๐งฎ Decentralization Scoring System (v1.2)
This scoring system evaluates how decentralized and self-hostable a platform is, based on four core metrics.
๐ Scoring Metrics (Total: 100 Points)
| Metric |
Weight |
Description |
| Top Provider User Share |
30 |
Measures how many users are on the largest instance. Full points if <10%; 0 if >80%. |
| Top Provider Content Share |
30 |
Measures how much content is hosted by the largest instance. Full points if <10%; 0 if >80%. |
| Ease of Self-Hosting: Server |
20 |
Technical ease of running your own backend. Full points for Docker/simple setup with good docs. |
| Ease of Self-Hosting: User Interface |
20 |
Availability and usability of clients. Full points for accessible, FOSS, multi-platform clients. |
๐ Example Breakdown (Estimates)
| Platform |
Score |
Visualization |
| ๐ง Email |
88 |
๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ |
| ๐น Lemmy |
60 |
๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ |
| ๐ Mastodon |
55 |
๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ |
| ๐ฃ PeerTube |
68 |
๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ |
| ๐ผ Pixelfed |
63 |
๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ |
| ๐ต Bluesky |
14 |
๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ |
| ๐ฅ Reddit |
3 |
๐ฅ |
๐ง Email
- Top Provider User Share: Google โ 17% โ Score: 27/30
- Top Provider Content Share: Google likely handles โ 17% of mail โ Score: 27/30
- Self-Hosting: Server: Easy (Can leverage hundreds email hosting services) โ Score: 16/20
- Self-Hosting: Client: Easy (Thunderbird, K-9, etc.) โ Score: 18/20
Total: 88/100
๐น Lemmy
- Top Provider User Share: lemmy.world โ 37.17% โ Score: 12/30
- Top Provider Content Share: lemmy.world likely hosts ~37% content โ Score: 12/30
- Self-Hosting: Server: Easy (Docker, low resource) โ Score: 18/20
- Self-Hosting: Client: Good FOSS apps, web UI โ Score: 18/20
Total: 60/100
๐ Mastodon
- Top Provider User Share: mastodon.social โ 42.7% โ Score: 11/30
- Top Provider Content Share: mastodon.social โ 45โ50% content โ Score: 10/30
- Self-Hosting: Server: Docker setup, moderate difficulty โ Score: 15/20
- Self-Hosting: Client: Strong ecosystem (Tusky, web, etc.) โ Score: 19/20
Total: 55/100
๐ฃ PeerTube
- Top Provider User Share: Framatube (~17%) โ Score: 27/30
- Top Provider Content Share: Estimated around 20% โ Score: 25/30
- Self-Hosting: Server: Docker, active community, moderate resources โ Score: 16/20
- Self-Hosting: Client: Web-first UI, FOSS, some mobile options โ Score: 18/20
Total: 68/100
๐ผ Pixelfed
- Top Provider User Share: pixelfed.social โ 23% โ Score: 24/30
- Top Provider Content Share: Estimated around 30% โ Score: 21/30
- Self-Hosting: Server: Laravel-based, Docker available, some config needed โ Score: 15/20
- Self-Hosting: Client: Web UI, FOSS, mobile apps in progress โ Score: 18/20
Total: 63/100
๐ต Bluesky
- Top Provider User Share: bsky.social โ ~90%+ (very centralized) โ Score: 0/30
- Top Provider Content Share: Nearly all content on bsky.social โ Score: 0/30
- Self-Hosting: Server: PDS hosting possible but very niche โ Score: 4/20
- Self-Hosting: Client: Mostly official client; some 3rd party โ Score: 10/20
Total: 14/100
๐ Reddit
- Top Provider User Share: Reddit hosts all user accounts = 100% โ Score: 0/30
- Top Provider Content Share: Reddit hosts all user-generated content โ Score: 0/30
- Self-Hosting: Server: Not self-hostable (proprietary platform) โ Score: 0/20
- Self-Hosting: Client: Some unofficial clients available โ Score: 3/20
Total: 3/100
How Scores are Calculated
๐งโ๐คโ๐ง How User/Content Share Scores Work
This measures how many users are on the largest provider (or instance).
- 100% (one provider): If one provider has all the users, it gets 0 points.
- No provider > 10%: If no provider has more than 10%, it gets full 30 points.
- Between 10% and 80%: Anything in between is scored on a linear scale.
- > 80%: If a provider has more than 80%, it gets 0 points.
๐ Formula:
Score = 30 ร (1 - (TopProviderShare - 10) / 70)
โฆbut only if TopProviderShare is between 10% and 80%.
If below 10%, full 30. If above 80%, zero.
๐ Example:
If one provider has 40% of all users:
โ Score = 30 ร (1 - (40 - 10) / 70) = 30 ร (1 - 0.43) = 17.1 points
๐ฅ๏ธ How Ease of Self-Hosting Scores Work
These scores measure how easy it is for individuals or communities to run their own servers or use clients.
This looks at how technically easy it is to run your own backend (e.g., email server, Mastodon server) or User Interface (e.g., web-interface or mobile-app)
- Very Easy: One-command, low resources, great documentation โ 18โ20 points
- Moderate: Docker or manual setup, some config, active community support โ 13โ17 points
- Hard: Complex setup, needs regular updates or custom config (e.g. DNS, spam) โ 6โ12 points
- Very Hard or Proprietary: Little to no self-hosting support, undocumented โ 0โ5 points
๐ Sources
//TODO This is very much still a work in progress, so it likely still contains mistakes and the example data isn't yet retreived from reliable sources. I'm working on that. If you want to help provide sources please do.
This is saved on GitHub, https://github.com/NoBadDays/decentralization-score/blob/main/decentralization_score_2025.04.md
If you have ideas or thoughts on how this can be improved, let me know
Sport has always had devisions and you need to draw lines who is and isn't allowed in a devision.
Example: Under 21 years old Undee 80kg Handicapped Ober 40 years old Women's Etc.
You can't just let anyone compete in any devision else you don't have devisions, and you need to draw lines where those devisions begin and end.
All I'm saying is IMO when it comes to the Women's devision, it's shouldn't be black and white.