ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

GNU social

Okay kiddo, so do you know what social media is? It's like a place where you can talk to your friends and share things online, like pictures, videos and updates about what you're doing.

Now, GNU social is also a type of social media, but it's a little bit different. You see, there are some social media sites like Facebook that are owned by companies, and they make money by showing you ads and collecting your information. But GNU social is what we call "free software", which means that anyone can use it and change it to make it better.

It's kind of like a big playground where you can build your own things and play with your friends. And because it's free software, nobody can own it or control it - it belongs to everyone who uses it. That's why we call it "GNU" - it stands for "GNU's Not Unix", which is a funny name for a project that was started by some people who wanted to make free software for everyone to use.

So with GNU social, you can create your own account and start chatting with your friends. You can follow other people to see what they're saying, and they can follow you too. And because it's free software, nobody can tell you what you can or can't say - you can express yourself however you want.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell, kid. GNU social is a type of social media that's free and open for anyone to use, and it's a great way to connect with your friends and express yourself online.