I hesitate to add to the atmosphere of dread, but Meta's increasingly unfettered acceleration of the kinds of messages that precede genocides is so alarming.
And—how to say this… Avoiding Meta platforms doesn't confer a get-out-of-atrocities-free card. This is why I'm so focused on the need to build broadly appealing, maximally accessible alternative platforms.
I understand, "It's good if the fediverse stays niche," but that's a solution for a tiny number of people.
@themizzi @NaClKnight @kissane I don’t know. I kinda wish the web had stayed niche. (I don’t, but I do).
The tech is kinda irrelevant; the reality is that once a thing is seen as useful and commercially viable to become involved with - it gets taken over, and de-facto centralised.
The web was “distributed” by design. It’s mostly dead in that regard now. Same with email; don’t want to play by Google rules? You won’t get all your mail. Etc. Even browsers are dying.
@mattwilcox @benroyce @kissane @catagent101 @manager @dansup
What an amazing thread to wake up to! Thank you all for your insights. I do have a question. Most people in my communities use either FB or Insta, they do not use Twitter. I personally never got into Twitter as a result. I see @dansup building something like Instagram. I am a member of a couple of very active Groups on FB. Many friends use Stories and Reels. What do you think about these features being brought to the fediverse?
My biggest issue with the most popular fediverse stuff atm (Mastodon) is how after years of feedback from _certain_ under-represented groups - nothing has changed to address their issues with moderation & control.
There are reasons why account popularity is capped here, why people leave. And why Black voices are vastly under-represented. (2/2)
@mattwilcox @benroyce @kissane @catagent101 @manager @dansup
I want to share a couple of personal viewpoints that may be contrary to the popular view here:
* I'm fine with algos if they’re open source and auditable. The goals should mix high quality content with engaging content.
* Moderation should curb extremes, but platform-wide rules can be a slippery slope. I’d rather educate than eliminate.
"Moderation" on Facebook and Twitter is not really moderation. It's at the whims of the CEO.
@themizzi @mattwilcox @kissane @catagent101 @manager @dansup
yeah. people should be able to pick from open source algorithms. anyone can write them
moderation can be too trigger happy. what we need are time outs. someone who engages in open bigotry should be iced forever. someone who just speaks rudely should get a week off
moderation at capitalist companies is a cost center. meaning it's cheaper for them to say "freezepeach" and let bigotry stand. just because it's cheaper
Erin Kissane
Mizzi
Matt Wilcox
ᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIES