Naveen SrivatsavNov 14, 2022
@davetroy - thanks for setting up this Mastodon instance. Does it cost you a lot to keep it running? I wonder what kind of computing/bandwidth resources are needed to enable a Twitter alternative.
Show threadDave Troy Nov 14, 2022

@sumergoconicio at the current scale level it’s about $125/mo, including compute and email services. I expect to get to 10-25k users it might be around $300, which I could probably offset with a donate option; I’m thinking that through. Either way I could justify that expense for R+D purposes, so I’m not uncomfortable with the commitment relative to the value and learning provided.

“Replacing” Twitter, which may not be feasible or desirable, is not necessarily the right answer…

Show threadNaveen SrivatsavNov 14, 2022
@davetroy on "replacing" Twitter - Elon seems to be crashing it to the ground, and we may have already crossed a point of no return. Halving the workforce, getting a bunch of trolls who have created potential for litigation and not to mention the impending scrutiny of the Feds will no doubt hasten the inevitable. I don't think Twitter (even under new management) can recover from these disastrous moves.
Show threadDave Troy 

@sumergoconicio yes, agree on all that. I just question whether it represents a design worthy of replication. Obviously its existence as a company has been fraught since day one. Now we have a chance to embark on some new approaches.

Not sure this model works at scale, and there are some risks with this approach too (islands of radicalization), but I think we are now called to experiment, because as you say the old model is sinking fast.

Nov 14, 2022 at 11:19amWeb