Charlesinrichmond t1_ix5fiqq wrote
Serious question wouldn't it be easier to set up as a subreddit? My ignorance here is vast but Mastodon instances kind of seem like DIY subreddits
gletob OP t1_ix5kvle wrote
It's not really the type of platform as reddit, more akin to Twitter Mastodon instances are federated so you can follow people on other instances and they'll show up in your feed even though they're not members of your particular server
Charlesinrichmond t1_ix6l5m3 wrote
Interesting, I thought the instances were more siloed
___zero__cool___ t1_ixd4og0 wrote
Most of them will have a “local” feed, which is a feed of posts just made to that server, then a global feed which is posts made to all federated servers. You can follow anyone on any server. Usernames are like @Charlesinrichmond@server1.com or @__zero_cool__@server2.com. What will be really interesting is to see how BlueSky implements the Matrix protocol, since there are already a ton on bridge integrations that allow Matrix servers to interact with IRC, Sack, Discord, Twitter, email, SMS etc.
Charlesinrichmond t1_ixd4xm2 wrote
isn't it so techie still that it's going to be hindering uptake? I read the last sentence with mild comprehension, for example. But most I know would read it with complete incomprehension
___zero__cool___ t1_ixd7exc wrote
Yes, probably.
The federated models used by the Matrix protocol and the ActivityPub protocol used by Mastodon are really cool, but they both suffer from the same issue. Very techie power users will utilize the projects but never reach the critical mass of users to be relevant for a social network. Case in point, I first looked in to Matrix and Mastodon back in 2017 or so but it’s taken Twitter imploding in 2022 for even the more tech inclined general public to hear about it.
Other option is less tech inclined users just signing up on a server and ceding control over all their data to some arbitrary server owner. Both have tons of issues.
That’s why I’m super excited to see what Jack Dorsey and his former Twitter team come up with for BlueSky, since it’s built on top of the Matrix protocol. I’m really curious to see if they can keep the things that attracted the techies in the first place, while streamlining the usability for everyone.
Edit - This is why I love Signal. They took something that was only used by a dwindling amount of tech nerds and people buying drugs on dark net markets (PGP public key encryption), and made it as easy to use as Messenger or WhatsApp.
Charlesinrichmond t1_ixdcsq0 wrote
yeah. I just don't see Mastodon going anywhere for those reasons. It needs to be seemless for mass adoption.
I also don't think twitter will go away. Most of the fear of that is by people who don't understand basic corporate structure. If it goes bankrupt it is highly unlikely to vanish - it just gets owned by someone other than Musk. I'm pretty sure many would welcome that
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