@EdwinG @feralthoughts @jerome
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@FediTips @squads @EdwinG @jerome
The paucity of global south servers ultimately boils down
https://union.place/@feralthoughts/114037640671009789
and
https://union.place/@feralthoughts/114037643779263418
and
https://union.place/@feralthoughts/114030807764667593
(continues)
@FediTips @squads @EdwinG @jerome
Also: (global south or other low visibility) users/topics on even global north servers get invisiblized.
https://union.place/@feralthoughts/114042102592947484
That’s something that needs to be addressed, I feel.
(continues)
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@FediTips @squads @EdwinG @jerome
Also: (global south or other low visibility) users/topics on even global north servers get invisiblized.
https://union.place/@feralthoughts/114042102592947484
That’s something that needs to be addressed, I feel.
(continues)
@FediTips @squads @EdwinG @jerome
As for groups, I agree they are great for people who will pro-actively work towards curating their feed; but an overwhelming majority of the global south, and maybe even of the global north, simply do not have the bandwidth for that.
Life is really miserable for a hell of a lot of people. For them, getting federated social media working is way way down the priority list. It may not even be there.
ps: I value and appreciate your work.
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@FediTips @squads @EdwinG @jerome
As for groups, I agree they are great for people who will pro-actively work towards curating their feed; but an overwhelming majority of the global south, and maybe even of the global north, simply do not have the bandwidth for that.
Life is really miserable for a hell of a lot of people. For them, getting federated social media working is way way down the priority list. It may not even be there.
ps: I value and appreciate your work.
@feralthoughts @squads @EdwinG @jerome
It's as easy to use a group as it is to use a hashtag.
"For them, getting federated social media working is way way down the priority list."
I am not in the global south, but the effect of centralised social media on the global south is horrific:
These are caused by corrupt centralised social media. Either it needs to be extremely heavily regulated or it needs to be replaced.
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@feralthoughts @squads @EdwinG @jerome
It's as easy to use a group as it is to use a hashtag.
"For them, getting federated social media working is way way down the priority list."
I am not in the global south, but the effect of centralised social media on the global south is horrific:
These are caused by corrupt centralised social media. Either it needs to be extremely heavily regulated or it needs to be replaced.
@FediTips @squads @EdwinG @jerome
That corporations are unscrupulous and will do everything and anything to maximize profits, I have no argument with.
But do not mislead yourself about "cause" vs "convenient tool". If non-corporate, federated social media was as widespread as FB in those places, then it would have been used to facilitate the same atrocities.
Social media overwhelmingly reflects existing social pathologies, it does not play as big a role in creating them as critics believe.
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@FediTips @squads @EdwinG @jerome
That corporations are unscrupulous and will do everything and anything to maximize profits, I have no argument with.
But do not mislead yourself about "cause" vs "convenient tool". If non-corporate, federated social media was as widespread as FB in those places, then it would have been used to facilitate the same atrocities.
Social media overwhelmingly reflects existing social pathologies, it does not play as big a role in creating them as critics believe.
", then it would have been used to facilitate the same atrocities."
I don't agree with this at all.
The ratio of moderators to users on the Fediverse is something like 100 times better than on Facebook etc. There is typically a human for every 1000 users.
Commercial social networks have barely any moderators. To match the Fediverse's ratio Facebook would need literally millions of moderators, but that would make them financially unviable.
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@FediTips @squads @EdwinG @jerome
That corporations are unscrupulous and will do everything and anything to maximize profits, I have no argument with.
But do not mislead yourself about "cause" vs "convenient tool". If non-corporate, federated social media was as widespread as FB in those places, then it would have been used to facilitate the same atrocities.
Social media overwhelmingly reflects existing social pathologies, it does not play as big a role in creating them as critics believe.
"Social media overwhelmingly reflects existing social pathologies, it does not play as big a role in creating them as critics believe."
This isn't true. Media can play a key role in causing genocide. For example:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_T%C3%A9l%C3%A9vision_Libre_des_Mille_Collines
Facebook etc are allowing lots of RTLMs to exist because they don't moderate properly, and especially don't give a shit about people in the global south.
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", then it would have been used to facilitate the same atrocities."
I don't agree with this at all.
The ratio of moderators to users on the Fediverse is something like 100 times better than on Facebook etc. There is typically a human for every 1000 users.
Commercial social networks have barely any moderators. To match the Fediverse's ratio Facebook would need literally millions of moderators, but that would make them financially unviable.
If/when the Fedi grows, and becomes socially influential in any of our massively unequal societies; the established powers will rush in, and drive it towards centralization. Or force it to shrink back to its original tiny, socially irrelevant size.
You cannot assume linear scaling, you cannot assume that today’s tiny Fediverse, already flawed in many ways, will scale up without changing character.
This will be as much the case for the global north Fedi as the global south Fedi.
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If/when the Fedi grows, and becomes socially influential in any of our massively unequal societies; the established powers will rush in, and drive it towards centralization. Or force it to shrink back to its original tiny, socially irrelevant size.
You cannot assume linear scaling, you cannot assume that today’s tiny Fediverse, already flawed in many ways, will scale up without changing character.
This will be as much the case for the global north Fedi as the global south Fedi.
The Fedi right now is far, far larger than before 2022 (when Musk bought Twitter).
The structure of the Fedi where the servers are owned by thousands of grassroots people means we can ignore corporations if we choose to. That didn't change with the surge in 2022, and Mastodon's software developers were offered VC money in 2022 but they turned it down.
We mustn't obey in advance by assuming that corporations will control everything. An alternative is possible and exists here.
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"Social media overwhelmingly reflects existing social pathologies, it does not play as big a role in creating them as critics believe."
This isn't true. Media can play a key role in causing genocide. For example:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_T%C3%A9l%C3%A9vision_Libre_des_Mille_Collines
Facebook etc are allowing lots of RTLMs to exist because they don't moderate properly, and especially don't give a shit about people in the global south.
RTLM was literally planned and launched by some of the people who went on to execute the genocide in Rwanda.
If the Fediverse is big, a group like that will launch their own server, and use all legal and extra-legal measures to ensure they become the dominant one. And remember that in an environment fertile for hate, a large number of people will voluntarily join such a server.
The Fedi doesn't exist in a vacuum, it cannot remain immune to social forces.
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RTLM was literally planned and launched by some of the people who went on to execute the genocide in Rwanda.
If the Fediverse is big, a group like that will launch their own server, and use all legal and extra-legal measures to ensure they become the dominant one. And remember that in an environment fertile for hate, a large number of people will voluntarily join such a server.
The Fedi doesn't exist in a vacuum, it cannot remain immune to social forces.
"If the Fediverse is big, a group like that will launch their own server, and use all legal and extra-legal measures to ensure they become the dominant one."
We already saw this attempted with gab.com in 2019 and every server blocked them. They eventually left because no one would federate with them.
The main app Tusky rickrolled people who tried to use their app with Gab:
https://github.com/tuskyapp/Tusky/issues/1381
Don't obey in advance. Don't assume defeat in advance. We are not powerless.
