Chris TrottierTwitter is killing free API access.
Will most devs pay for access? No thanks.
If what happened to 3rd party clients proves true, I have a feeling many devs will move their efforts to the Fediverse.
Fabio Manganiello@atomicpoet let's not forget that the Fediverse still has entry barriers and a learning curve for those who aren't tech-savvy.
This would be the perfect moment for us to slay whatever is left of Twitter and convince everyone to move to the Fedi. Elon's sheer imbecility is literally providing with assists on a daily basis - from banning journalists, to promising zero censorship against the fascist, to actively working to compromise the stability of the platform, to turning Twitter's working environment into a toxic mix of chauvinism and stakanovism, to closing the APIs and killing 3rd-party clients, to the mess with the new verification program...
And, indeed, every time Elon decides to set a new bar for what being a true idiot means, Mastodon and the Fediverse get a new ripple of users.
But those ripples don't stay long. Looking at the stats of new users, one can easily overlap the peaks with Elon's acts of stupidity, but it's also true that not many of those who join in those ripples stick around.
It means that, no matter how bad other platforms are, most of the people still have trouble, for some reason, using a free and decentralized alternative that isn't run by any sociopath billionaire.
@atomicpoet btw I'm a HUGE fan of APIs and 3rd-party clients. But we should also be careful about the fragmentation effect - something that has already been affecting Linux since its birth.
Walk for a moment in the shoes of the average Joe - not the Twitter geek, not the IT enthusiast.
Joe wants to share stuff with his friends on some social platform. He learns about Twitter. He creates an account, logs in, starts posting. End.
Now Joe learns about the Fedi. And people start asking him - which platform? Mastodon? Pleroma? Diaspora? Which server? Which client? And, by the time Joe is asked the third question, he's already walked away.
As an engineer and an open-source enthusiast, I often believe that all people want and need is more choice and a more customized experience. But every time people surprise me by choosing the solution that gives them the least amount of choice and power, as long as it's something that has close to zero entry barriers.
@blacklight Sorry, I don't buy "fragmentation destroyed Linux".
Fragmentation has allowed Linux to dominate EVERYTHING.
That is: the router, the TV, the smartphone, the car, the refrigerator.
Some always say, "But what about desktop?"
Windows now has Linux, and Chrome OS is basically Linux.
In fact "average Joe" (not a good persona because no one is average) uses Linux more than any other OS.
Does he know it's Linux? Nope.
But so what?
@atomicpoet I should have clarified a bit better: by "destroying Linux" I didn't mean "Linux has remained a niche product". Of course it's not, of course it's everywhere - and, of course, the desktop experience is not even that bad.
But you also raised a good point: "does average Joe know that he's using Linux?"
Average Joe doesn't need to know that his phone, TV, car and dishwasher (and, of course, all of the servers that run the Internet) are running some flavour of Linux. He perceives them as completely different products with completely different purposes and, as long as he's provided with an intuitive interface, he doesn't even have to care. Barriers have already been lowered by the producer of the good or service
That's not the same for social media. When it comes to social media, average Joe has to take an *active* action - set up an account, figure out how things work in the least possible number of steps, and get used to a new interface. And that's where the Fedi still has many friction points because of the number of choices that average Joe needs to make before being able to be an active user.
(And btw, I'm not advocating to lower the barriers to let average Joe in. We may also decide that the technical trade-offs of the Fedi are exactly what keeps it good instead of being just another centralized platform. We may also decide that we don't want to dilute the quality of the content here by letting the flood gates open).
@blacklight By ActivityPub existing, the Fediverse is ultimately the "Linux of Social Networks".
Also, I reject your premise because Average Joe is a shitty persona.
How do I know that a social media app will die? It's made for Average Joe.