A list of the wisest people I'm listening to to navigate the #Threads opportunities and threats. This will be a hugely accelerated time of learning, and these are folks I learn from every week, and good sources to compare notes on as things change day to day:
One idea that #Threads does now we should learn from and directly steal: the ability to say in your settings that you can set @mentions to be from. You can choose to allow them from: Everyone, Profiles you follow, or No one.
That's a great feature. How feasible would that be inside #ActivtyPub?
@tchambers@threadcount I’ll probably do this sometime in the next week, I can add federation support and publish stats from accounts based on project or period from fedidb itself like @growth@fedidb.org or @pixelfed@fedidb.org
With the upcoming #meta#Project92 Fediverse service, there has been a, well, *robust* discussion of how to avoid threats looming. Those advocating mass-preemptive defederation make three cases for it.
➡️ To avoid data mining ...which Defederation does virtually zero to avoid any big tech entity scraping all the fedi public social graph today - Want proof? see: https://is.gd/q8U2pv
The next argument is about poorly moderated P92 user posts and ad spam. Which I'll discuss next.
🧵 1 of N
With the upcoming #meta#Project92 Fediverse service, there has been a, well, *robust* discussion of how to avoid threats looming. Those advocating mass-preemptive defederation make three cases for it.
➡️ To avoid data mining ...which Defederation does virtually zero to avoid any big tech entity scraping all the fedi public social graph today - Want proof? see: https://is.gd/q8U2pv
➡️ To defend against poorly moderated P92 users & ad spam.
We have all the tools for that now - as users & as admins, and deal with exactly this from poorly moderated servers EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. And if we find ANY server not responsive THEN we block. Protecting our users is our 1st job but we have all we need - WITHOUT first strike defederation.
The third argument I'll look at next is to avoid #EEEE - "Embrace, Extend, and Extinguish."
➡️ To defend against being Embraced, Extended, and Extinguished.
This is a real risk, and others point to Google and Facebook and XMPP, or Google and RSS Google reader. Where a big entity takes over, then rug pulls or extends an open standard slowly into an non-standard, non-interoperable functionally siloed service.
This is a real risk. But you don't - and can't - defend against this by defederation. I'll explain why next. #EEEE
To the argument that we should defederate to avoid #EEE: We cannot avoid Meta's embrace of the open ActivityPub standard.
Even if the entire existing Fedi pre-blocked them. IG has 1.6 BILLION users. in one day just on their own they will be the size of the current Fedi's MAU and grow from there.
Instantlly the biggest ActivityPub entity on the planet. With or without a mass block.
So if we can't stop the embrace, what can we do to combat the second E? Will cover that next.
4 of N🧵
To the argument that we should defederate to avoid #EEE: We cannot avoid Meta's embrace of the open ActivityPub standard.
Even if the entire existing Fedi pre-blocked them. IG has 1.6 BILLION users. in one day just on their own they will be the size of the current Fedi's MAU and grow from there.
Instantlly the biggest ActivityPub entity on the planet. With or without a mass block.
This is our 3rd quarterly update on which platforms are growing, new entries such as #BlueSky, #Substack Notes, #Nostr & all public data on Meta's #project92 Includes latest on the #RedditMigration, New polling, new posting data & more.
This is our 3rd quarterly update on which platforms are growing, new entries such as #BlueSky, #Substack Notes, #Nostr & all public data on Meta's #project92 Includes latest on the #RedditMigration, New polling, new posting data & more.
One of the cool things about the #redditmigration & the rise of #Kbin & #Lemmy is it is a big positive to both the #threadiverse and the existing users on the Fedi:
On the Threadiverse side: Lots of brand new blood from fleeing Reddit new users now discovering the Fediverse for the first time. New blood. New ideas.
On the Masto/Fedi side:
I think many are seeing REAL federation from/to an *entirely* other type of Fedi platform for the first time in the wild. It really works. Opening eyes.
One of the cool things about the #redditmigration & the rise of #Kbin & #Lemmy is it is a big positive to both the #threadiverse and the existing users on the Fedi:
On the Threadiverse side: Lots of brand new blood from fleeing Reddit new users now discovering the Fediverse for the first time. New blood. New ideas.
