Lauren WeinsteinNov 19, 2022
Many government agencies are expressing concerns about how to communicate with the public without Twitter, especially in emergencies. Of course, it was a bad idea to become dependent on Twitter to such an extent in the first place, and no matter what happens, this needs rethinking.
Show threadMike Gifford, CPWA @FOSDEMNov 21, 2022
@lauren Mastodon provides a nice clear choice.
Show threadTrekNov 22, 2022
@mgifford @lauren yeah, but which instance do they join? It feels...not right to me for them to join .social domains. Maybe some will set up their own instances, which could be...interesting.
Show threadMike Gifford, CPWA @FOSDEM
@trekman10 @lauren It doesn't much matter where they begin. It is always possible to move. By design this problem has been resolved. So start where it is easy.
Nov 22, 2022 at 8:56pmMastodon for Android
Show threadLauren WeinsteinNov 22, 2022
@mgifford @trekman10 AFAIK it's fairly easy to move followers, but not following. Yes, government agencies would typically have many more of the former than the latter. But also as government agencies, they cannot just plop down on any server without due consideration of its operational and policy characteristics, even briefly.
Show threadMike Gifford, CPWA @FOSDEMNov 22, 2022

@lauren @trekman10 The institutions yes. But hopefully they eventually just settle on a government domain name and manage control of it that way.

Lots of stuff was just easier when there was a benevolent dictator taking care of things (even imperfectly).