Mastodon MigrationJun 24, 2023

Subject: What's going on with Meta?

To: @Gargron, @ruud, @jerry, @supernovae, @stux, @trumpet, @kev and other large instance admins

Rumors are tearing this place apart out here about secret deals with #Meta. The latest is that Meta has held #NDA meetings with some of you and they will federate with large instances under contracts providing financial support (1) (2).

This is a time for leadership, not silence. Please, what's going on?

(1) https://mastodon.ar.al/@aral/110598855375585873
(2) https://mastodon.social/@alexeheath/110596207691212890

Show threadEugen RochkoJun 24, 2023
@mastodonmigration I am not aware of any secret deals with Meta. As far as I can tell people are just making stuff up. There is little to comment on until Meta's platform launches.
Show threadRobinJun 24, 2023
@Gargron @mastodonmigration and this from Meta itself ? Any comment?
Show threadChiasmJun 24, 2023
@Gargron @mastodonmigration @Chimaera What they do with the ActivityPub protocol is up to them... That announcement they have there wouldn't need any instance admins working with them; they can easily develop their own way of being part of the fediverse.
Show threadRobinJun 24, 2023
@chiasm @Gargron @mastodonmigration Meta also has a long history of consuming any company they see as a competitor. See Instagram, WhatsApp
Show threadCody Dostal Jun 24, 2023
@Chimaera @chiasm @Gargron @mastodonmigration not really possible to consume Mastodon as a whole. They can federate through ActivityPub, and that seems to be the extent of what they’re doing. No idea what they’d be talking to some instance admins about.
Show threadRobinJun 24, 2023
@dostalcody @chiasm @Gargron @mastodonmigration well this admin said no thank you. Sounds a lot like an invitation to a secret meeting https://fosstodon.org/@kev/110592625692688836
Kev Quirk (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image Yeah, that's gonna be a hard pass from me thanks, Rachel. Zero interest in having a conversation with #Meta "off the record" or otherwise. Sharing this purely to be as transparent as possible with our members.

Fosstodon
Show threadRobinJun 24, 2023
@dostalcody @chiasm @Gargron @mastodonmigration also the phrase Embrace, Extend, Extinguish has been brought up
Show threadCody Dostal Jun 24, 2023
@Chimaera @chiasm @Gargron @mastodonmigration of course it has. But since mastodon is fully open source and has tons of instances, the most they can do is become the biggest instance, which they will be. Not much more they can do IMHO.
Show threadMastodon MigrationJun 24, 2023
@dostalcody @Chimaera @chiasm @Gargron Yes, we are instances, but we are also a community. When something big and disruptive happens to a community it is best faced with communication and proactive planning. Of course, there are guardrails, but we don't want to have to rely on them. Let's try to steer this down the center of the road.
Show threadthe roamer

@mastodonmigration @dostalcody @Chimaera @chiasm @Gargron

Well put. We need a shared discussion of these critical matters. Meta's arrival will affect everyone on the Fediverse, and the actions of the large instances will impact on everyone, whatever instance they are on.

Jun 24, 2023 at 3:36pmWeb
Show threadCrazyMyraJun 24, 2023
@the_roamer @mastodonmigration @dostalcody @Chimaera @chiasm @Gargron
It's entirely feasible that the discussions were about real-world things like how the sudden increased flow of traffic could overwhelm existing servers.
I'm not very good at conspiracy theories. Sorry.
Show threadRobinJun 24, 2023
@OutOnTheMoors I think it was the secrecy and learning second hand about meetings and NDAs that lead to suspicion. TBF Meta has a horrible track record.
Show threadthe roamerJun 24, 2023

@OutOnTheMoors @mastodonmigration @dostalcody @Chimaera @chiasm @Gargron

Noted, and I hope you are right. I am not a natural conspiracy theorist either, but I know an evasive answer when I see one.

Some admins give clear answers, others don't. That second group includes Eugen. I would have thought he can make time to give precise answers to the precise concerns that have been raised, rather than shrugging his shoulders murmuring "it's all rumours".

Very much hope you are right.

Show threadRobinJun 24, 2023
@the_roamer @OutOnTheMoors same
Show threadCrazyMyraJun 24, 2023

@the_roamer @mastodonmigration @dostalcody @Chimaera @chiasm @Gargron

And as far as the "NDAs" are concerned, it's only people who don't have privileged access - because they can't be trusted not to let the cat out of the bag early - who breathlessly "live" report the latest Apple launch. The media that respects embargoes has had a look, and has copies of all the speeches, days in advance.