NodeBB Forum Software Integrates with the Fediverse: A New Era of Decentralized Communication
Before the rise of social media, internet forums were the go-to platform for online discussions. Today, millions of forum sites still thrive, making it significant that NodeBB, a leading forum software provider, is now embracing the fediverse, also known as the open social web.
Understanding the Fediverse and Decentralized Networking
The fediverse comprises various decentralized applications, including popular alternatives such as Mastodon (a rival to X), Pixelfed (an Instagram alternative), and PeerTube (a competitor to YouTube). These services leverage the ActivityPub protocol, enabling users to engage in decentralized social networking.
Shifting Away from Centralized Platforms
As more users transition from centralized social media platforms controlled by billionaires like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and X’s Elon Musk, the adoption of the ActivityPub protocol has expanded across numerous software applications. Notable integrations include:
With NodeBB’s recent integration, forum operators can now join the decentralized social web.
NodeBB’s Journey to the Fediverse
Julian Lam, co-founder of NodeBB, shared that the idea to connect NodeBB forums emerged in mid-2023. Initially envisioned as a centralized service, further research led Lam to discover Mastodon and the ActivityPub protocol, prompting a shift towards a decentralized model.
Funding from the NLNet Foundation expedited the implementation of the ActivityPub protocol, providing crucial financial stability for the project. As Lam stated, “Their funding was instrumental in providing the financial stability to experiment with ActivityPub.”
Federation Options for NodeBB Users
Moving forward, any new forums created with NodeBB will automatically connect to the broader open social web. Existing users will also have the opportunity to interact with other NodeBB forums and any ActivityPub-enabled software, like Mastodon.
Core Features of NodeBB’s Federation
Unlike other forum solutions like Discourse, NodeBB offers federation as a core feature rather than an add-on. Lam explained, “We opted to make this a core feature instead of a plugin, since there were many changes made to core to support even the concept of accepting content from outside itself.”
The new federation feature is part of NodeBB version 4 and has already been utilized to share Lam’s announcement from NodeBB to Mastodon.
NodeBB Usage Insights
While NodeBB is open-source and does not track usage for privacy reasons, an approximate indication of its popularity can be gleaned from download statistics. For instance, the default NodeBB theme was downloaded 4,582 times last week, with 882 NodeBB installs checking in within the last 24 hours. This figure likely undercounts the actual user base, as installations do not consistently check in.
NodeBB powers several prominent forums, including:
- Opera
- Mozilla
- MLB: The Show
- The Daily WTF
- Vivaldi
- f.lux
As NodeBB continues to integrate with the fediverse, the future of online forums looks promising in the evolving landscape of decentralized social interaction.
