So, this has been in the works for a while, arguably most of last year. I intend to transfer my personal ownership of the Mastodon trademarks and assets, incl. copyright over my code, to the Mastodon non-profit, and transition to a different role at the organization.
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in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •reshared this
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Carl Malamud
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Tim Chambers reshared this.
Veedems
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Tim Chambers reshared this.
Booteille
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Thanks a lot, Eugen, for taking this decision (because I think the whole project will grow thanks to that) and for everything you did during past years. Your work and dedication really helped to build what have been somehow a dream for most: a social network entitled with strong human values.
Good luck with the rest of your journey!
Vickie Gray 🍁
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Comrade Weez
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Shalien
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •DrPs𝕐
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Parsingphase
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Conlan Spangler
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Саша Морс, here we go again...
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •this seems like a great move, and good time.
We become less effective the further we're stretched, especially in directions that are not our strengths.
I've been through this, I wish I had learned/admitted it earlier.
Chris Godwin
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Frank Heijkamp
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Touaregtweet reshared this.
Sean Boots
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •trisweb
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Anton
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •FallsMom 🌻
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •BoneHouseWasps🔶🇬🇧🇪🇺
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Jonathan Hartley's old account
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Confused Perro
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •I want to say thank you for creating an alternative where I get my news and less-toxic banter.
It’s an amazing platform and totally understandable your decision.
You a Giga-Chad.
The Nexus of Privacy
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •kcarruthers
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Jennifer
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Dinah 🕊🇺🇦
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •James A Nielsen
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Chris Trottier
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Dude, you did an amazing job. You’ve taken so much on your shoulders, and made one of the most bustling decentralized social media projects ever.
Congrats on your new role, and I know you’ll rock at it.
Leafy, Kylie, Skye 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •spla
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Jordan Roher
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Chtixof 🦊🚲🌻
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Corey Taylor
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Beteykin
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Frazer
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •You will always be loved man, and still are. Glad you will finally have more time to yourself!
tuban_muzuru
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Muddy
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Jérémie Gaven
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Andrew Boardman
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •chiasm
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Crowjane
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Thank you , I know that @JohnMastodon is proud of the work you’ve done, as we all should be.
Ric
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •you've created one of the most important social networks so far, and brought it into public focus. You've introduced millions of people to ActivityPub, whether they chose to use Mastodon or not. You've done this at just the right time for people to have somewhere to jump ship to from other networks, while those networks shift their attention towards politics & corporate greed. And now you're deciding to hand over because you've reached your limit.
That's being a great CEO. Be proud. 👍
Son of a Sailor
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •David Hopeward
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •I’ve been very happy with what you’ve created, and you have certainly kept a more even keel on the thing than many might have. Thanks for all that work!
You deserve a good work/life balance at this point. I hope it keeps improving for you, even if it’s somewhat painful at this moment.
Urban Hermit
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •thanks for personally protecting it as long as you have.
And I just wanted to add, thanks for how easily the "block" feature works. I don't have to tolerate anyone being unpleasant nor do I have to get an admin involved. They don't see me anymore, and I don't see them, and I can let that shit go without even trying to get the last word or waste time defending myself. If it wasn't for this feature I'm not sure I could stay on social media.
Jeri Dansky
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Ben Zanin
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •flaeky pancako
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Pedro Piñera
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Ascendor
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Eugen, I have deep respect for your decision and your open and transparent communication about it.
I sometimes don't have a high opinion of me in my roles as well, so I can feel you there. But going forward and deciding what's good for you and "your baby", even if it hurts, is respectable.
And always remember how far you have brought your baby. You can't be that bad of a CEO, huh?
Good luck and a lot of fun with your new role! For the best of you and your baby.
Dr. Victoria Grinberg
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Mina
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •It takes a lot of courage to let your baby go.
I admire you for that, as well as for all the work you have done that made this platform the joyous place it is for all of us.
I hope, you stay connected with the project, but above all a healthy and happy life. You truly deserve that, Eugen!
annekekassteele 🥂
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Marguerite Efdé
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Matt 🔶 (LordMatt)
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •sara
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •don
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Florian Imdahl
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •David +
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Hippasus500 aka jwn2
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •I missed your announcement Eugen, but I applaud what you’ve done.
Many years ago, I found myself in exactly the same place as you were when struggling with your decision. I didn’t handle as well, and it cost me dearly.
