Subreddits and third-party apps are going dark in response to Reddit’s proposed API changes. It’s the latest front in a labor battle between algorithms and the humans who feed them.
The problem is that most of the usable, visible, Web is equal to that. Google & Microsoft control most of what we see. Pinterest controls image access. Meta drives engagement to companies, and Reddit drives linkouts. Twitter handles most major news sources. Occasionally there's a chance that StackOverflow or Quora put in a word or two.
Society leads us to ever larger communities. Corporations just make profit based on human behavior.
The majority then announced, with an opinion from Chief Justice John Roberts, that it was overthrowing the student loan forgiveness program, granting a request from six Republican state attorneys general on behalf of a loan servicer, the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, that did not want to be used as a plaintiff....
I acknowledge that I have a choice to shut up and let you all talk. I'm choosing not to do that, because I disagree. I have realized over the last few years that either side of a debate shutting up and walking away is the beginning of the echo chamber, and buffoonery follows soon after. It doesn't matter which side it's on.
I absolutely support what the Supreme Court is doing, standing in opposition to other parts of the government, taking real action to preserve the status quo or to make changes according to their view of the Constitution. That's their job. If you don't like it, then yes, please, vote in your local elections for candidates doing the things you believe. Because eventually, either we're going to get back to bipartisanship, or we will see secession happen again. I expect to pick up my life within the next few years and move to another state in the US because I disagree with the policies of my local government, and that's fine; let the people who are happy stay and the disgruntled depart if they've tried to effect change and haven't seen it work. But over time, we'll either need to keep building walls or rebuild bridges.
It's up to all of us, not just here online but in the country as a whole, to choose - which will you help to build, a wall or a bridge? Will you understand the values and reasoning of those you currently oppose, understand the motivation for their actions; and try to find actions where you have commonality of motive? Or will you just plug your ears, stay in the echo chamber, declare your tribe good and the other evil, and prepare for a war?
I'd like to say I want to work with others, but I've been burned many times when I tried. I am angry, hurt, and probably suffering from trauma. I don't mind right now that others feel that pain. I am occasionally conscious that it is wrong to find happiness in the suffering of others; but I can't deny what I feel. I think that's a problem a lot of people have, across the country.
The Supreme Court is not at all out of control. It's reflecting the feelings and trauma of a massive number of Americans and American communities. The Court is judicially surfacing long-standing emotional wounds that have been drawn into focus. They're fully under control. They're doing the right job.
Because no one is all-left or all-right, or all-Liberal or all-Conservative. It's not any form of doublethink to, say, support the right of a business to choose who they do business with - while also believing that we should be closing tax loopholes on businesses and corporations so that they pay a fairer share of the US tax bill. That's just one example, but others exist. No one I've ever met that was sane fully supports every point of the party line they usually side with. You will also see cases where people say, "I'm conservative but to be honest, liberal/left-wing talking point". It's how sane people work.
I don't think you're correct in your theory. I fully expect the Fediverse as a whole, with the exception of a few very tiny instances that won't have public signups, will deal with the problems that other social media have in the same way - ads, sponsored posts, monetization of user data, etc.. in the way the Internet accelerates, I expect it to happen within two years.
I don't think it's going to be "singular bad actors" in this case. I think it's going to be every server owner realizing why the situation became what it is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Reddit. When operating and development costs stretch beyond the grasp of donations, when the number of users far outstretches the number of donors and customers, server owners will have to seek out ways to monetize users. So, sure, you'll have people who are willing to put in the investment to launch their own server and federate as they see fit, rather than pay for the service. But you'll have a lot more people who are unwilling to pay.
That means ads and paid content. That means login walls and paywalled content, "premium" access and features, etc. I expect that every large Fediverse server will end up that way. Either that or the way they'll stay ad-free is to kick off the users and keep only the paying customers (these people will be called "donors" so they don't expect any benefit for their money). After all, kicking a user out of one instance of the Fediverse doesn't have the impact that it does on Reddit. Heck, kicking a thousand out doesn't. There's every other instance's customers and users still to talk with. There's always the ability for those people to invest in the platform with their own instance, or join one with a smaller number of allowed (non-paying) users.
@jcrm No. KBin has 2 positive interactions - upvote & boost. Boosts impact your rep positively, upvotes do nothing. But there's only one negative interaction - downvote, which does impact your rep negatively. Until we flip the mental switch, I expect a lot of people will have negative rep.
@bored_pistachio You're right, some things do not work out. But giving up isn't the right response - the right response is to change your focus and find something that will work. Learn from failure, don't be discouraged by it. Don't give up. Success will happen if you work at it.
Reddit Won’t Be the Same. Neither Will the Internet (www.wired.com)
Subreddits and third-party apps are going dark in response to Reddit’s proposed API changes. It’s the latest front in a labor battle between algorithms and the humans who feed them.
The Supreme Court is out of control and must be reformed (www.dailykos.com)
The majority then announced, with an opinion from Chief Justice John Roberts, that it was overthrowing the student loan forgiveness program, granting a request from six Republican state attorneys general on behalf of a loan servicer, the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, that did not want to be used as a plaintiff....
Twitter's latest user-unfriendly move requires an account just to read (www.androidpolice.com)
In an unforeseen turn of events, Twitter has decided to test user patience by cloistering tweets behind a sign-in wall
The Revolution Will Not Be Monetized
You are in the wrong place....