Dwight SilvermanJan 29, 2023

My column about apps on Mastodon appears in print today. I'm told it did very well on the web after publishing on Friday. It got MANY boosts and Favorites here on Mastodon (thank you!), so I assume that's where a lot of traffic came from. It'll be very interesting to see what kind of print-reader feedback I get via email.

This is a gift link to the story, so it should get at least some of you past the paywall if you don't have a subscription. If not, use archive.ph.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/twitter-mastadon-elon-musk-apps-migration-17746197.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaG91c3RvbmNocm9uaWNsZS5jb20vYnVzaW5lc3MvYXJ0aWNsZS90d2l0dGVyLW1hc3RhZG9uLWVsb24tbXVzay1hcHBzLW1pZ3JhdGlvbi0xNzc0NjE5Ny5waHA=&time=MTY3NTAxMzY5ODkxMg==&rid=YmE1NjU5MDMtMDM4OS00MDYwLWE1YzItNTYwNzYwZDQ2NDc5&sharecount=MQ==

As Twitter kills third-party apps, new life blooms on Mastodon

Developers who crafted now-defunct apps for Twitter can devote their attention to the network that’s become the primary bird site refuge.

Houston Chronicle
Show threadAgroecology LabJan 29, 2023
@dsilverman
I do wish people would use the term 'refugees' a little less frequently for people moving from Twitter. Seems kinda disrespectful to people actually fleeing war or persecution. 'Emigres' or 'migrants' would convey the same IMHO
@tchambers
Show threadlynfoxJan 30, 2023
@permagriculture @dsilverman
Refuge means shelter. So a refugee is a person that seeks shelter, usually from war, natural disaster, or some other harmful situation.
Does ElmoLand qualify as a harmful situation? - the people who have left because of severe trolling and persecution might think so.
My wish is that we stop policing the language so fiercely in case we risk reducing it to a poor sterile shadow of its former Shakespearean self. Instead I think we should encourage people to think about the meaning behind words and each decide for ourselves how much emphasis we give to the concepts people are expressing.
Show threadAgroecology Lab
@lynfox Are you policing my policing? 😄
Jan 30, 2023 at 10:20amWeb
Show threadLocksmithJan 30, 2023
@permagriculture @lynfox Who wants some coffee?
Show threadlynfoxJan 30, 2023
@permagriculture
Just a bit
Show threadAgroecology LabJan 30, 2023
@lynfox Who polices the policers doing policing, that's what I want to know.