Congratulations!
(And nice camera work, btw. Impressive. <wink>)
Ian Robinson
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Konstantin
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Bas
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •John Francis 🦫🇨🇦🍁💪⬆️
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •CindyG
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Redeeming qualities... Leadership: You've changed the social media playing field for the better. With the personal growth, you're ready to focus on your passion and core strengths to lead further development of Mastodon products. Wise to pass the CEO baton to someone who can manage Mastodon's business size and growth bumps.
Big 🙌🏼 to you!
Vysogota
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Alexey Skobkin
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •I'm not sure if an opinion of a random guy from the Internet will make you feel better, but I still want to say this.
I can't say that I liked every your decision regarding the project. But in my personal point of view, your approach was very realistic and adequate. You often saw what really matters, trying not to live in your imaginary world like some people leading project like to do.
So good job, Eugen.
I hope you'll like your new position and how this project goes on after that.
Erik Uden 🍑
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Jose
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •I’ve not agreed with every decision, but this one sets you above many others.
This is a remarkable moment.
Miia Mustang
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •I'm not a big fan of CEOs in general, but listen.
This thing what y'all are doing with Mastodon, is what the internet really needs right now.
Thanks for that!
Vaska Raeca
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Samir Al-Battran
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Congrats, Eugen, this is a great step
I think you should think highly of yourself considering how far you have brought the platform already given the limited resources
Different stages require different skills and you might just have been the best choice (Yes, it is possible that someone else could have made it grow faster but also possible they crash it to nothing)
Plus good leaders know when it's time to pass the baton, maybe now is the time for an extrovert :)
Best of luck!
Metafrastis
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Official Kakistocracy Jester 🪓 reshared this.
sheislaurence
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •AW 🏳️🌈✊☮️🇧🇪🇺🇦
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •felis_catus_domesticus
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •ktanner
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •iris ✿ sandwalker
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Thoralf Will 🇺🇦🇮🇱🇹🇼
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Don't undersell yourself!
While I might disagree with you on certain topics or decisions, I value your integrity.
You defend what you stand for - and that's a good thing.
Regardless, I can fully understand your motivation behind this decision and respect and support it.
glyn
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •【Ϙ】
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •the fact that you consider yourself an "introvert" is very likely what made you sensible enough to direct the ethics of this platform towards F/LOSS. that is an asset of yours, not a flaw. I respect you and thank you for that.
Fare thee well ☀️
Mr Lawrence 🇪🇺🇷🇼
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Acesabe
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Bill, organizer of stuff
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •arialdo
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Andy Cc
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Sascha Foerster
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •br00t4c
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Rai Aren 🖖✨📚🇺🇦
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Wow.
Well thank you for everything you've done & will continue to do. Your efforts have been greatly appreciated. I respect your decision.
As a fellow introvert, I totally get that. I would've been drained, too.
I love #Mastodon. It's the place I feel most comfortable & happy in.
:gif_pikachu_hi:
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Staff Chief of Joints
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •zunda
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Thank for sharing your thoughts! I really wish you'll be in a better position, with this transition, for you to care about what you've been wanting to care about Mastodon! Please let me know if I'd be of any help.
With the political changes around the world, it looks to me that Mastodon and other SNS services have become more politicized than they should be.
Ω 🌍 Gus Posey
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Johannes Jacobs 🏳️🌈
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Kristoffer Lawson
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •an incredibly astute decision. Being a CEO can be horrendously stressful. Doubly so for something that has gone through such remarkable developments as #Mastodon. Being close to the product is a great place to be, and can offer personal growth opportunities to work with a CEO closely.
You will both have to learn to trust one another as partners. A good CEO will understand that and be part of that evolution.
Remember you are the founder. That is forever a special role.
Ɖσмιиιc ✝
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Drip drip drip…
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •M. Grégoire
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Rob C
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •ƧƿѦςɛ♏ѦਹѤʞ
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •#Mastoson
Alpha Male Martha Stewart 🍉🌈
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •🌼 Dagnabbit, Pascaline! 🌼
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Get well, and thank you for your tremendous work. You are very, very much appreciated, and I think I speak for many when I say 'take your time'. No matter what the reasons are, you deserve a break as much as anyone else.
Joy or at least a sense of fulfilment is the drive to continue the work.
