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   Nathan Schneider (ntnsndr@social.coop)'s status on Thursday, 19-Mar-2026 12:08:05 JST Nathan Schneider

   And stay tuned for my next book, all about protocols!

   • Embed this notice
     Nathan Schneider (ntnsndr@social.coop)'s status on Friday, 20-Mar-2026 03:23:27 JST Nathan Schneider

     in reply to

     • Laurens Hof

     Just read. This is great, @LaurensHof!

     In my forthcoming protocol book, I explicitly define protocols as *not meaning*, which is consistent with the pattern you identify. Meaning begins where protocols end.

     This also extends the notion of power vacuums that I develop a bit in ch. 1 of Governable Spaces. And I think in ch. 4 I make clear that the fediverse does not address these but replicates implicit feudalism (which is not quite a vacuum but a specific theory of governance embedded in software like Mastodon).

     Thank you for further making the case for why we need real governance design for a truly decentralized social.