We are forming communities on the realized image of the internet that we were told we would have back in the 80s and 90s.

Exactly! Back in the 80s, tech enthusiasts would run their own dial-up message boards in their homes. The Fediverse is like that, but with all the benefits of modern technology. Anyone can run their own instance if they have a decent internet connection (usually fiber). But it is more than just message boards: they can run Lemmy, Mastodon, Wordpress, and even things like Tor and NextCloud, and instantly contribute their computing resources to the larger Fediverse community.

I agree.

BUT some degree of infighting means we're alive and engaged with the platform. I think it's healthy infighting.

That's why I like this place. Feels very old school somehow. And it's an actual protocol, like back before everything was the same handful of companies running everything with their own BS software.

I keep telling my wife how awesome the Fediverse is. She doesn't share the same sentiment I do, but she also doesn't care about Reddit. I'll win her over one day.

Where's the fighting?