And enjoy the transition which, hopefully, will give you peace of mind. Now go pet that cute cat of yours 😊
Nathan A. Stine
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •zulu 🇨🇭
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •L0wKey
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •You made something for the world here, something precious.
Thank you.
The wonder of community open projects is they are at their strongest as team efforts. Look after yourself and put you first now, others can carry the load.
Thank you for our wonderful cat too!
JeffreySmith 🌻🍉🇨🇦
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •levampyre
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Michael Slade
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •kazuhito
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Vickie Gray 🍁
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Mastodon Migration
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Cainmark Does Not Comply 🚲 reshared this.
Anuj Ahooja
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Amber
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Cainmark Does Not Comply 🚲 reshared this.
Kat O’Brien
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Em-squared
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Paul-Vincent Roll (he/him)
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Green Hombre
in reply to Eugen Rochko • •The Animal and the Machine
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •You are more than Mastodon and it will be more than you.
Well done Eugen.
Green Hombre likes this.
Rosie and Susie
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Green Hombre likes this.
nonlinear
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •I found your last move commendable, if painful (for now)
In the end leadership rotation counts as decentralization too, which is mastodon's goal.
Thank you for all the work, and new opportunities will come, certainly.
quixote
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Tony G
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Box464
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •I feel this statement in my core as I also resigned from an organization I felt passionate about but ultimately turned to burnout.
It’s exceptionally difficult to step down, because your life IS your work, you love it, you’re proud of it.
I know this was tough, but doing so shows a maturity sadly lacking in mainstream social media leadership. And that’s why the fediverse is the right choice.
Hoping to see more photos, cats and stuffed mastodons coming from your feed.
Nick's world 🌎 👨🦯 🗽
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Druid 🏴
in reply to Nick's world 🌎 👨🦯 🗽 • • •@gocu54 You'll find the answers here.
blog.joinmastodon.org/2025/01/…
The people should own the town square
Mastodon BlogСаша Морс, here we go again...
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Green Hombre likes this.
Viss
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Jimmothy Baggins
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Fish Id Wardrobe
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •GJ Groothedde 🇪🇺
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Erik Drenth
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Spitfire
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •trisweb
Unknown parent • • •Botolo
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Ronan
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •kat
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •as a long time user of the software since the first releases I'm looking forward to your return to engineering.. 😀.
And the transfer of ownership and copyright is a powerful move.
X
Tim Stickland
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •You have done something amazing and admirable.
You've looked after Mastodon, now time to look after you and yours.
JagroNL
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Green Hombre likes this.
Hans Vink 🐦
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Pedro Machado Santa
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •David Dunphy
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Cainmark Does Not Comply 🚲 reshared this.
Mary Hilton
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Arena Cops 🇺🇦✌
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Respect!
jan schelmut ullrich
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •joene 🏴🍉
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Evan Prodromou
Unknown parent • • •Louis Ingenthron
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Letting go for the betterment of the whole is hard, but it's also brave and extremely admirable.
You could have gone the iron-fisted route, but instead you chose to secure your legacy as a champion of the people.
We see the sacrifice and we very much appreciate it.
Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Foilfencer
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •kcarruthers
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •John Samuel
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Max von Webel
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Maarten Pelgrim
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Ollie Francis
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Fred
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •René Moser (resmo) レネ
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •haui
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •you just crowned your work with a bow at the end of the show leading the audience to stand up and cheer frenetically.
Hats off to you for doing the right thing and making it not about one person but about the community, the future and freedom for everyone.
fensterlos
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Ben Ptacek
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Dave Peck
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Ernie Smith
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •patxi
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Davide Genco
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •MBybee
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •I've been here for a bit, and while I've not always agreed with the directions taken, I think this must have been one of the hardest and most important steps.
Turning mastodon into a proper public square by stepping back a little seems like the best possible choice to allow it to continue to grow without concerns that "one person" could turn it into a twitter, facebook, or bluesky.
Ben Royce 🇺🇦 🇸🇩
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •you set it up to a nonprofit
you didn't have to do that
but you did
because you have sterling integrity
eugen i applaud you
thank you
👏 👏 👏
Green Hombre likes this.
reshared this
Ben Royce 🇺🇦 🇸🇩 and Shannon Prickett reshared this.
