Mastodawn

imp🌻ster Mar 29, 2023

By the end of April, the bird site will be a substantially different user experience. Legacy check marks gone; only Blue in “For You”; no non-blue in polls.

This will have the effect of warping the entire ecosystem towards fascist shills, demagogues, and opportunists.

Now would be a good time to invest in alternative infrastructure, including making sure Mastodon instances are fast and robust. We are going to need them.

This morning, Musk clarified his previous statement (or, walked it back) and said that "followed" accounts will specifically appear in "For You." Perhaps his team explained to him how stupid the other idea was. Regardless, it's clear he intends to significantly alter the tone and topology of the platform. We will see what happens. 🤷‍♂️

BronMason For Kamala 2024 Mar 29, 2023

@davetroy
Yeah, I’m so done with twitter—for awhile I was with the “don’t cede Twitter to the terrible people; hang in there!” Then I said “WHY?” I’d just be enriching the guy who’s degrading Twitter, amirite?
Besides & this is a REAL PLUS—#mastodon has an #edit feature! #winwin

Voron Mar 29, 2023

@bronakins @davetroy 😊

pelha Mar 29, 2023

@davetroy I avoid 'for you' like the plague. Last I accidentally landed there, pence was featured. Only advantage was I got to block him.

ExcelAnalytics Mar 31, 2023

@davetroy I only read 'Following ' anyway so I never see all that other stuff.

Erik Jonker Mar 28, 2023

@davetroy true, also financially robust i would like to add, because also Mastodon is not for "free".

@ErikJonker very true. For folks that wish to contribute to offset hosting costs for toad.social, they can do that here. Other instances should be sure to have similar support mechanisms.

https://donorbox.org/help-support-toad-social

Help Support toad.social! | toad.social (Powered by Donorbox)

Thanks for supporting Toad.Social — and now also Social.Snorklr.com!With all the uncertainty surrounding Twitter, many democracy-minded activists have migrated to Mastodon to create a protected space rooted in open standards that is free from the ...

Alex Alvarova Mar 29, 2023

@ErikJonker @davetroy Right. I just donated and going to ask other folks to do the same.

Bruce Spencer Mar 28, 2023

@ErikJonker @davetroy
Funny, I heard yesterday that the bird site was valued at about 20 billion, less than half of what musky paid for it. Doesn't sound robust to me.

@Neidfyre @ErikJonker it's really necessary to understand that money is completely irrelevant in the big scheme here to Musk. He purchased an information cannon to warp reality.
https://davetroy.medium.com/no-elon-and-jack-are-not-competitors-theyre-collaborating-3e88cde5267d

No, Elon and Jack are not “competitors.” They’re collaborating.

Wherein I attempt to clarify a number of ridiculous and false narratives currently taking hold about Musk and Dorsey’s “rivalry.”

Medium

Bruce Spencer Mar 28, 2023

@davetroy @ErikJonker
I tend to think of Musk as Citizen Kane, he will destroy himself in the end; unfortunately he'll ruin a lot of lives on the way.

@Neidfyre @ErikJonker the difference is he's trying to ruin the systems on which we all depend also, in the name of his own preferences and fetishes.

Bruce Spencer Mar 28, 2023

@davetroy @ErikJonker
I agree with you Mr. Troy, but that exactly describes Citizen Kane to me, following his one preferences and fetishes. I believe Musk will send people to Mars with no worries that they will almost certainly die, just so he can say, "I sent people to Mars."

Wigbert Boell 🎻🏛🎭🎤🗞🎥📚Mar 29, 2023

@davetroy @Neidfyre @ErikJonker … maybe this is the right moment to hint to the initiatives, which are somewhat campaigning for the “big #migration” -
like: #joinmastodon, @spreadmastodon, #MayStodon, @maystodon, @tchambers , etc …

Extinction (our fate)Apr 2, 2023

@Neidfyre @ErikJonker @davetroy If it's worth half of that I'd be surprised. If so, it's entirely because corporate news sites and trolls are sticking with their right wing ally Musk, and others just don't understand what they're doing.

Shoq 🌿Mar 28, 2023

THIS, this, and still more of this, please ⏵

Matt Mar 28, 2023

@davetroy I setup a monthly donation for the server I’m on. Anyone know if there’s somewhere else to donate that will help expand existing servers and create new ones?

Bret Pettichord

@MattFerrel @davetroy

You can donate directly to the Mastodon project, which has plans to make it easier to set up servers.

https://opencollective.com/mastodon

Mastodon - Open Collective

Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub

Hunter Perrin Mar 28, 2023

@bpettichord @MattFerrel @davetroy Speaking of making it easier to setup servers, I’m working on a project where you can set up a server using only Node.js, which is readily available on every platform. It would be really cool to have people running their own instance on a home server with Node.js and SQLite. You could easily run it on a Raspberry Pi, or just your home PC. I might even make it an Electron app.

