I see this misconception a lot, so let’s clear it up. The term “threadiverse” originally referred to the “threaded fediverse” — specifically platforms like Lemmy and kbin, which function similarly to Reddit with threaded discussions and link aggregation. Thus, Bluesky and Threads, on the other hand, are not part of the threadiverse because they follow the microblogging model, not the threaded link aggregation model.
It’s also important to note that this usage predates Meta’s "Threads.”
Timeline:
- June 4, 2023: First mention of “threadiverse” I can find on Lemmy (source)
- June 8, 2023: Meta announces upcoming codename “Project 92” (source)
- July 3-5, 2023: Meta launches Project 92 as “Threads,” reusing the name of a previously discontinued non-fediverse product (source)
- March 21, 2024: Meta’s Threads opens its integration to the fediverse (source)
I always throught fediverse was a god awful name. Like it sounds like a website for FBI agents. “You guys see that thread on the fediverse?” Who came up with this name? It sucks!
that’s also so true
I always just say Lemmy, it sounds much more appealing than the fediverse for the uninitiated. Also I don’t really use any other fediverse platforms, so Lemmy is basically the entire fediverse for me.
But I still think the fediverse is a decent name/cool concept (federated universe), plus it’s already got a decent amount of brand recognition so it would pretty rough to start over with something new. It’s a fine name for people who are already familiar and have been using it for a while, it just sounds kinda weird when people first hear about it.