@tchambers Your new instance, magazines, posts have been a huge assist. Having people established on Mastodon shepherding the new users on and helping to answer questions, reduce confusion, etc. all while not tone policing is nice to see.
The power of the Fediverse is definitely starting to come into focus. I honestly think it will be a paradigm shift for content creators if they embrace it. It's a bit thrilling to watch unfold.
@tchambers about the "cross-platforms federation", am I supposed to be able to see Lemmy/kbin posts in my mastodon app if I follow them ? Can't understand if it's not possible or if the instances are just swamped
To real concerns that Meta might do to Acivitypub as Google & they did to XMPP, this seems helpful including this point via @darius
"Regardless of bigco shenanigans around open protocols, Kazemi isn’t worried about what happens with ActivityPub. 'The nice thing for me is that if the big companies do jump in [to support ActivityPub] and then sort of walk it back,' he remarked, 'at worst, we’ll be back to where we are right now, which is still a pretty nice place.'”
To real concerns that Meta might do to Acivitypub as Google & they did to XMPP, this seems helpful including this point via @darius
"Regardless of bigco shenanigans around open protocols, Kazemi isn’t worried about what happens with ActivityPub. 'The nice thing for me is that if the big companies do jump in [to support ActivityPub] and then sort of walk it back,' he remarked, 'at worst, we’ll be back to where we are right now, which is still a pretty nice place.'”
I have some opinions about this (basically: fuck Meta forever), but what I'm finding so fascinating is how this is all being hashed out in discussions like this one. Not just ActivityPub/BigSocial integration, but moderation, federation, text search, quote-boosting – all of it.
It's a real time, real-world, live action drama of anarchy and (small-d) democracy being built.
@tchambers nope, that's not how this works. Embracing means that many people will use a Google service, just because it's a big name with a marketing budget. People will join Google instead. Just like people used Facebook Messenger to talk to XMPP friends. When (inevitably) the support will get cancelled or when corporations make unilateral additions to the protocol, then the rest of the Fediverse will be worse off. Not "at the point where we are now". Worse. @darius@anildash
@tchambers@darius yep the key point is we have to have a strong "culture" so we can try and hold our #fashionista crew from going down the #dotcons path because it's "better", this is harder than our "logic" thinks it is. Take note.
Signs of the #RedditMigration in action: Three of the top 6 #Fediverse servers are not only not Mastodon.social but they are not even microblogging servers - but rather are #Threadiverse servers.
That is only seriously good for the entire Fedi infrastructure. Diversity is strength.
@tchambers the issue we are facing is the creation of a small number of servers supporting a vast number of users. Counter productive with the concept of the #fediverse. We need to encourage new people to not swarm.
Just want to say how crucial #FediDB is this week tracking the #RedditMigration and what a great resource it has grown into becoming for the entire Fedi.
One of the things I love about the Fediverse is that it is growing in about 8 different directions and they all cohere.
From #Fedidb look at the top software undergirding the Fedi:
#Pixelfed, #WordPress, #Microblog#Peertube are all playing substantial roles...but are not "forks' of Mastodon but are entirely different apps, which benefit from Mastodon, and give value back to it. And are one Fediverse.
Some cool things on the roadmap for future versions of #Mastodon...
Most looking forward to these:
➡️ Groups ➡️ Markdown formatting for posts ➡️ Additional Search Syntax ➡️ Hide User on List from Main Feed ➡️ Letting you add pending follows to Lists ➡️ Add the ability to import lists
And in explore:
➡️ Login with Passkeys ➡️ Quote Posts ➡️ Thread Pagination ➡️ Home feed digest ➡️ On-hover information cards for users ➡️ End-to-end encrypted messages
Some cool things on the roadmap for future versions of #Mastodon...
Most looking forward to these:
➡️ Groups ➡️ Markdown formatting for posts ➡️ Additional Search Syntax ➡️ Hide User on List from Main Feed ➡️ Letting you add pending follows to Lists ➡️ Add the ability to import lists
Gregory's Server
@tchambers oh man, what a group to find oneself mentioned in!
Obviously this list is incomplete without you on it. Your "Instagram Threads and the Fediverse" series is fantastic. Thank you for writing it!