Corn Woman 🌽 @WomanCorn@schelling.pt

@veronika I'm going to push back against points 5 and 6.

The Fediverse (Mastodon is but one aspect) has received funding while you weren't looking. Mastodon has received money from the EUnomia Project and has been the main force behind a 'standard' colloquially referred to as the 'Mastodon API'. Every other Fediverse platform, such as Pleroma and Misskey, has to comply with said 'standard' in order to guarantee some level of inter-operability even if some of the design decisions are backwards.

Pleroma has also received funding as well, but is not fully transparent or traceable. It's believed freelancer work was paid for by Leonid Radvinsky, the guy behind MyFreeCams. I'll spare the details, but the point is the implication that these platforms were built by volunteers doesn't tell the full story. It was originally to advance federated social networking beyond Friendica, Identica, GNU Social and pump.io, but somehow became a big deal when ActivityPub became a W3C Recommendation in 2018.

On your other point, the Fediverse was a means of getting away from platforms out to make you the product through advertising, brands and 'influencers'. Those who've been around long enough to see this space rise to prominence have also seen communities homogenised, thanks to Mastodon specifically, when the first media wave in 2016 hit. People then were using the platform like Twitter, such as Will Wheaton, who disappeared weeks later. Andrew Yang made the Fediverse an outreach platform for his election campaign in 2020, only to disappear after he was eliminated. Another thing to keep in mind is the #FediBlock crowd who make it an aim to defederate from 'problematic' targets, basically creating their own bubble and defeating the point of being here.

As a wise instance admin once said, we were here before you and will be here to see you leave. Treating this space as a means of 'filling a niche' and 'establishing a presence' is what made platforms like Twitter insufferable in the first place; a sense of inorganic interactions and using the public square to sell yourself as someone who's supposed to be important. We have our own e-celebs here but it's because they're actually interesting, they didn't need to advertise themselves to us about why they deserve our attention.

TL;DR - Have meaning discussions, make friends, foster a community. Stop self-indulging over the thought you must be 'somebody' here. We don't give a fuck.

These people hate journalists but appreciate humor. If you make them laugh you might be able to win them over.

There's a rift on the Fediverse with two sides: free speech and pro-censorship. The two sides are normally disconnected due to the pro-censorship side coordinating blocks with #fediblock. We call it "The Great Wall of Mastodon." I am also blocked.

I think what's happening right now is culture shock. Your server is federating with both sides, and people are trying to bully you into one side. But if you stick it out, it would help heal the divide on the Fediverse.

I spoke more about the divide here: https://www.heterodorx.com/podcast/episode-69-fediverse-follies-with-alex-gleason/

I love that Mastodon thinks deeply about harassment (see post linked!) but I do wish we had text searching. As a journalist it’s how I use twitter most — to find interesting people, discussions, and news. I don’t think better discovery necessarily = more harassment, it’s how we find and build community! Eager to see if that’s possible here too 😅🙏🏻 https://toot.cat/@zkat/109287521995502282

“Whosoever pulleth this bicycle from this stone shall be crowned rightwise king of the Netherlands”

#feditip: go to https://{your mastodon server}/users/{any username}.rss to get an RSS feed for your RSS reader.

Level 2: go about your day without internet, then in the evening settle down at your Computer Desk with a nice cup of tea to RSS-digest the day's shitposts.

Level 3: Aggregates your RSS feeds into epub format. Load the output onto your 2000's e-ink e-reader via USB cable. Sit in an overstuffed armchair with a nearby lamp, say aloud "Ah, yes, today's internet" and sip your port.

I kinda feel like fears about fedi getting Eternal September'd are kind of overblown. fedi is really not a distinct community that could be ruined by an influx of new users, it's a loose network of different communities where the people you choose to interact with it literally codified in the form of what gets federated to your server. if you don't like the normies, you can just choose to not interact with them and not let them onto your instance. in extreme cases you can fediblock as well

I maintain that having a more diverse group of people on fedi other than fossbros, chuds, and anti-chuds would ultimately be a good thing

I used to want as many people as possible on the Fediverse even if they were annoying, I changed my mind.

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t’was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli’ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England’s overthrow;
By God’s providence he was catch’d
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holla boys, Holla boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
And what should we do with him? Burn him!

Happy Bonfire/Fireworks night, fedi!

I LIVE, AGAIN