So here’s how I understand it:
lemmy.world, lemmy.fmhy.ml, beehaw, (instances) etc. are all basically different servers. But they essentially all have access to the same communities, aka the equivalent of a subreddit, even though some communities are are hosted on lemmy vs beehaw, etc.?
If my understanding is correct, then, for the layman, each different instance can be seen as a site to view any of the communities, so we can register with one instance, and browse everything they all have to offer. Is that about right? Sorry, I know a guide has been posted, but I’m trying to reduce the functionality to fit into my feeble mind.
Short answer: yes, you got it.
Long answer: yes, but you’ll see it’s not like magic. Some instances will federate with others, some will straightup block others, some will simply not federate, etc… but those are very extreme cases with very particular reasons.
Yup. It’s like email.
You can have a gmail account, but still send and receive to and from someone with a hotmail account.
The emails that you both see, are stored on gmail and hotmail, but not on protonmail, unless you cc’d someone with a protonmail, in which case, it gets stored and becomes accessible, there too.
Personally, I don’t think the e-mail comparison is very clear, nor entirely correct.
I think it’s easier to explain like: everybody can make their own Reddit, but you can also see all the content on other people’s Reddits.
