On my timeline, some people are saying that if you are federating with Threads, you are a terrible person.
But these folks don’t seem to have any plan for migrating people off Threads. And should they have a plan, what’s their plan for getting them to migrate to a server that de-federates Threads – and ensure they’re happy when they do it?
The ironic thing is that a lot of these “morally upright” folks came to the Fediverse during the #TwitterMigration. They benefitted from tools to make the transition easier. They used auto-crossposting, look-up sites to find their old friends, and various importing tools to help them ensure their switch to Mastodon was a success.
In other words, they benefitted from connecting their Fediverse accounts to Twitter. They can’t use these tools right now, mind you, but that’s not because Fediverse developers were so outraged by Elon Musk that they pulled the plug. No, it was Twitter that pulled the plug by entirely killing off API access.
But now that these folks “got theirs”, they want to kick the ladder off the roof. Should there be some sort of crisis on Threads – and there likely will be – what’s the migration path for Threads users to leave Threads? Why should they trust some random Fediverse server that they’ve never interacted with instead of continuing to deal with the devil they do know, Threads?
By no means am I telling you to federate with Threads. As a server operator, that decision is entirely up to you. Yet I am very skeptical that if all Fediverse servers de-federated Threads, it will make the world a better place. On the contrary, no migration path from Threads makes the world worse.
I'm actually seeing people say, "Never in the history of tech have people migrated from proprietary software to open source software."
Oh yeah? Then what about the server migration from Windows NT to Linux?
What about the migration from MCA to ISA?
What about the migration from closed networks like AOL to the bloody Internet?
Thing is, when all those migrations happened, the benefits were obvious to all. Linux saved people millions of dollars because it was free. ISA gave us cross-compatibility for off-the-shelf PC parts. The Internet vastly expanded the network effect for online services.
But what made all those migrations possible was that the emerging tech was somewhat familiar to those who used a previous generation of tech. Linux adoption was possible because it was similar to *nix. ISA adoption was possible because of DOS. Internet adoption was possible because it was not that much different from using AOL, and soon enough, AOL provided users with access to the broader Internet.
So if we want broad adoption of the Fediverse, and eventual migration off proprietary services, then the benefits of federation need to be obvious to people who are not yet here -- and they need some level of familiarity.
Looking through my feed, certain people are really angry that, even though they blocked Threads already, Threads still uses ActivityPub.
Logically, blocking should be enough. They even created a Fedipact. Problem solved, right?
But I think what really bothers them is that Threads is nevertheless using ActivityPub.
Look, in my ideal world everyone would be operating their own Fediverse servers. That’s exactly what I’m doing with atomicpoet.org. But I’m an edge case right now.
If you want to kill Meta, then people who use Meta’s services must be aware of the Fediverse. Right now, most of them know nothing about it. Those who do know about it dismiss it as geekery.
So how are we planning to bring more people to the Fediverse? Do you even want more people or would you rather keep this place an exclusive club?
The notion that the Fediverse is an exclusive club is an illusion. We should have learned that lesson during the #TwitterMigration, but it looks like we’ll learn that lesson yet again.
@atomicpoet nobody cares about them using AP. What they care about is that it gets a free pass at things any other instead would be defederated from, because of how large it is. Any instance that has no problem hosting racists, homophobes, transphobes and other assorted Nazis and Nazi-adjacent figures would be defederated on sight, but Threads is treated differently. «Too big to fail» in federation sauce («Too big to be defederated»)
@atomicpoet the Fediverse has been growing steadily when without Meta. Threads joining the Fediverse won't make it grow faster, won't bring people here, and will in fact be detrimental to the adoption in the long term, since their size effectively wraps the notion of Fediverse “adoption” to a fake number they can subvert at any time by pulling out. We've seen this scenario already with RSS and XMPP, whose mindshare has been completely destroyed by Meta's and Google's rug pulls.
Today I submitted a complaint to the Information Commissioner of Canada arguing that by only using third party social media platforms Public Safety Canada was not living up to the spirit, if not the word, of the Access to Information Act.
You can read it on my blog.
I blame @bougiewonderland for egging me on but hey, if you're going to complain about something, you might as well really COMPLAIN! 😂
Russell is an unsung hero of #OpenSource in Australia - it's his diligence and hard work that has kept the books straight for Linux Aus and auspiced conferences for several years now 👋
It's been a long time since I was invited to leave Twitter, and I left (now I'm the happiest person in the world in Mastodon). Now they invite me to leave Reddit... where am I going? #twittermigration#reddit#helpmastodon
#AskMastodon has anyone heard if the major social media management apps are adding or have added Mastodon. I feel this has been a majornreason we haven't seen broader adoption in the corporate or government space.
Reply with software suggestions? #TwitterMigration#SocialMedia
@chris Buffer does support Mastodon. We have been trying to get SocialFlow to add support, got a meeting with them and they are very open to it but they have many things on their roadmap and we are unsure how to bump the priority for this.
The BBC has "had really encouraging levels of engagement (i.e. replies, re-posts and likes) on Mastodon. For some equivalent posts we’ve seen significantly larger engagement numbers for Mastodon compared to X/Twitter, particularly given the relative sizes of different platforms. We think this is partly due to the culture of Mastodon, and partly because of some of the topics we’ve posted about." https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/blog/2024-02-extending-our-mastodon-social-media-trial #twittermigration
Hi, I moved here because Twitter sucks even worse now (I'll be honest, the dancing kitty gif as an icon sold me) and the fact that people here are most likely to be nice.
I've been using linux on and off since 2012. Oddly into french death metal now. I like anime and fanfiction. I have a soft kitty.
@algorithmwatch is a German nonprofit (with a Swiss partner org, @algorithmwatch_ch) that "ensure[s] that the use of algorithmic systems benefits the many, not the few".
They've just joined many other civil society organizations in fully leaving the cesspool known as Twitter/X behind. Congratulations! Consider giving them a follow here :)
As a reminder, I maintain https://bit.ly/eXit (->GDoc) to track notable accounts that have left Twitter/X behind. If you notice other prominent departures I've not tracked yet, don't hesitate to give me a ping :)
J'ai une super amie qui débarque sur Mastodon. Je voudrais l'aider à sa prise en main. Ne voulant pas réinventer la poudre, j'ai cherché des éléments mais je ne trouve plus les fils qui donnent des conseils (en français) pour celleux qui viennent d'arriver. Quelq'un·e pourrait me filer un coup de main ? #aide#mastotips#twittermigration