Tellio
#anarchismmonday 2/2 Do these proprietary tools at their foundational power level work against any of this anarchism? I ask because I am thinking about asking folks to use open software and systems like Mastodon and Minds.com and etherpad to do so. At first blush it seems 2 me 2 make no difference, but wouldn't users have profound blindspots about their own tool use and its negative affordances? Feels very Marxist in the idea of substructure/superstructure (or at least to my lay understanding).
Jun 12, 2017 at 11:15amWeb
Show threadAlgot (Still)Jun 12, 2017

@tellio

As my avatar suggests, I support the idea of using Free Software, online and off.

Comfort with the tools matters, too. If a person sees the transition from, say, Twitter or FB to Mastodon as a relatively painless one, great.

If they resist the change becuuse it is too "different", then you'll only attract the flexible ones. (Anarchists?)

Show threadTellioJun 12, 2017
@Algot Part of me thinks the solution is a Biblical one: rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar's etc. For me that means maintaining both open and proprietary tools. But that makes me feel pretty driven and angry. It is the same kind of anger that I feel when software systems drive hardware ones. (Apple's OS11 for one, M$ at any point in their history). I wonder that I am flexible enough for this, but I also wonder abt the power relationship that allows others to push me abt.
Show threadAlgot (Still)Jun 12, 2017

@tellio

I guess, then, that you have to decide if a shift to Freedom forces you to leave the comfort of lock in.

Do you feel you must stay engaged on FB to be effective, for example?

Will the group "stuck" there miss you badly? Will you miss them?

If you cannot draw the ones who are important to you, then you must make a decision. Not easy.

Show threadTellioJun 12, 2017
@Algot Good observations, but I am STILL left with the worry (and this is not illegitimate given FB's penchant for fascist behavior) that the tool controls the thought and thus the action. If this is true, then there are a host of non-trivial, not-easy decisions that must be made.
Show threadAlgot (Still)Jun 12, 2017

@tellio

I've switched my focus, but my peripheral vision is still working.

I'm most comfortable here (for the time being), but I keep my accounts elsewhere.

As for "dispositive tools", I am going to read up on that one. I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV.

Show threadTellioJun 12, 2017
@Algot a dispositive motion, e.g. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjJobWqnrjUAhVEOiYKHRntAj0QFggqMAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FDispositive_motion&usg=AFQjCNEldN4NB8GAsmkt1OpiSqKbupSptg&sig2=1vAF5eXXGSsNrut55_O7EA
Show threadAlgot (Still)Jun 12, 2017

@tellio

It sounds like you feel you cannot be yourself in an important way because of the choice of online tool. Is that an accurate read?

If you decided to re-center your online activities with reliance on Free tools, will it also matter who is operating the servers involved?

If you have the skills, it sounds like you would do well to consider setting up a server or more from which you can federate.

Show threadTellioJun 12, 2017
@Algot No, what I am saying is that no one can be themselves. A bit like the idea that in a sick society no one can be healthy (even though we might 'feel' just fine.
Show threadPaul Free (14 Ⓐ, europe)Jun 29, 2017

@tellio you can see properteriy as a negation of #anarchism.

Minds.com I wouldn't use it. They implemented to much of these extrinsic motivational stuff.

The best I found sofar is #hubzilla. When using it don't think in terms of 'social network'. it's much more. It's a full federated cms incl. a social network.

Show threadTellioJun 30, 2017
@paulfree14 thanks for the #hubzilla ref, gonna check it.
Show threadPaul Free (14 Ⓐ, europe)Jun 30, 2017
@tellio if you choose an instance, remember that the different instances offering different functions. some more, some less