1) Yes, people are right to be wary of Meta, but 2) their adaption of #ActivityPub is still a net positive for the #Fediverse .
We know of Meta's blatant data mining, their abominable moderation, and their misuse of their algorithms to fan the flames of hatred. Thus, it's perfectly reasonable to defederate them.
However, plenty of large news and other organizations are in a bind - they need large social media reach for their influence, subscribers, and customer base. And the Fediverse itself is basically a rounding error when it comes to worldwide social media reach.
Threads, on the other hand, is significantly bigger. Thus, it's worth for these organizations to invest some effort into it. But it is by no means guaranteed that Threads will survive - right now, it's one of the bigger players in the fight for the Twitter successors, but we don't know if this will last.
But if Threads ends up fully compatible with ActivityPub, these organizations can set up their own ActivityPub servers and get the best of both world - gain reach and followers on Threads, while remaining independent enough to remain standing if Threads folds.
And other large organizations adapting ActivityPub - such as the recent #Flipboard announcement - should likewise be seen in that vein. They are building an ActivityPub-based network that allows them to remain independent - yet be connected to large platforms such as Threads who are compatible with it as well.
So if you want to defederate Threads, do so - there's certainly enough reason to be leery of them. But there _are_ use cases where federating with Threads makes sense. And these will help make the Fediverse grow.
And this is really the black, rotting heart of the #EffectiveAltruism movement: It is nothing more than excuse to plunder the present for a highly hypothetical distant future.
Look, I am not saying that humanity won't ever spread out among the stars, assuming that we survive the present crisis - though I bet it won't be during these bastards' lifetimes (since the needed tech is nowhere available). However, if the actual goal is "more Mozarts and more Einsteins", then they could do far more for this _right now_.
Both Mozart and Einstein grew up in relatively privileged families who made it possible for their scions to follow their passions. In contrast, the Capitalist system that both Bezos and Musk encourage grinds most of the people working in it - especially at the lower ends - into the dust, creating a vast overworked and underpaid underclass.
How is human ingenuity supposed to prosper under these situations? How can a new Mozart or Einstein arise if their parents struggle to make ends meet as a part of the vast supply chains Bezos and Musk are commanding?
If they don't take care of the people living right now, then why should we trust the ideology of these bastards to encourage the growth of the human spirit in the future?
They are NOT humanity's saviors - but merely an expression of the sickness of our times.
#FolkloreMoment : I've been translating a lot of vampire folklore from northeastern Germany as of late. And they are not at all similar to modern media portrayals of the phenomenon.
For starters, they rarely if ever actually leave their graves. Instead, all their "feasting" is usually done via some sort of sympathetic connection to their victims (usually their relatives).
The reason why someone becomes a vampire after death also varies a lot. But the account I am currently translating ("Der Vampyr im Wendlande"/"The Vampyre in the Wendland Region") has a particularly interesting take on this.
You see, people will become vampires if they have been weaned off their mother's breast twice as infants - that is to say, the first attempt at weaning them off mothers' milk didn't take. They must survive to become adults, but then, once they die, they will become vampires. They are also called "Dubbelsüger" or "Doppelsauger" - "Double Sucker" for this reason.
And then, once they are dead, they will sit up in their graves and _attempt to suck their own breasts_ - presumably because they are so used to sucking breasts during their infancy. And this "sucking" is then somehow transferred to their next of kin, who will become pale, scrawnly, and weak until they finally die.
Quite a difference to the usual Anne Rice-type vampire, isn't it?
(Incidentally, I will publish the full translation of this account on my Patreon page this December.)
It's not even: "I don't use this, so why should I pay taxes for it?"
It's: "I am completely unaware of the tremendous, heroic efforts that are required on a day-to-day basis to keep civilization running, and me personally safe, healthy, and comfortable, and I refuse to educate myself on the subject - so why should I pay taxes for it?"
The machinery of civilization is becoming ever more complex, yet people are _still_ crying out for "simple solutions", as if there is such a thing anywhere outside of the fevered imaginations of populists.
I've seen a lot of voices saying that " #Mastodon does not need to grow to be successful", and "we don't need to put in more effort to welcome new users", and frankly this attitude is pissing me off.
"The reason that social media did not work as promised is not because we misunderstood the nature of the internet and the possibilities of digital connectivity, but because oligarchs took over the digital space."
If there is any chance of using social media as a force for democracy, we desperately need a system that _cannot_ be taken over by the oligarchs. And, right now, the #Fediverse is the best candidate for this.
Thus, there is homework that needs to be done. We cannot just rest on our laurels and proclaim that the tech is already good enough, and that the #Fediverse tech approach somehow magically solves all the problems of other social media platforms. We need to get away from the overwhelmingly white male European/North American user base and look for ways on how to increase #BIPOC user participation - not to mention participation of users from Asia, Africa, and South America.
If we try to maintain the Fediverse as the home of a small, incestuous group of people with a particular tech slant, the oligarchs will win.
@musictraveler The "breeding grounds" for fascists are the places where people claim it is okay to think of other people with different backgrounds as "lesser" - or worse, as threats.
@AnthonyJK@mekkaokereke@msbellows@BlackAzizAnansi@Are0h Hmmm... _are_ there curated and frequently updated block lists that get rid of the more blatantly racist instances, and which admins can easily import or even subscribe to?
I see a lot of people sharing blanket condemnations of all of those who still remain on #Twitter / #Xitter , and I need you to slow down a bit.
Sure, in some cases this is justified - journalists should really know better. But there are a lot of communities on that platform that are vital to many people's well-being that _haven't_ been replicated on the #Fediverse or elsewhere. Take #BlackTwitter - while #BlackMastodon is growing, it's still minuscule in comparison. The number of Twitter users in #Pakistan is staggering, while they are only a handful on #Mastodon . And so on, and so forth. Twitter was a lifeline to many marginalized people, and it still is - even though it gets worse every day - and we need to recognize this.
As a white European guy, it was easy for me to walk away from Twitter (I still have an account there, but I only post "you should go to Mastodon" stuff these days) - since it is easy to find people of a similar background to interact with. But this is NOT true for everyone!
So I'd like everyone to show a bit less contempt to the remaining Twitter users in general, and put some more effort in how to make the Fediverse friendlier to marginalized voices. Because there is MUCH work to be done here!
Meanwhile, over on #Twitter , #ElonMusk contemplates removing the block function because fascist commentator Andy Ngo complained about getting blocked by Antifascists.
@joolia@TexasObserver Considering the age structure of the Fediverse, I'm not sure if the baton isn't passed sideways as far as the generations are concerned. ?
My name is Jürgen, and I translate old German folk tales into English - not just tales from the Brothers Grimm, but from the hundreds of other 19th century German folklorists out there.
To date, I have translated more than 440 tales. You can learn more about my project here (and you can get a free ebook version of my first book if you subscribe to my newsletter there):