bhawthorne, 11 months ago

@Wander @mastodonmigration “If we ever aspire to become a serious alternative to corporate platforms”

Well, that’s the crux of the issue, isn’t it? Do we aspire to become a “serious alternative” to corporate platforms? I suspect many of us do not. And even among those of us who do, many likely have very different ideas about what a “serious alternative” might look like.

I have no problem with the Fediverse consisting of several entirely isolated and mutually unfederated parts, as it already does today, and I see instances defederating as part of the dynamic nature of changing relationships among the disparate islands in the Fediverse archipelago, even if those shifting alliances mean breaking connections among individuals. The Fediverse encompasses everyone using ActivityPub, not just those of us on instances that subscribe to the Mastodon Server Covenant.

The only way to have a “serious alternative” to corporate platforms is to recognize that the Fediverse is not, will not, and cannot be a uniform, united entity. Just like individuals and states, islands in the Fediverse are constantly renegotiating their diplomatic relations with other islands. Sure, this means that individuals may see their connections to people on other islands severed, but individuals in the Fediverse have agency, and I consider it a strength of the seriousness of the Fediverse that with that agency comes the responsibility to manage one’s own information and connections.

The patronizing approach of corporate media to individual “users” is what needs to be replaced. People are so used to the us-vs-them approach of users and corporate owners, that they mistakenly bring that mindset to the Fediverse. There is no THEM in the Fediverse. There is just US.
Some of us volunteer our time to write code. Some of us volunteer our time to run instances. Some of us volunteer to moderate instances. Some of us donate money to help support instances. Some of us engage with people. Some of us write fascinating articles. Some of us find and boost interesting posts. Some of us are readers. But nowhere in all of those individuals is a “them”.

If individuals feel that people losing connections due to defederation is a problem, the solution is not to rail against defederation, but rather for those individuals to identify how they would like maintain their connections in the inevitable and, I would argue, desirable dynamic of shifting alliances, and to then implement those solutions in code.

The serious alternative that the Fediverse offers to commercial platforms is the concept of individual agency, respect, and responsibility as a replacement for Owners and Users.