Ben Royce 🇺🇦 🇸🇩
Unknown parent • • •@BeAware @markwyner
of course a nonprofit can go to shit
but a for-profit is shit from the get go
so recognize this move as a good one
Green Hombre likes this.
Laffy
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Devin Ulibarri
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •ɹ uɐp
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Bruce Elrick
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Resisting the easy decision to retain the mantle of Benevolent Dictator for Life is admirable and, I imagine, difficult since you probably have a lot more ideas for the direction of Mastodon.
Letting others work and learn to take over that role, in a more distributed fashion, is good for the long-term viability of the software.
Sarah E Bourne
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Drip drip drip…
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Grant 🇺🇦ArmUkraine🇺🇦
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Benji Mauer
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •consider, perhaps, a #cooperative? Plenty of people here such as @ntnsndr who could be good thought partners.
Thank you for being so instrumental in the creation of this space, and for pursuing community over profit. I’m so grateful for it!
ꙮ 𝄃𝄁𝄂𝄀𝄀𝄁𝄃🇫🇯🇱🇨🇱🇧
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •iveyline
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Filip M. Nowak
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Callalily
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Pete
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •MilElder
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Mastodon’s CEO and creator is handing control to a new non-profit organization
Dominic Preston (The Verge)Jorge Bejarano
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Hikory1
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Jake
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Dane Deasy
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Von Javi
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Sibshops
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •AdventureTense
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Peter Maro
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Felipe Espinosa C.
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •thanks a lot.
Greetings from Chile, the best country of Chile 🇨🇱
Jennifer Em likes this.
Akhilesh Thite
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Sanjay
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •David Palmer
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •James Just James
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Jennifer Em likes this.
Random Canuck 🍁😷 💉
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •jonny (good kind)
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Bobo_PK 🦄
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Kai Pelzel
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •GarretSidzaka
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Dr. Jürgen Knödlseder
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •tootbrute
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •xs4me2
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •You are a hero!
👍
JohnnyThan
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Stefano Zacchiroli
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Strypey
Unknown parent • • •(2/?)
For a start, we also need to thank Evan Prodromou and the StatusNet crew for creating OStatus. Also Matt Lee and Mikael Nordfeldth for forking StatusNet to create GNU social, which the original Mastodon was designed to be compatible with.
Not to mention Christine Lemmer-Webber, Jessica Tallon, Erin Shepherd, and Amy Guy. Along with Evan, they led the W3C group that wrote the ActivityPub spec. Which allowed the fediverse - including Mastodon - to become what it is today.
Nemo_bis 🌈
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Thank you! Are you already all set in terms of professional help to handle the legal setup of the new non-profit as well as the tax implications in Germany for you personally? Or does it help to recommend people we know to have previous experience on similar non-profit matters?
#MastodonGGmbH #FediMeta
Jennifer Em likes this.
Marlike
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Jennifer Em likes this.
Diogo Constantino
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •this must be certainly something hard to do.
Speaking (obviously) for myself, and as an user of your software, I support and applaud your decision, this is the right thing to do.
Cosmic Ray
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •tinderness
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Jennifer Em likes this.
Matthias Pfefferle
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •The Alchemist
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Beachbum
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •SlightlyCyberpunk
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •any explicit protections in place to prevent the non-profit from being captured by corporate influence as we've seen in several other F/LOSS nonprofits? Ie, could Threads make some big donations and then later threaten to pull that funding if certain changes aren't made?
In theory the non-profit rather than BDFL sounds nice, but in practice they seem pretty vulnerable to that sort of thing...
Patrick Abeya
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •J9C
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Goose
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Phoenix Paulina Schmid
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Already a big thank you for all you have done for as CEO and Owner of Mastodon.
And all good things to you personally and in your new role for Mastodon.
virkon
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •mil
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •Strypey
Unknown parent • • •(1/?)
@midtsveen
> @Gargron Thank you for creating Mastodon, a platform where I can freely share my views
@Gargron certainly deserves credit for creating the Mastodon software and leading the project infrastructure built around it. But as I'm sure he'd agree, the platform that Mastodon is currently the largest part of - the fediverse - is the work of hundreds of dedicated people. Many of whom worked unpaid (maybe still do), and all of whom deserve our thanks.
Mark Wyner Won’t Comply
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •LR
in reply to Eugen Rochko • • •