A while back, I brought up the #Zot protocol as an alternative to #ActivityPub. It's interesting how I received quite an angry DM from someone who strongly opposed the idea of encouraging ActivityPub users to try out Zot. According to him, he didn't want anyone "basic" disrupting his community. He believed that Zot's relative obscurity was part of its charm and didn't want it tainted by regular Mastodon users.
However, it's amusing because I can actually see Zot gaining popularity. You see, Threads won’t function using Zot. So, if you're looking for a simple way to avoid Meta content in your feed, just switch to another protocol that's similar to ActivityPub. And that protocol happens to be Zot.
I apologize if this sounds surprising, but I have a feeling that even "basic" folks will start using Zot before long.
@Suoko@gr0k It seems like most people on the Fediverse aren't really interested in migrating to Threads. In fact, a lot of them are openly hostile towards Meta. Understandable, right?
Besides, even if Threads starts federating through ActivityPub, I don't see why anyone would feel the need to switch over. I mean, we would already receive all the Threads content through platforms like #Mastodon, #Friendica, and #Calckey. So, I wouldn't have to bother with creating a Threads account at all.
And honestly, if Threads were to turn off ActivityPub, I don't think it would be a big loss for me personally. I don't currently read anything from Threads, so if they stop federating, my experience would pretty much stay the same. And let me tell you, my experience right now is pretty good.
So yeah, that's where I stand on the whole Threads situation. If you have any thoughts or questions, feel free to share!
@atomicpoet@Suoko I think Threads federating properly with the rest of the ActivityPub network is a great thing! We can selectively follow the normies, and converting people FROM Threads to Mastodon etc will be much easier if they don't lose their audience, and can still interact with their friends. Also, once the federation happens, my normie friends and family from around the world will be able to follow me once again! (I quit Twitter/Facebook/Instagram etc in 2017)
@atomicpoet@gr0k@Suoko What if 🪡 were to allow its outgoing content to broadcast to the external fediverse, but reject interaction from the external fediverse? You get to see 🪡 posts, but only 🪡 accounts get to comment/favorite/boost 🪡 posts. Is that possible? To FOMO other instances into joining yours?
@Starry@gr0k@Suoko You're just selling me on staying put. If I could read certain Threads account but not have anyone from Threads interact with me, I'd be a happy camper.
@atomicpoet@gr0k@Suoko That might be your feeling, but I'm not convinced everyone in the fediverse feels the same way, and even if they do they may still cave to the FOMO eventually and migrate over. And as more and more of your mutuals go the way of Threads, you may cave too.
@Starry@gr0k@Suoko Threads doesn't quite align with my preferences. In my opinion, Threads has some notable limitations that might not suit everyone's needs. It tends to be heavily centered around text, which can feel a bit restricting. Plus, there are a few features missing, like direct messages, the ability to quote messages, express reactions with emojis, and even use markdown formatting. Moreover, there's also a rather strict limitation on the number of characters allowed. Personally, I find these restrictions a bit inconvenient since I don't encounter them on my own server(s). I've really grown attached to the perks they offer, and I'd rather not give them up.
@Starry@atomicpoet@gr0k@Suoko I don't think they could prevent boosts (IIRC the boost happens on the server doing the boosting, it just lets the original know about it - there's talk of adding boost controls, but they'd require the boosting server to both understand the options and honor them).
But it's totally possible to set something up that can be followed, but doesn't accept any kind of interactions.
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