Bastian Greshake Tzovaras

«The problem isn’t that the fediverse isn’t viable. The problem isn’t that it’s “too complicated.” The problem is that the giants of Silicon Valley have spent 20 years convincing us that anything outside their control isn’t worth our time.
And that’s just not bloody true.»

From: The Fediverse Isn’t the Future. It’s the Present We’ve Been Denied.

https://www.joanwestenberg.com/the-fediverse-isnt-the-future-its-the-present-weve-been-denied/

The Fediverse Isn’t the Future. It’s the Present We’ve Been Denied.

For years, the internet has been shrinking. Not in size, not in data, but in ownership. A vast, decentralized network of personal blogs, forums, and independent communities has been corralled into a handful of paved prison yards controlled by a few massive corporations. Every post, every “friend,” every creative work—

Westenberg.
Mar 18, 2025 at 11:18amWeb
Show threadyuhasz01Mar 18, 2025

@gedankenstuecke

“In controversies about technology and society,
there is no idea more provocative than the notion that
technical things have political qualities.”
Langdon Winner, Do Artifacts Have Politics?, 1980

Silicon Valley internet technologies and platforms are intrinsically authoritarian and oligarchical.

Show threadBastian Greshake TzovarasMar 18, 2025
@yuhasz01 yes, also see https://scholar.social/@gedankenstuecke/114180466331721505 on the issues of modeling the “success” of alternatives to big tech on what Silicon Valley sees as a success
Bastian Greshake Tzovaras (@[email protected])

I think @[email protected] really nails it here about the rotten state of EC funding through Horizon Europe et al. «The ones who do want to deal with [the bureaucracy] are slow-moving consortia, staffed with entire floors of people who love defining and checking “work packages” full of “milestones.” These milestones get met, everyone is happy, the money is spent, and you end up with something. But chances are, it won’t actually solve the problem you set out to address» https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/now-how-to-get-that-european-cloud/

Scholar Social
Show threadJim MadgeMar 18, 2025

@gedankenstuecke I do know people who found choosing a Mastodon instance confusing and off-putting. Although that wasn't my experience, I don't think they are lying. So maybe the trick is they don't expect this (small) barrier.

On the other hand, I briefly looked at Peertube and found a mix of instances with restrictions on uploading and others I wasn't confident would last.

Show threadBastian Greshake TzovarasMar 18, 2025

@JimMadge I think, the problem is how people get to approach the fediverse. I assume you similar to me got a recommendation of „hey, we’re on this mastodon instance“ instead of hand-picking one?

I do see that it can feel harder if don’t have an existing community you feel you’d like to join. But imho the same applies for centralised networks (ie joining Twitter or Instagram if you’l wouldn’t know people who are there already).

Show threadJim MadgeMar 19, 2025

@gedankenstuecke yes, although for me it was more about finding an instance I felt I aligned with.

Which is odd because, the particular instance you use probably doesn't have that much impact on your experience. You are peered with other reasonable instances and the rules for conduct are likely similar.