<![CDATA[Kind of a weird #Fediverse question: do any platforms in this space offer an API for user account registration?]]>Kind of a weird #Fediverse question: do any platforms in this space offer an API for user account registration?

One hypothetical idea I've been kicking around is the notion of "pre-registration" for the Fediverse. Basically, a person fills out their profile, imports data archives from other networks, and maybe even finds their mutuals somehow. When they're done, their account gets created on a random vetted instance, data gets backfilled, and follow requests get sent out to the mutual contacts they've found.

I think it's a good idea, and possibly a good showcase for both the #ActivityPub C2S API and possibly LOLA. However, I don't think any particular platform supports all of the required pieces yet.

]]>https://bb.devnull.land/topic/b36d4608-972c-494e-abf2-e03a122f23e9/kind-of-a-weird-fediverse-question-do-any-platforms-in-this-space-offer-an-api-for-user-account-registrationRSS for NodeThu, 10 Sep 2026 10:02:29 GMTWed, 09 Sep 2026 18:50:24 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Kind of a weird #Fediverse question: do any platforms in this space offer an API for user account registration? on Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:16:59 GMT]]>@julian the maintainer of the Caddy http server has a project which can aggregate multiple "take out" social media service files into a single timeline. I was considering using its ingestion logic coupled to an ActivityPub service a while back, but it's too far down my to do list at the moment. 😄 Maybe some scrappy enterprising peeps can have a look see if it's actually feasible.

https://github.com/timelinize/timelinize

@deadsuperhero

]]>https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://metalhead.club/users/mariusor/statuses/117245753388232837https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://metalhead.club/users/mariusor/statuses/117245753388232837Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:16:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Kind of a weird #Fediverse question: do any platforms in this space offer an API for user account registration? on Wed, 09 Sep 2026 22:29:15 GMT]]>@mariusor@metalhead.club actually I think it'd be pretty cool to have someone independently working on adversarial APIs to hoover up stuff from big social (your own data, for migration, of course), but outside the purview of the US.

Then everybody else can tie in to that service and import data in.

cc @deadsuperhero@social.wedistribute.org

]]>https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://activitypub.space/post/2446https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://activitypub.space/post/2446Wed, 09 Sep 2026 22:29:15 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Kind of a weird #Fediverse question: do any platforms in this space offer an API for user account registration? on Wed, 09 Sep 2026 20:37:44 GMT]]>> @deadsuperhero@social.wedistribute.org said:
>
> alternatively letting a person put in an instance URL might be better?

Noooooooo

No worse option for those new to the Fediverse

]]>https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://activitypub.space/post/2445https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://activitypub.space/post/2445Wed, 09 Sep 2026 20:37:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Kind of a weird #Fediverse question: do any platforms in this space offer an API for user account registration? on Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:46:07 GMT]]>@deadsuperhero That would... be amazingly useful? But have never heard of anything like it.

]]>https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://mastodon.gamedev.place/users/cidney/statuses/117242800846698150https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://mastodon.gamedev.place/users/cidney/statuses/117242800846698150Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:46:07 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Kind of a weird #Fediverse question: do any platforms in this space offer an API for user account registration? on Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:26:32 GMT]]>@julian @deadsuperhero I've wanted for like 8 years to build an instance picker which lets people pick by moderation style and lets them browse from the public timeline as well, never managed to do it though. maybe those features could be part of this idea.

]]>https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://mstdn.io/users/deutrino/statuses/117242723833272074https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://mstdn.io/users/deutrino/statuses/117242723833272074Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:26:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Kind of a weird #Fediverse question: do any platforms in this space offer an API for user account registration? on Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:22:01 GMT]]>@deadsuperhero nothing even close to being so elaborate, but the way invitations work for one of my services built on top of ActivityPub is to create a "blank" actor, and then when the user accepts the invitation they can update the account with their own details. Could definitely work with some additional plumbing to import stuff on top.

]]>https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://metalhead.club/users/mariusor/statuses/117242706107847274https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://metalhead.club/users/mariusor/statuses/117242706107847274Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:22:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Kind of a weird #Fediverse question: do any platforms in this space offer an API for user account registration? on Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:09:44 GMT]]>@luana@wetdry.world Totally good points, it's an old mockup from when I was first imagining the thing a year or so ago. There's probably a fair amount I would revise now, just to make the flow easier.

And yeah, "random instance" is maybe not the best, but maybe recommending an instance or alternatively letting a person put in an instance URL might be better?

]]>https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://social.wedistribute.org/objects/99d1dce6-784e-4481-8b91-4b0a01f4812chttps://bb.devnull.land/post/https://social.wedistribute.org/objects/99d1dce6-784e-4481-8b91-4b0a01f4812cWed, 09 Sep 2026 19:09:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Kind of a weird #Fediverse question: do any platforms in this space offer an API for user account registration? on Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:07:09 GMT]]>@julian@activitypub.space @general@activitypub.space Thanks, that means a lot! It's something that I've been thinking about for a long time. I think joining the network and starting over from scratch in a new space make for a very difficult prospect when it comes to getting people to join.

what if it looked at your migrated post content and suggested a server based on your worldview? Ha!

God... I don't think that's a can of worms I hope to ever open. 😓

The main idea involves trying to raise the bar for both data portability and tying together different sets of data to build your own social graph. It's not something that's well-supported today, but I think it's worth making an effort towards.

Facebook has about 20 years of my life on it, and while it's not all bangers, there's some very real sentimental value in there: life milestones, occasionally good jokes, insights to how I was thinking and feeling during different phases of my life, art and poetry and philosophy. Being able to easily fish out what I want to move over would be a huge deal.

]]>https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://social.wedistribute.org/objects/c63ce8b4-6829-4b33-a35d-8c97db0011f8https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://social.wedistribute.org/objects/c63ce8b4-6829-4b33-a35d-8c97db0011f8Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:07:09 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Kind of a weird #Fediverse question: do any platforms in this space offer an API for user account registration? on Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:06:53 GMT]]>@deadsuperhero No idea about the API for account creation, but a tool like that to find people you follow in other platforms sounds useful

Just my two cents about the current wording tho: In the 1st picture a new user might think that the Fediverse depends on having an account in one of those plarforms, it'd be better to make it clear that this is only for your tool and not for the fediverse itself. Additionally, I don't really think that choosing an instance at random is a good idea.

]]>https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://wetdry.world/users/luana/statuses/117242646586401153https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://wetdry.world/users/luana/statuses/117242646586401153Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:06:53 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Kind of a weird #Fediverse question: do any platforms in this space offer an API for user account registration? on Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:00:27 GMT]]>@deadsuperhero@social.wedistribute.org to expand a bit on that point, I recall a talk by @pluralistic@mamot.fr about how there's some Canadian bill that essentially made the use of adversarial APIs illegal.

Not sure where we stand today, though.

]]>https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://activitypub.space/post/2444https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://activitypub.space/post/2444Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:00:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Kind of a weird #Fediverse question: do any platforms in this space offer an API for user account registration? on Wed, 09 Sep 2026 18:53:42 GMT]]>@deadsuperhero@social.wedistribute.org hoooo-boy... that's an interesting idea. I love it, could even get funded by NLNet.

I especially like the server recommendation piece... what if it looked at your migrated post content and suggested a server based on your worldview? Ha!

Anyway. NodeBB does, you can create users via our API. Getting content backfilled would be more difficult since that's kind of not the purpose of the API, but not insurmountable.

]]>https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://activitypub.space/post/2443https://bb.devnull.land/post/https://activitypub.space/post/2443Wed, 09 Sep 2026 18:53:42 GMT