Aug 22, 2026, 3:12 PM@doriane You already got some pretty insightful replies here, I would maybe just add, and feel free to call me cynical, but all (most of?) the problems ATProto solves can be solved within the fediverse.
Eg. account portability with https://swicg.github.io/activitypub-data-portability/lola, discoverability with https://www.fediscovery.org, etc.
To me, what ATProto *really* solves is: coopting a grassroots movement with crypto VC funding and vibecoding. That's it.
@stefan@stefanbohacek.online @doriane@post.lurk.org I really hate posts like these.
Sure, ATProto's funding, governance, coding all suck. But this post makes improving ActivityPub hard, as it delegitimises any discussion about things AP could improve.
The account portability, as an example, is nowhere near what ATProto does and I don't count it as a solution. It requires the source server to be online and cooperating. Someone fucking up their server and not having a backup is out of luck, and so is anyone using Pixelfed (where people on the main instance can't migrate followers right now).
They can maybe be solved (even if they aren't now and the proposed solutions aren't good solutions), but this doesn't change that, right now, ATProto does some stuff better, and ActivityPub should strive to actually improve rather than going "lalalalala everything is perfect here actually".
Aug 23, 2026, 9:51 PMSorry, not sure where you're getting "everything is perfect here actually".
And yeah, nomadic identity and perfect account migration across all of the fediverse would be great, I would very much love that!
Alas, I don't have the time and expertise to help implement it, nor enough money to fund the necessary work, sorry.
@kbruen @stefan i'm sorry i asked in the initial post exactly with this intention: knowing not everything is perfect here and that they are other things. i know ActivityPub failed multiple social situations or movements. ATProto is more recent and they are enthusiast, so as a fediverse user i wanna understand the bigger picture!!! i also know a lot of people are going to give me their crispy hot takes opinions and tbh that's what i am asking for :)
for example thanks to your post i learned this thing about account migration in ActivityPub that the source server need to be online and cooperating, which i agree is big constraint and a difference worth noting, and exactly the type of answer i was looking for. thank youu
Aug 23, 2026, 11:58 PM@doriane Sure, but looking at https://www.da.vidbuchanan.co.uk/blog/adversarial-pds-migration.html, I am getting a sense that this is not perfect with ATProto either?
Yes, relays might have your public content, but now with Spaces and private data, I'm guessing that stuff won't show up in relays, since it's private. So how would that work, if your PDS goes down or goes rogue?
@kbruen@procial.tchncs.de