mcneelyNov 13, 2022
Several weeks into the #TwitterMigration it seems clear to me the value of Mastodon is not that it is a Twitter replacement, but that it is a gateway technology to decentralization. Mastodon has flaws, I'm not claiming it's perfect, but many criticisms I've seen stem from expecting centralized services from a decentralized structure. It's up to us to try and explain the differences and set expectations for what alternative services can look like.
Show threadmcneelyNov 13, 2022

To this extent I'm really interested to know how the age breakdown of people on the #Fediverse. On one hand it would seem to make sense to me that most people here remember the "old internet" before the centralization and they're here to rekindle that flame of independence. On the other hand the youths are generally pretty up on this whole technology thing. I grew up on the internet and since then smartphones have become even more ubiquitous.

(Please boost for reach)

Age 25 or less
7.6%
Ages 26 - 40
33.6%
Ages 41 - 60
48.7%
Age 60+
10.1%
Poll ended at .
Show threaddrVNov 13, 2022

@mcneely 'the youths are generally pretty up on this whole technology thing'

I try to be careful about the conclusions I drew from that sort of thought. I was talking to someone who teaches computer science at uni and they were saying they've needed to start teaching 1st year students about directory structures because that's not really part of how 'the youths' are interacting with software anymore. It's all searching and curated experiences on smart devices that hide that sort of detail away.

Show threadTranscendental (Friendly)
@drV @ifixcoinops I heard this method of file organization (or lack of) referred to once as “bucket style.” The person calling it such also pointed out that there’s a good chance some incoming compsci students had never even opened a filing cabinet, so the physical metaphor for hierarchical structures is lost on them, much like how “the desktop” is an increasingly abstract framing for how we interact with computers. The signifiers are floating away in front of our eyes!
Nov 14, 2022 at 7:15amWeb