Kathryn Tewson

The different Twitter-exodus social-media platforms as if they were neighborhoods, so far:

Mastodon/the Fediverse: the neighborhood around a university with a ton of cool houses full of cool people, but half of them are out of milk or toilet paper or both

Post: giant gleaming planned community with nothing walkable and a dubious HOA

Hive: initially-kickass converted warehouse that turns out to have two toilets and one exit and no fire suppression

Dec 12, 2022 at 2:43pmWeb
Show threadDanDec 12, 2022
@kathryntewson or in internet terms:
Mastadon: a PHPbb forum that most of your friends are on, with strange rules that befuddles newcomers but has a friendly group of kids who help people get through it.
Post: Your ISP tries to setup an AOL competitor
Hive: That guy in ‘99 who still runs a dial-up only BBS and has some very specific feelings on aluminum fil and it’s ability to protect from EM waves.
Show threadKathryn TewsonDec 12, 2022
@Danielsand I worry about volunteer-only moderation and scaling. Moderation at scale is hard, punitive work that nobody can do without risking permanent trauma (not kidding) and that’s not something we can institutionally expect people to do for free.
Show threadDanDec 12, 2022
@kathryntewson absolutely. It’s why this really does feel like a Forum to me (or Reddit for today’s kids). Some federations are doing a great job, others…not so much. But in any way it only works for small communities.
If Mastadon wants to grow to truly be a big player, it needs to centralize moderation and built a T&S team of true experts. Hopefully by poaching the fired Twitter people.
Show threadDanDec 12, 2022
@kathryntewson and yah that means forming a company and everything that surrounds it (including advertising). It’s going to be a gigantic uphill battle. But they are preppped to win if they do it right.
Show threadKathryn TewsonDec 12, 2022
@Danielsand the problem is that the federated nature of the service means that “Mastodon” can’t do that; one specific instance is going to have to do that. And that will cost money — a LOT of money.
Show threadDanDec 12, 2022
@kathryntewson yup. By far this will be the biggest limiter to the growth of Mastadon. I hope they figure it out. Or decide to be more selective going forward with who can join.
Show threadAthie_GnomeDec 12, 2022
@Danielsand @kathryntewson But, with things being decentralized and open and everything, they actually can't be selective. The design principles of this software create some lock-in to openness, which in turn generates some real risks. It's better than being on Twitter right now, but it's worth being clear-eyed about it.
Show threadTim PalmerDec 12, 2022
@Danielsand @kathryntewson
Yeah, no. There is no “Mastodon” to want or need or centralize anything. I’m fine with whatever it becomes as long as a “Mastodon” than can want or need or centralize doesn’t appear. It’s a decentralized federation and that’s it’s strength.
Show threadDanDec 12, 2022
@timpalmer @kathryntewson I hear you. I’m on the fence. I think that to truly grow they need to figure out proper moderation. Because they will find themselves with an influx of Nazis at some point. Especially when Twitter dissolves.
Show threadDanDec 12, 2022
@timpalmer @kathryntewson If this was a collection of isolated communities they can get away with volunteer moderators. But the fact that you can cross servers and be a part of any discussion complicates it significantly.
Ex: Bob turns out to be a milkshake duck. How is that handled? How can you prevent him for harassing everywhere if it requires each federation to ban?
Mastadon as a service needs clear policy answers and volunteers won’t ever provide that.
Show threadTim PalmerDec 12, 2022
@kathryntewson @Danielsand
Speaking only for myself and looking at the track record of for profit companies’ centralized moderation, I’m very happy seeing what the fediverse grows into. I have more faith in the actions of many people working towards related goals than any single organization.
As for the duck, individuals block him, and if he pisses enough people off, his instance gets largely defederated. Maybe he winds up in his own pond of a few instances.
Show threadKathryn TewsonDec 12, 2022
@timpalmer The worse problem is that in order for Bob's milkshake duckery to be dealt with, someone has to look at it. At scale, that means you get people who spend 8-10 hours a day, every day, looking at horrific content. It's bad for people; you can't expect them to do it for free.
@Danielsand
Show threadKathryn TewsonDec 12, 2022
@Danielsand The nazis aren't going to be the worst of it. the CSAM is. @timpalmer
Show threadDanDec 12, 2022
@kathryntewson @timpalmer oh absolutely. I hope that the people behind Mastadon are giving Federation operators legal training for when that occurs.
Show threadAthie_GnomeDec 12, 2022
@kathryntewson @Danielsand I think it puts a hard upper cap on the viability of this place, at the very least, and raises the potential of massive scandals and crises.
Show threadKateDec 12, 2022
@kathryntewson And Twitter is a ghost town that’s been overrun by vermin.
Show threadAkivaMCohenDec 12, 2022
@kathryntewson I've realized post just won't work for litigation disaster tours; they need to be threaded in bite-sized chunks and Post doesn't allow that
Show threadKathryn TewsonDec 12, 2022
@AkivaMCohen yeah, that sort of thing seems like it will have to go here. Boo I hate change.
Show threadCollin KreklowDec 12, 2022

@kathryntewson @AkivaMCohen

I’m glad to see you both active again here and hope more from #lawtwitter will eventually settle on Mastodon or Fediverse-compatible platforms. I’ve not heard great things about the other platforms, and am not really interested in jumping into another VC-funded playground anyway.

Show threadMynameisvuDec 12, 2022
@AkivaMCohen @kathryntewson That's probably the only thing I miss from Twitter is how they handled threads. SO much easier to follow...
Show threadK. ChenDec 12, 2022

@Mynameisvu @AkivaMCohen @kathryntewson

I miss QTs and threading, neither of which Twitter had when I started but goodness they were improvements.

Show threadchichi robadoDec 12, 2022
@tznkai @Mynameisvu @AkivaMCohen @kathryntewson I’ve signed up for the beta of Spoutible. It will launch once 100,000 have signed up. Currently about 95K I think. Interface is apparently a lot like Twitter. Moderated. We’ll see. If interested in testing Spoutible, see @cbouzy on Twitter.
Show threadAkivaMCohenDec 12, 2022
@chichirobado @tznkai @Mynameisvu @kathryntewson Given how completely insane bouzy has seemed in other contexts, I'm not sanguine.
Show threadJay WolmanDec 12, 2022
@AkivaMCohen @kathryntewson I can’t even seem to get on Post.
And amazingly, my wolmanj Twitter account is now permanently suspended despite my not tweeting from it since being locked out on 9/4/22.
Mastodon is ok, but it needs a lot of work.
Show threadKathryn TewsonDec 12, 2022
@wolmanj Did you sign up for the beta? If so, look for an incredibly non-obvious email from someone named "noam." Also, that's bullshit about your Twitter account. @AkivaMCohen
Show threadJay WolmanDec 12, 2022
@kathryntewson @AkivaMCohen thanks for the Noam tip
Show threadKathryn TewsonDec 12, 2022
@wolmanj You are most welcome. @AkivaMCohen
Show threadLizardDec 12, 2022
@kathryntewson I *literally* lol'ed, which makes me glad I'm muted in the Very Important Zoom Meeting running on my other machine. :)
Show threadGeoffBowserDec 12, 2022

@kathryntewson I just set up this and Post (waitlisted, feels like law school admissions again).

Musk's posts this weekend and today were the straw for me.

Show threadJake SeegsDec 14, 2022
@kathryntewson I’m not gonna miss the Vic defenders crowd suddenly invading my feed.
Show threadKathryn TewsonDec 14, 2022
@deletham I am, because chudthumping is my anti-drug, but I am weird like that