My main complaint with #Meta joining the #Fediverse via #Project92 / #Barcelona / #Thread is not that they're a big company, but that they'll disrupt the network as a whole.
The long-term endgame here will probably be #Meta no longer properly federating with other software like #Mastodon and #Pleroma, forming its own little "metaverse" and federating with other big tech sites, like #Tumblr.
Short term, there are other consequences, like instances getting strained under the weight of all the new users.
And yes, #Meta is probably doing "embrace, extend, extinguish" here. Interestingly enough, the tactics here aren't all too different than #Mastodon's tactics when it refused to support the large wealth of features found on software like #Friendica and #GNUSocial, but the main difference is #Mastodon is #FOSS, while #Meta's new project is not. #Pleroma can adapt to #Mastodon changes, even if #Mastodon breaks something on purpose, because #Mastodon is #FOSS and therefore we can see how it works. That's not a luxury we can enjoy with #Meta's new software tbh.
I don't think the proper approach is the join the #Fedipact though. Remember what happened with #Gab? Tons of people left that site and joined the #Fediverse instead, and not the site is off on its own floundering in irrelevancy somewhere. This moment here is yet another opportunity for use to try to convince more people to switch from using corporate software to using #FOSS software for social media.
These big companies are dangerous. One difference is that this time we know they're dangerous. Many of us specifically left their services because we viscerally understand they're dangerous.
We need newer and better protocols that will let independent operators AKA "sysops" take back control over the internet.
@caekislove @sj_zero @realcaseyrollins The true solution is to make these protocols easy to implement. I think something like twtxt would be our best bet. It's just a textfile and can even be hosted on any web server, including static-only ones, or you can easily make a front-end for less savvy users.
@caekislove @sj_zero @realcaseyrollins The other solution would be a totally P2P social network, but it seems like every attempt at one has failed because
1. P2P by it's very nature requires everyone to expose their IP address to everyone else unless they are using a VPN/Proxy/Tor
2. They usually require you to install a desktop client when most people are use to using social media from their web browser, if they are doing it on their computer
3. Most of them use blockchain technology which does not automatically mean that it is completely decentralized
4. A separate protocol like BitTorrent or IPFS needs to be used to handle media. I've lurked Bastyon and most people host their media on Imgur of all places.
@caekislove @sj_zero @realcaseyrollins One based on I2P would be even better........
....okay, now that I think about it, both ideas would just be unmoderated, anonymous CP havens where you have to pray that you don't accidentally see cheese pizza every time you check your feed.
