> ...Right now Mastodon seems to be the biggest player, but curious what the second/third biggest would be?
Between 2008 through about 2016, it was tough to state which was the most widely used (oh, you'll get opinions, just not sure if stuff was tightly tracked)...But after 2016 - when mastodon came onto the fediverse scene - it certainly has been the most popular software to use. As far as which is second...well that depends on whether you count number of nodes on the Fedi, or numbers of users who use a particular software stack. If matrix federated network is excluded from any list, then second might be peertube nodes (https://the-federation.info/#projects). But if counting by number of users, then second might be diaspora (https://fediverse.observer/stats). Of course, the Fedi being what it is, numbers - while likely good - are only approximations...these data only tell a tip of the iceberg. I mean, the fediverse has been around - and active - since around 2008, so you can only imagine there is some small percentage of Fedi instance admins who prefer not to be counted. So, stat sites like i cited will give you an idea, but not exact numbers. ;-)
Between 2008 through about 2016, it was tough to state which was the most widely used (oh, you'll get opinions, just not sure if stuff was tightly tracked)...But after 2016 - when mastodon came onto the fediverse scene - it certainly has been the most popular software to use. As far as which is second...well that depends on whether you count number of nodes on the Fedi, or numbers of users who use a particular software stack. If matrix federated network is excluded from any list, then second might be peertube nodes (https://the-federation.info/#projects). But if counting by number of users, then second might be diaspora (https://fediverse.observer/stats). Of course, the Fedi being what it is, numbers - while likely good - are only approximations...these data only tell a tip of the iceberg. I mean, the fediverse has been around - and active - since around 2008, so you can only imagine there is some small percentage of Fedi instance admins who prefer not to be counted. So, stat sites like i cited will give you an idea, but not exact numbers. ;-)