I've been so busy preparing for FediMTL the past two weeks that I totally forgot to actually register for the FediForum unworkshop!

Oops! :sweat_smile: I look forward to reading the discussions that ensue from it though.

#askfedi are there any videos of the #fediMTL floating around? Preferably on #peertube of course:)

Can Canada find digital sovereignty in the Fediverse? In a dark concert venue in Montréal on Tuesday, dozens of passionate people on the fringes of mainstream tech gathered to plot an exodus from Big Tech platforms. > The Fediverse provides Canadian users with choice, instead of being subject to the whims of a “distant big tech company in Silicon Valley.” It was the first annual FediMTL conference, an in-person gathering of the programmers and creatives building the decentralized digital world known as the Fediverse. Organized by The Social Web Foundation, FediHost, and Qlub, the event focused on how digital spaces free from US billionaires are more important than ever for sovereignty, privacy, and user dignity. But the challenges—from funding the platforms to widespread user adoption—loomed large. The “Fediverse,” also known as the social web, refers to interconnected, decentralized social networks built on top of open-source software, in contrast to existing for-profit social media apps. Its ecosystem of servers, which include Mastodon and PeerTube, run on a protocol called ActivityPub. (Bluesky is one of the better-known examples of a decentralized platform, but it runs on a different technology called the AT Protocol.) Though the Fediverse has been around for years, alternatives to dominant social media have seen a wave of renewed interest in Canada as tensions with the US have grown. All of the leading social media apps in Canada are American (Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram) and have become increasingly enshittified—a process by which a platform’s quality degrades as the company seeks to maximize profit over user experience. Some, like X (formerly Twitter), have taken this to extremes and increasingly provide a home for harmful content, like Grok’s AI-generated non-consensual “nudifying” images. In response, homegrown social media app initiatives such as Gander Social (built on the AT Protocol), Eh!, and Tribela, are beginning to crop up as alternatives. Two of the creators of the ActivityPub protocol were in attendance at FediMTL: Christine Lemmer-Webber, a computer programmer who led its creation and who recently moved to Canada from the US, and Evan Prodromou, a Montréal-based entrepreneur who made the first-ever decentralized web post in 2008 (It read “This is my first post”). Prodromou explained how building software for the Fediverse provides Canadian users with choice, instead of being subject to the whims of a “distant big tech company in Silicon Valley.” “That is one of the most powerful parts for digital sovereignty, that we can have systems here,” Prodromou said. “We can have systems that work in the way we want them to.” Philippe Larose Cadieux of Qlub speaks at FediMTL. Image courtesy FediMTL. Solutions presented by speakers ran the gamut—from sneakily allowing users to take their data and transfer it to new platforms, to creating incentives to make the Fediverse a more appealing alternative to the US-owned, endless scroll of dominant social media. Cory Doctorow, an activist and author of _Enshittification_ : _Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It_ , argued in a keynote speech that US tech companies’ financial leverage makes it near impossible for Canada to win negotiations (Microsoft’s market cap being larger than Canada’s GDP, for example). Evacuating the dominant social media platforms, therefore, is not enough, he said; instead, Canadian technologists could jailbreak existing social media tech and sell it as a service. “We get our fire axes and we just hack emergency exits into those social media dumpster fires,” Doctorow said. However, Doctorow said, Canada’s Copyright Act is a big barrier to this because it heavily restricts this kind of reverse engineering, or breaking “digital locks.” Paige Saunders, FediMTL organizer and co-founder of FediHost, has more faith in approaches that incentivize the use of decentralized social media by individuals and institutions. For example, he told BetaKit it would be more realistic to ask for a $1-million government grant for municipalities to move communications onto the Fediverse than mess with US tech companies (and potentially spark another trade war). Platforms like Qlub, which launched this month, are one example of how this type of community could be built. The Québec-based social network—which is also built on ActivityPub—has no algorithm, no ads, and promotes media content. The platform has more than 3,500 users so far, with posts discussing local politics and sharing news links. **RELATED:Gander Social raises $1 million to build a Canadian alternative to X and Meta** Philippe Larose Cadieux, co-founder of Qlub, said in French remarks that the platform is sovereign, meaning that the data is hosted here in Québec and can’t be used against users by foreign tech companies. The Fediverse itself isn’t perfect, attendees acknowledged, and it faces the same challenges in monetizing content, moderating hate speech, and technical glitches as the dominant private platforms. However, the main hurdle in growing the Fediverse is getting people onto it. Julian Lam, co-founder of Fediverse forum NodeBB, said 90 percent of internet communities don’t make it past their first month because they can’t find users. At the same time, monetizing content is difficult because most Fediverse platforms stay away from advertising on principle. But to Lemmer-Webber, who is also the executive director of the Spritely Institute, the Fediverse is part of a larger fight to open-source software and empower users. They argued that builders should focus on creating the best possible platform alternatives for when users need them. “When you’re talking about the future, you need two things to happen,” Lemmer-Webber said. “You need an approach people can experience, so they can understand it. And you need to have a threat that makes the problem sit in people’s minds so they are searching for where that answer is.” “If you are ready for that moment, you can win.” _Feature image courtesy FediMTL._

