From Network to Platform to Protocol: Mastodon’s Ethos and the Sociotechnical Imaginary of the Fediverse

Abstract

The sociotechnical imaginary of the Fediverse, a network of alternative social media (ASM), is one wherein technology empowers the marginalized, fosters community participation, and challenges the monopolistic tendencies of corporate social media (CSM), ultimately advocating for a more equitable and democratic Internet landscape. This master thesis examines how the sociotechnical imaginary constructed by the Fediverse, focusing on the ethos of Mastodon, is engaged in counter-hegemonic struggle against CSM to reshape the vision of social networks as open-source networks instead of proprietary platforms. By combining media genealogy with critical discourse analysis, this research found (i) Mastodon as an ASM is committed to open participation, decentralization, and community-oriented social media, based on Free/Libre Open-Source Software (FLOSS) ideology. This (ii) ethos contains traces of earlier networks like Usenet, embodying democratic values and anarcho- syndicalist principles. Finally, (iii) that the open-source protocol ActivityPub is key to realizing the sociotechnical imaginary of a democratic Internet. The open-source protocol perspective reveals how Mastodon supersedes the existing dichotomous understanding of ASM as it creates a network that is open while consciously limiting the ability to network, to expand its ability to connect.