Matt Mar 28, 2023

@bpettichord @davetroy perfect, thanks!

Steve | 🇮🇩 streamer Mar 28, 2023

@davetroy wow... This is such a disappointment from long time Twitter users like me 😢 too many unnecessary changes that literally broke the system. It seems like Elon is doing Twitter what his team did when building their first Roadster. Trying to fix a certain issue and broke so many things too. Hope they found the model 3 solution for Twitter.

Paula Mar 28, 2023

@davetroy I just clicked on a link to a tweet (not about Elon), and all the “More tweets” were from Elon “Ego” Musk. At least 5 in a row, at top. Ugh, and those tweets… Twitter is a dumpster fire.

Sheogorath Mar 28, 2023

@davetroy On the other hand, we can just relax and close sign ups when necessary, and wait for people to run their own instances.

I'm not sure if it's healthy to think that mastodon has to absorb the waves from Twitter. For Twitter, as a for-profit, it made sense. More people = more money. For Mastodon: More people = more cost.

Make sure you sustain your instance, grow your mods team, built a community. People will find a place.

🍸Pooka🥕Boo🍸Mar 28, 2023

It's just going to end up being corporatist media-infotainment complex (news) pundits talking to each other; and, their friendly neighborhood right wingnuts and bots.

Catherine is not complacent Mar 28, 2023

@davetroy Bird site is Truth Social , from suppressing dissenting voices to having a giant sucking sphincter as the owner/spokesperson.

@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote Mar 28, 2023

@davetroy Exactly, so…Dear #Newbies #Mastodon isn’t like #Twitter you will see no ads but it would be enormously helpful to “toss a coin to “the Witcher” If it helps to think of the #admins as Geralt well...what ever works, cause THEY are what keeps this working & they’re doing an amazing job. They keep the gears running & the monsters at bay. Make sure it’s the server #instance you’re actually using that you tip & not just Mastodon in general. 🥰 #twittermigration

Simonoid Mar 28, 2023

@Pineywoozle @davetroy @shlee is my witcher and he has a patreon ❤️

🌊Ann Morris🐕🍀🌎🌊🌊Mar 28, 2023

@davetroy Yet famous names and news media personalities are staying. Like they are doing the work of the goddesses. 🙄 If they were as appalled at Musk’s despicable platform, they would have left immediately and let the bird site crumble into decay, as it should.

@AnnMorris we'll see how that goes. Many will be stigmatized as the platform shifts into amplifying primarily rightist content. People will be forced to choose teams, which is the point.

MarkV Mar 28, 2023

@davetroy I wonder how much of an issue it will be that alternatives like Blue Sky and Mastodon don’t interoperate. Maybe people switch more readily if Mastodon had Jack Dorsey’s support?

@markv so far BlueSky is nothing but a set of ideas. I don't see it being a factor for some time. Also Musk and Dorsey are collaborating. All I'm suggesting is that there will be outward migration; many platforms will be absorbing refugees.
https://davetroy.medium.com/no-elon-and-jack-are-not-competitors-theyre-collaborating-3e88cde5267d

No, Elon and Jack are not “competitors.” They’re collaborating.

Wherein I attempt to clarify a number of ridiculous and false narratives currently taking hold about Musk and Dorsey’s “rivalry.”

Medium

W6KME Mar 28, 2023

@davetroy If they warp the entire ecosystem towards fascist shills, demagogues, and opportunists, how would we spot the difference?

Chris Williams Mar 28, 2023

@davetroy I’m ready for people to make another transition over and I hope that the infrastructure is sound enough through growth to help retain people. Interested to see what the state of the bird app is in a month or so after those changes.

one non-non-blonde Mar 28, 2023

@davetroy I don’t understand the implication that a social media microblogging website is some kind of ontological necessity to society in the first place.

@chairgirlhands it's not that it's a necessity. But rather the fact that they do exist and cause harms and other effects, and those have impacts on the real world.

pensive_party_blob

@davetroy let’s not forget about adverts creeping up in every reply of a tweet with *some * interaction

P Patrick Hogan Mar 29, 2023

AlicePaul Mar 29, 2023

I’m certain you meant echo-system and not ecosystem. :)

Bruce Mirken Mar 29, 2023

@davetroy A perverse effect of this may actually be to drive people away from the algorithm-driven "For You" and to "Following" -- presuming #Elon the Terrible leaves that intact.

Ian M Mar 29, 2023

@davetroy I’m honestly a little shocked that folks are still using Twitter. Why? How? 🤦🏼‍♂️