A good article on Betakit about #FediMTL

betakit.com/can-canada-find-digital-...

Original post on cosocial.ca

So, one thing I said at #FediMTL yesterday is that Fediverse software should ship with the IFTAS DNI list as the default, minimum blocklist. Ideally, the list should periodically auto-update.

If you *want* to see gore, racist harassment, or transphobia, you can consciously remove those sites […]

Post #FediMTL - poutine and beer !

A great conference!

Notes from #FediMTL 2026 I joined Mastodon in 2016. Ten years later, it does tend to hold true that the platform's biggest conversations are still about... Mastodon 😅 I've been a Mastodon user since at least 2016 and even da...

A few notes from #FediMTL, the fediverse/open source social networking conference today in Montreal:

blog.gersande.com/notes-from-f...

Qlub going into it's second year with a new app and regional channels in Quebec

It was nice to finally have a shindig on the slopes of Mont-fedi today.
Credit for @info has to go to @meadmin and @Kath at #qlub who ever-cheerfully took on the challenge of piloting our endeavour into a smooth landing and @evan for curating the […]

[Original post on masto.canadiancivil.com]

Nice day today at #FediMTL. Good talks and good people. Met some folks I only knew from the Internet. Hope I can go again next year.

@evan I enjoyed the streaming platform used for #FediMtl today.
▪ I could pause it and make a coffee! 👍
▪ And I could scroll back to look at a slide or re-watch something I'd missed (hello #adhd ! 🤗)

This is how to do an online conference!
#mastodon

Today, Jean‑René, our founder, is at FediMTL 🚀 a key event for digital sovereignty and the Fediverse in Quebec.

Qlub is launching its new Channels, and as CTO he’s running the event’s streaming and live chat 🎥💬

#FediMTL #Qlub #appwapp

FediMTL

Aujourd’hui, Jean‑René, notre fondateur, est au FediMTL 🚀 — un rendez‑vous incontournable pour celles et ceux qui bâtissent l’avenir de la souveraineté numérique et du Fediverse au Québec.

En tant que CTO de Qlub, Jean‑René assure l’opération technique de l’événement — streaming vidéo et chat en direct — pour permettre à la communauté de suivre les conférences et les échanges 🎥💬.

En tant que CTO de Qlub, Jean‑René assure l’opération technique de l’événement — streaming vidéo et chat en direct — pour permettre à la communauté de suivre les conférences et les échanges 🎥💬.

Aujourd’hui, Jean‑René, notre fondateur, est au FediMTL 🚀 un rendez‑vous clé pour l’avenir de la souveraineté numérique et du Fediverse au Québec.

