Mastodawn

mcc Nov 29, 2022

The paradox of Mastodon is no one (not even mastodon.social) likes mastodon.social dominating the network, or Eugen G being the sole arbiter of extensions to the common protocol,

but on the other hand, ultimately, the reason we all use Mastodon (IE, the part of the Fediverse people think of as "Mastodon", modeled on the Mastodon extensions to ActivityPub) instead of Secure Scuttlebutt or identi.ca or whatever is because Mastodon was the AP implementation that had one person's singular vision.

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mcc Nov 29, 2022

We *need* standard protocols like ActivityPub, but ultimately, users do not want a protocol. People do not want a formless ball of infinite potential. They want "Products". They want a clearly presented thing that they can put into their web browser or phone and it slots them into a legible user flow satisfying a specific user story. This is not because they are brainwashed by capitalism. It is because most people *have other shit to do* and don't want to bother with software that's unfinished.

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/c64/music/youth

@mcc Very well put and I wholeheartedly agree. I see this gap between users and techies in my work as a developer and also in reactions to questions and criticism of new users on Mastodon. I am both developer and user myself and while I love creating something cool with infinite potential, its goal is to be used, so the user is always right. Seriously.