That is what we call "pushing an agenda". It is awfully tiresome. Seriously "forced" when what they describe is gaming of the system. It is downright disingenuous and it is goddamned everywhere from media conglomerates. They always do the same goddamn thing, treat their advertisers and politicians in power with kid gloves for funds and access. But when it comes to rivals it is suddenly knives out full Jameson demanding pictures of Spiderman.
I don't even like Facebook as a company and never used it but I find myself defending because it is such obvious complete bullcrap.
>I wish more people would self host their instance in the fediverse.
I wish that too. And I even upvoted you for that.
Unfortunately, there are significant hurdles/barriers to entry for most folks.
First among those are asymmetric internet links. It's great that I can stream HD video while pulling down well-seeded torrents, while I apply updates to a dozen VMs without an issue.
But I can't support (and I don't have the static IPs) more than a few connections to my systems.
That's an important, and often overlooked, driver towards greater centralization.
My current plan gives me (based on speed test data) ~225Mb/s download and ~12Mb/s upload.
Obviously (multi)Gb/sec symmetric connections would be ideal, as well as easily supported by FTTP.
If enough folks have those, there's no shortage of federated, self-hosted alternatives out there -- as you helpfully pointed out.
An easily installed, self-hosted platform, combined with the requisite consumer bandwidth could certainly provide enough leverage to move folks off Facebook, et al.
Why do devs keep complaining or lamenting the status quo and ask every non-tech fellow to "just self-host your instance on the fediverse"?
Is it as easy to get an FB like functionality with a click of a button? If not, that isn't going to work. Average Joe Schmoe isn't going to just self-host an instance, even if he knew how to do so. Also, if there is a competing service to Facebook, it better have everything that Facebook offers, except for the recommended and sponsored content. That includes most importantly being able to connect with old friends, acquaintances and contacts seamlessly. Does Mastodon allow for all that with just a click of a button?
If not, then programmers should just stop whining about how they wish people were more like them and instead actually build something that can be used by Joe Schmoe.
I've tried various Mastodon clients before. I couldn't figure much out of how to use them in 5 minutes and the UI was crap so I just ditched them. Even if it were a good experience, the fact that I have to go through hoops to set up an instance, then get all my friends from Facebook or Whatsapp or whatever to join me in using it, is enough deterrent that makes me not bother with it (and no, we don't use Facebook either). One app that seems to be getting this concept right, but not fully there yet, is Telegram.
> As The Times’s Kevin Roose noted on Twitter about Facebook’s reaction to the Journal pieces: “It’s just such a weird tactic. Like if Chipotle was getting criticized for having salmonella in its guac or whatever and the CEO’s response was like “well, scaled food production has had many benefits for humanity, including freeing us from being hunter-gatherers.”
It's a good point! It would be nice if Facebook actually addressed any of their issues instead of kind of hand-waiving them away with platitudes of, "yeah, well, we're really not all bad."
I got hit with a bunch of paid content from fake cryptocurrency ICOs. “Amazon Coin” for instance, claimed that it was created by Jeff Bezos and offered some special deal. They also seem to actively promote blatant phishing through cute little quizzes.
This is direct harm. I am so sick of this issue being framed in terms of “oh no, people sharing an opinion I disagree with”. And if you want to open that can of worms, how about the “foreign influence” funding and investing in manufactured consent by every major push media outlet that doesn’t give Americans any voice at all to respond, or the same money funding one-sided moderation on once-free forums? Apparently not an issue. But organic shared content, oh that’s so terrible.
In every facet of life now, it seems that thought crime is actively persecuted while real violence and theft is dismissed as irrelevant. That’s an unsustainable social doctrine.
I usually disable or just log out of my Facebook account for a couple months at a time. It's generally an improvement on quality of life when I'm logged off.
[+] [-] ScottMann|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Nasrudith|4 years ago|reply
I don't even like Facebook as a company and never used it but I find myself defending because it is such obvious complete bullcrap.
[+] [-] tg180|4 years ago|reply
Your posts can be traced back to you, your feed is chronological and moderation is back in your hands.
Propaganda is a HUGE issue, and I’m sure anyone won’t be able to spot every case of misinformation.
But everything could be back in your hands. Nobody can _FORCE_ content on you, you are in control of your own experience.
https://joinmastodon.org
https://pixelfed.org
https://pleroma.social
[+] [-] nobody9999|4 years ago|reply
I wish that too. And I even upvoted you for that.
Unfortunately, there are significant hurdles/barriers to entry for most folks.
First among those are asymmetric internet links. It's great that I can stream HD video while pulling down well-seeded torrents, while I apply updates to a dozen VMs without an issue.
But I can't support (and I don't have the static IPs) more than a few connections to my systems.
That's an important, and often overlooked, driver towards greater centralization.
My current plan gives me (based on speed test data) ~225Mb/s download and ~12Mb/s upload.
Obviously (multi)Gb/sec symmetric connections would be ideal, as well as easily supported by FTTP.
If enough folks have those, there's no shortage of federated, self-hosted alternatives out there -- as you helpfully pointed out.
An easily installed, self-hosted platform, combined with the requisite consumer bandwidth could certainly provide enough leverage to move folks off Facebook, et al.
Sadly, I won't hold my breath.
[+] [-] fakedang|4 years ago|reply
Is it as easy to get an FB like functionality with a click of a button? If not, that isn't going to work. Average Joe Schmoe isn't going to just self-host an instance, even if he knew how to do so. Also, if there is a competing service to Facebook, it better have everything that Facebook offers, except for the recommended and sponsored content. That includes most importantly being able to connect with old friends, acquaintances and contacts seamlessly. Does Mastodon allow for all that with just a click of a button?
If not, then programmers should just stop whining about how they wish people were more like them and instead actually build something that can be used by Joe Schmoe.
I've tried various Mastodon clients before. I couldn't figure much out of how to use them in 5 minutes and the UI was crap so I just ditched them. Even if it were a good experience, the fact that I have to go through hoops to set up an instance, then get all my friends from Facebook or Whatsapp or whatever to join me in using it, is enough deterrent that makes me not bother with it (and no, we don't use Facebook either). One app that seems to be getting this concept right, but not fully there yet, is Telegram.
[+] [-] deeblering4|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] randycupertino|4 years ago|reply
> As The Times’s Kevin Roose noted on Twitter about Facebook’s reaction to the Journal pieces: “It’s just such a weird tactic. Like if Chipotle was getting criticized for having salmonella in its guac or whatever and the CEO’s response was like “well, scaled food production has had many benefits for humanity, including freeing us from being hunter-gatherers.”
It's a good point! It would be nice if Facebook actually addressed any of their issues instead of kind of hand-waiving them away with platitudes of, "yeah, well, we're really not all bad."
[+] [-] jl2718|4 years ago|reply
This is direct harm. I am so sick of this issue being framed in terms of “oh no, people sharing an opinion I disagree with”. And if you want to open that can of worms, how about the “foreign influence” funding and investing in manufactured consent by every major push media outlet that doesn’t give Americans any voice at all to respond, or the same money funding one-sided moderation on once-free forums? Apparently not an issue. But organic shared content, oh that’s so terrible.
In every facet of life now, it seems that thought crime is actively persecuted while real violence and theft is dismissed as irrelevant. That’s an unsustainable social doctrine.
[+] [-] mensetmanusman|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] goatsecxkirk|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|4 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] unknown|4 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] davidf18|4 years ago|reply
[deleted]