Et aussi pour le lancement des nouveaux Channels de Qlub. Il assure aussi le streaming et le chat en direct 🎥💬

fedimtl.ca

#FediMTL #Qlub #appwapp

Annoying guy at party meme. He's yelling, "You should be on the Fediverse". She is thinking, "But I'm not a police officer!"

#fediverse #fedimtl

#FediMTL excellent comment about government funds supporting local media for promoting their work, and all that money going overseas to FAANG companies. Correct point that this is bullshit!

I agree with @julian , algorithmic feeds are not "necessarily" bad.

What's bad is when they are imposed on you and you don't have a way to turn them off.

But having ability to setup our own algo with simple rules within our own feed would be awesome

#fedimtl

@johannab I can imagine @pluralistic being jolting. LOL

#fedimtl

There are few policies potentially more disastrous for Canada than to tell all Canadians that they must be alike. There is no such thing as a model or ideal Canadian... A society which emphasizes uniformity is one which creates intolerance and hate.. What the world should be seeking, and what in Canada we must continue to cherish, are not concepts of uniformity but human values: compassion, love, and understanding. — Pierre Elliott Trudeau

. @julian coming out of the gates with some real Canadian values.

#FediMTL

"People are co-participants in the distribution of messaging. Which is something the Fediverse has."

"If data isthe new oil, then data centers are the new pipelines."

"Where are the centralization points of our technology?"

"Data centers are a centralization of […]

[Original post on mstdn.ca]

Original post on cosocial.ca

So, I have a little assignment to do - "Crafting the Mayor's Brief". It's a data communications exercise, in how researchers might get their message across to non-technical key stakeholders.

Topic is irrelevant, we just have to choose something we know about.

#FediMTL has inspired me to pull […]

fedimtl.ca

#fedimtl is in progress and on FIE-YAH!!!

Waking up to a Cory Doctorow rant is quite a jolt. 😆

So it looks like we're using this hashtag, and also, if you aren't there, you can attend virtually - might still be time to register.

https://fedimtl.ca/#register

Really bummed that I couldn't make it for #fediMTL today. It looks like an amazing event and I'm excited to hear about the talks.

. @pluralistic spitting fire this morning and it's honestly the best salve I've heard for a long time.

#FediMTL

I think « l’enshittification du web » is the first time I’ve heard that word pronounced en français. #FediMTL

En route for #FediMTL @info

Can't wait to see all the #FediFolks and put a face behind the online names :) it should be an interesting day :)

I am pretty sure besides @pluralistic I am the furthest speaker from #FediMTL right now.

Here we go!

Since FediCon last year I try to do a livestream of the fedi events I go to. This is the start of the FediMTL livestream.

Let's see how well I can keep this up 😅

FediMTL streaming tickets still available! 50% off for fedi friends with code […]

[Original post on activitypub.space]

Deborah Preuss, pcc 🇨🇦 (@deborahh@cosocial.ca) Oh! Somehow I missed that FediMtl, next week, has a streaming option! Hmm … maybe I will! #mastodon Info here: https://fedimtl.ca/ Tickets here: https://backend.newsmast.org/@newsmast/116098196831517747

The topics to be explored at #FediMTL look good!

I'm going over now, to get a "virtual" ticket. I'll let it play in the background all day Tuesday.
Let's see what I can learn about the Fediverse!

https://cosocial.ca/@deborahh/116099276586764847
#mastodon #digitalSovereignty

FediMTL - Digital Sovereignty Conference A Canadian conference on digital sovereignty and the social web - February 24, 2026 in Montreal

Just picked up an in-person ticket for #FediMTL https://fedimtl.ca .

#Montreal tech friends: see you there?

FediMTL is Happening Soon Despite embarrassing Victor in front of all his friends by installing a GUI on his home server, Paige has managed to put his shoes on outside his socks and assemble a conference. If you like both F...

Don't miss the #fediMTL #fediconference coming Feb 24th in #montreal #canada

video.fedihost.co/videos/watch/99dfcc3b-93...

#mastodon #fediverse #peertube #activitypub #fedihost #digitalsovereignty

*Please boost for reach