Why is Pixelfed an extra network and not just a Mastodon client? (leminal.space)

submitted 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) by SebZuen@leminal.space to c/fediverse@lemmy.world

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Hey group,

Why is there not a Mastodon client to only utilize the media grid and pack it into an Instagram layout?

When I was exploring Bluesky and its clients a while ago, I actually liked the approach of having one central protocol and then having clients strip different masks over it. The Flashes app, for example, packed the media posts from your regular Microblog-profile into a Instagram-layout, while still keeping all your regular followings.

The federation between Pixelfed instances and Masto instances doesn't seem to be 100% working to my eyes. Likewise, when I look at my Pixelfed account via Masto client, it doesnt show me the pictures in the media grid.

I know this touches the very core of ActivityPub federation, but during the last years I couldn't figure out why fedi-networks never interacted completely.

Please correct me if I got something wrong or you know about obvious alternatives that I haven't stumbled upon yet.

Cheers! Enjoy the sun today!

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[-] kbal@fedia.io 3 points 5 days ago

It is not, so far as I know, an "extra network." It's one of many types of instance on the fediverse. Many of them have features that do not perfectly interoperate with others. The more popular ones eventually get to be widely supported as things evolve. Mastodon is not the standard, it's just one among many.

Also, you're a lemmy user. It's one of the worst when it comes to interoperating smoothly with the rest of the network.