Nick @ The Linux ExperimentNov 8, 2022

Mastodon is insanely more rewarding for me than Twitter. With about a 10th of the followers, it draws almost as many views to my videos as Twitter. The platform is really, really good.

I also love the feeling of using an #opensource platform to communicate with people.

Show threadNick @ The Linux ExperimentNov 8, 2022
It feels like the internet I grew up with. Not heavily controlled, no pressure, just plain old fun and constant improvement. I get massive good vibes here!
Show threadRussellNov 8, 2022
@thelinuxEXP It's because advertisements have yet to ruin it. Given enough popularity, the advertisements will come.
Show threadNick @ The Linux ExperimentNov 8, 2022
@viciousnarwhal I’m not sure about that. The project would have to develop and ad network, or integrate with one, which would lead to a fork, and all instances would have to use the ad enabled version, which I doubt most would.
Show threadRussellNov 8, 2022
@thelinuxEXP What prevents major news outlets from selling ad posts in their stream? You could try to avoid streams with ads, but if it becomes profitable then it could become common. Just like selling ads in youtube streams.
Show threadNick @ The Linux Experiment
@viciousnarwhal And then they’ll lose their following, and trafic to their content, as people stop following ;) It might happen, but I highly doubt it would fly here
Nov 8, 2022 at 10:34pmMastodon for iOS
Show threadNiceMicroNov 9, 2022
@thelinuxEXP @viciousnarwhal Interesting. I guess it depends on what the ads are. I mean, if you run a Linux-related profile, and a Linux-adjacent company pays you to boost some of their posts, it wouldn't be the end of the world. All in all, we listen to podcasts with ad reads in it, too.
Show threadNiceMicroNov 9, 2022
@thelinuxEXP @viciousnarwhal But I think in general, with the influx of so many people, it might be the instance admins, who will have to look for commercial sponsors one way or the other.
I wonder if the Mastodon software could do something like that? And in that case, if you don't like the ad model, you can still just not use ad-sponsored instances.
Show threadRussellNov 9, 2022
@nicemicro @thelinuxEXP The problem is low control systems is that they often devolve to sex ads. I think this is a wonderful platform but any level of success will start to show holes in the concept.
Show threadNiceMicroNov 9, 2022
@viciousnarwhal @thelinuxEXP sure, but at least instead of having to trust one single central entity's conscience about "ethical ads", now you have many small instance admins, and hopefully that would provide some selection pressure and incentives to find some balanced approach.