Two things: the data on the instance will be gone.
The posts/comments that were replicated on other instances will stay, but they will be defederated, meaning they will not ever be synced up woth other instances’ replications of these posts/comments. Every instance will just have their own, insular copy.
I see this as a big issue for content going forward. I get that reddit is one single point of failure but I wonder how you can keep knowledge in a static state when most instances lose money and it’s a hobby. What happens when the owner grows tired.
How often do you revisit forum posts you made in 2007? Some content doesn’t need to be preserved
It’s not about visiting a forum post I made in 2007. It’s about visiting a forum post about an obscure issue that someone solved in 2007.
Perhaps each client should keep data. Something like a blockchain, with redundant copies stored on clients and clients using some consensus protocol to agree on what the real history is.
but they will be defederated, meaning they will not ever be synced up with other instances’ replications of these posts/comments.
Indeed; lost my VLemmy account when it shut down.
My comments from there still appear in other instances, but my comment totals are different depending on which instance they’re viewed in.
Do the copies on other instances ever expire and get cleared? Or will they stay indefinitely, without updates?
