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1. Embed this notice
   Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 21-Dec-2022 18:37:04 JST Chris Trottier

   BIG NEWS: Pawoo.net, the world's 2nd biggest Mastodon instance, has just been acquired.

   The entity acquiring them is the Mask Group, a business that also runs mstdn.jp and mastodon.cloud. They are also active in the so-called "Web 3.0" space.

   If you haven't heard of pawoo.net, it's because many instances have de-federated from it.

   https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mask-network-acquires-pawoo-net-070000858.html

   • ナメクジ :QueerCat_Aromantic:​ and moriteppei repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 21-Dec-2022 20:04:12 JST Chris Trottier

     in reply to

     Like it or not, it should no longer be assumed that "volunteers" are running your instances.

     The Mask Group, which now runs three large instances "has raised over US$50 million from private and institutional backers"—their words not mine.

   • Embed this notice
     Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 22-Dec-2022 07:34:52 JST Chris Trottier

     in reply to

     Everyone needs to be aware that Mask Group trades a crypto token.

     This same entity now owns pawoo.net, mstdn.jo, and mastodon.cloud.

     https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/12/21/encrypted-messaging-protocol-mask-network-acquires-mastodon-server-pawoonet/

   • Embed this notice
     Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 22-Dec-2022 07:34:53 JST Chris Trottier

     in reply to

     A warning: there's going to be a concerted effort to re-centralize the Fediverse.

     As we've just seen with the acquisition of pawoo.net, that's already happening.

     What are you going to do to thwart this trend?

     moriteppei repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 22-Dec-2022 07:34:54 JST Chris Trottier

     in reply to

     To everyone using mastodon.cloud and mstdn.jp: remember, you're not locked into those instances.

     If you want, you can migrate elsewhere.

     This is not Twitter—you have a choice regarding where your home will be on the Fediverse.

   • Embed this notice
     Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 22-Dec-2022 07:34:55 JST Chris Trottier

     in reply to

     There's going to be a massive land grab of all these big instances. There will be lots of merging and acquiring too.

     My advice is that you all become *very* aware of who owns your instance and why.

     Get to know your admins—make sure their values align with your own.

     If you don't want to put your social media life in the hands of strangers, then self-host your own instance.

   • Embed this notice
     Darnell Clayton :verified: (darnell@one.darnell.one)'s status on Monday, 02-Jan-2023 08:50:33 JST Darnell Clayton :verified:

     in reply to

     • Sage (is the Name)

     @whetkey Or they could just donate money‽ ??♂️

   • Embed this notice
     Sage (is the Name) (whetkey@stereophonic.space)'s status on Monday, 02-Jan-2023 08:50:42 JST Sage (is the Name)

     in reply to

     • Darnell Clayton :verified:
     My #HotTake:
     
     #Mastodon #admins **should** place a _low-power_ #crypto #miner in the #timeline so _some_ of the **distributed** idle-CPU time can be _donated to the instance_ to pay for #hosting costs.
     
     Why: Hosting costs money. Big companies have money, and I'd rather my money be the #voice of my instance than a for-profit.
     
     If it is _opt-in per visit_, then #users **and** guests may (A) #donate towards covering server maintenance costs (and use CPU time and power), or (B) #decline to mine and use the service without sharing CPU time.
     
     Anyone who deems an instance beneficial **CAN** contribute to keeping it alive. On power-constrained devices, users **may** opt out.
     
     - **If you have money, donate to your instance to keep #BigBusiness out of it!**
     - If you don't have money . . . hope we get an _opt-in crypto miner_ in the timeline?
     
     Thoughts?
   • Embed this notice
     Darnell Clayton :verified: (darnell@one.darnell.one)'s status on Monday, 02-Jan-2023 08:50:44 JST Darnell Clayton :verified:

     in reply to

     • iamBullivant

     @atomicpoet @bullivant I agree. We might see corporations target #Pixelfed instances next.

     Also, #Mastodon admins are going to receive lucrative offers soon, & some might sell if they are unable to pay operational costs for their servers.

     It will become critical for members to support their local servers.

   • Embed this notice
     Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 02-Jan-2023 08:50:46 JST Chris Trottier

     in reply to

     • Darnell Clayton :verified:
     • iamBullivant

     @darnell @bullivant And they'd be mad not to build on the Fediverse. The hardest part about building any social network is validating the network effect. ActivityPub solves that problem.

   • Embed this notice
     Darnell Clayton :verified: (darnell@one.darnell.one)'s status on Monday, 02-Jan-2023 08:50:47 JST Darnell Clayton :verified:

     in reply to

     • iamBullivant

     @atomicpoet @bullivant They may try to copy what Truth Social is doing & insert ads within people’s timelines.

     Even though there are corporate-owned instances, it is particularly jarring that a corporate overlord assimilates instances now.

     But I think we will see more of this for one reason: Twitter is dying, so companies are trying to “buy the next Twitter” instead of building one.

   • Embed this notice
     Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 02-Jan-2023 08:50:48 JST Chris Trottier

     in reply to

     • iamBullivant

     @bullivant This is a land grab, pure and simple.

   • Embed this notice
     iamBullivant (bullivant@mastodon.ie)'s status on Monday, 02-Jan-2023 08:50:49 JST iamBullivant

     in reply to

     @atomicpoet What is the perceived revenue stream that justifies such an investment?

     https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mask-network-acquires-pawoonet-one-of-the-largest-mastodon-instances-301707919.html

   • Embed this notice
     Darnell Clayton :verified: (darnell@one.darnell.one)'s status on Monday, 02-Jan-2023 08:56:47 JST Darnell Clayton :verified:

     in reply to

     • Sage (is the Name)

     @whetkey Fair point. I guess if your admin accepts crypto then by all means run your idea past them as they might accept your offer.

   • Embed this notice
     Sage (is the Name) (whetkey@stereophonic.space)'s status on Monday, 02-Jan-2023 08:56:48 JST Sage (is the Name)

     in reply to

     • Darnell Clayton :verified:
     @darnell I'm thinking of people, like myself, who live paycheck-to-paycheck (thanks to economic changes). I have a decent computer, but no money. If I leave my browser open, I'm OK with the CPU giving some "money" to the maintainers of the services I use.