Java annotations sometimes feel magical.

#java

Here's your irregular reminder that:

Twitter was a multi-billion dollar company with thousands of employees.

Mastodon is a niche hobbyist product run by volunteers

The fact that we're being seen as a viable alternative to them is an admission that a federated, decentralized future is not only possible, but desirable.

Mastodon is not one thing, or one place. It's a network of many things and many places. We don't have a spokesperson (I mean, there's me. I'm the official spokesperson for 💯 of the fediverse, but beyond me there is no spokesperson) we don't have consensus on moderation or blocking or tools or what is good and what is bad. Some of us are professional SREs and Sysadmins, some of us aren't. Some of our instances have been around for 5+ years, some won't be here in six months.

And that's good! All of it, every last bit of it is good.

We're wrestling power away from the billionaire class, in real time, and reclaiming it for the People.

Twitter emboldened people with outrageously bad takes or racist & bigoted views to share them for the rush of a viral tweet. It silenced already marginalized voices through threats & intimidation.

Twitter rewarded narcissism with follows & gave tremendous power to people least deserving of leadership roles or equipped for public service.

It was never the “town square” but often the mob with pitchforks & torches. If #Twitter falls, democracy & humanity will be better off. #TwitterMigration