We want to gauge the feasibility of moving forward on a project called Rotunda, an open-source federated "collection of platforms" that would enable people to host all kinds of collective activities.Unlike the current Fediverse, it is not meant to mimic the churn of contemporary "instant" social media platforms. There would be some stuff in that vein, like individual status feeds and direct/group messaging, but Rotunda's core feature would be something called a Space, which is basically a classic discussion forum with some much needed technology upgrades.
Rotunda, above all, is planned to be truly decentralized and resilient. All devices running Rotunda would form a network, and all data uploaded to the network – from the most lovingly detailed custom gameboard to a single forum post – would be given a unique content identifier (CID).
This does away with the need to retrieve your data by connecting with a specific server in a specific location. Instead, you and everyone else in your Space would host their own data, and backup each other's data, by dedicating a customizable amount of storage to the network. CIDs then ensure that you can find whatever file you're looking for, no matter who (or what) has it.
Robust privacy options and end-to-end encryption would make sure your content is seen by who you intend to see it – no more, no less.
Finally, after joining the network, you would create one or more Aliases (akin to different "handles" or accounts) which can each join/leave any number of Spaces, seamlessly and independently. So you won't have to make different accounts for different instances, as you unfortunately have to do for the current Fediverse. It would be truly interoperable.
Rotunda's primary intended use would be to help you do things with your friends – usually fun things! From social deduction games, to RPG campaigns – even movie nights! If Rotunda doesn't quite fit your needs at first, its functionality will be easily expandable with Modules, freely distributed applications or "mods" that facilitate particular activities or purposes.
Maybe you don't care about all that, and just want a nice place for you and your friends to chat. Rotunda will do that too – and as a bonus, your place will never suddenly disappear because of unpaid hosting bills or a private owner liquidating it.
If Rotunda becomes a thing, that would mean your friend group, dev team, Mafia board, etc. could become a self-hosted and self-managed community of its own, which lasts as long as you want it to last, and is impervious to the whims of any unaccountable digital landlord. 