kind of disturbing how many federated instances there are that don’t seem to be active - possibly just slurping data? But that’s a different story).

Anyway, scroll down and make sure the whole page loaded, then search for the name of the one you’re looking for in your browser, and see if it’s on the federated or defederated list (Linked Instances vs. Blocked Instances).

[-] YourAvgMortal@lemmy.world 26 points 7 months ago

Many of the inactive instances are probably from people who tried self hosting and then gave up. Just my theory.

[-] CanadaPlus@futurology.today 12 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Yep. Small ones that still hosted communities also had a high attrition rate - I was in some of them.

[-] zeppo@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

I'm sure. I don't know what the software does if an instance is active for a few days, then goes offline and doesn't come back. It stays on the federation list, i presume? Probably a fair amount are also personal instances with 2-3 accounts.

[-] saigot@lemmy.ca 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I'm pretty sure it sticks around forever, I clicked on a few without "software" or "verison" filled in at random and most 404'd or 503'd.

[-] zeppo@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

That makes sense. We wouldn't want the content to be deleted. I've seen there are a few communities where the original instance is now not functioning, but the content remains on this instance.

[-] can@sh.itjust.works 3 points 7 months ago

Exactly. I wouldn't want to lose !moviesandtv@lemmy.film even if we can effectively no longer post. For archival reasons.

[-] captainjaneway@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

Thank you so much! Perfect

[-] InEnduringGrowStrong@sh.itjust.works 7 points 7 months ago

While this answers the question about federation, you probably need to know that communities from other insurance will only start showing in /all once the first local user subscribes there.

[-] captainjaneway@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

No problem. I just wanted to see that list cause I couldn't tell who federated with hexbear or not.

[-] StrawberryPigtails 1 points 7 months ago

“ It’s actually kind of disturbing how many federated instances there are that don’t seem to be active - possibly just slurping data?”

Pretty much. That federated list includes every instance that your server has ever seen. From the giant instances that have a bunch of communities and thousands of users to the small single user instances that really just make the occasional comment. They’re all there.

It does not include the servers that have been defederated. That’s a different list.

this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2023

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