The other day I finally got it. Why #Bluesky is so popular with "regular people" (aka non-techies). It's because it's CENTRALIZED (of course the Bluesky folks would never admit it out right).
One name: Bluesky.
One official URL to join / browse / post messages
One official app: "Bluesky Social" on app stores
In this post-literate society where people have been trained by commercial social media for 2 DECADES to choose the easiest, most frictionless option, of course they will pick Bluesky over the #Fediverse.
Try introducing the concept of servers / instances and names like Mastodon, Sharkey, Pleroma, GoToSocial, Friendica, Pixelfed, PeerTube, Lemmy to people not familiar with them. They'd think you're speaking a foreign language.
The Fediverse is made up of thousands of independent servers. You can't log in to joinmastodon.org or joinpeertube.org to browse Mastodon or PeerTube. Conversely, when you log into Bluesky you see messages by Bluesky members.
People need to be educated first about defederated options and their numerous advantages.
I get it now. I'm still 1000% in when it comes to the Fediverse but I understand.
And I'm tired.
And I'm posting this here on my GoToSocial account because I wanted to say my piece in one go and I would have run into Mastodon character limits.
How many people have I convinced to join the Fediverse in my 9 months advocating for it through a blog? TWO. How many people are still active on it? One.
Off I go play with LEGOs with my little one - in 12 years, when she's old enough I will set up her own instance. So Fediverse, you gotta be thriving in 2037.
Mastodon - Decentralized social media
Learn more about Mastodon, the radically different, free and open-source decentralized social media platform.joinmastodon.org
like this
m@thias.hellqui.st, crossgolf_rebel - kostenlose Kwalitätsposts and Ramin Honary like this.
reshared this
Heliograph, Kęstutis, I AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑🔥, Jon Sullivan, David B., crossgolf_rebel - kostenlose Kwalitätsposts, Photo Ewen 📷, Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UK, Santiago 🔭🪐, Koen de Jonge - SynQ, Frieke, UkeleleEric, Peter Valkema, ProtocolPolice ☑️, Ann(in)a, Aphrodite (chilling), Jules 🍺, Chris McCabe, Ms. Que Banh, Menta 🍋🟩👒🪴, Grégory Gutierez 🌻🎸🐧, Lord Caramac the Clueless, KSC, Stefan, Lazarou Monkey Terror 🚀💙🌈, Trendy Toots, Cainmark Does Not Comply 🚲, Nigel Pugh (he/him/they), John Robinson, divdev, Beachbum, Sir Dankalot, Yogthos, Herr Irrtum! 🔊 🏳️🌈, Iris Volk, Debbie Goldsmith 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈, Daniele /usr/lib/dbas.so, Roede Orm, Antoine Schmitt (mastodon), Lisa Melton, Leonardo, Sylkykat (she/her) 📚🖖🦉🐱☕️🇺🇦, don Elías (como los buses) 🥨, Misha, Elischeva91, modulux, JWcph, Radicalized By Decency, CaveDave, Jna🌿🌿🌿🍞🌹🌹, Ulrich Junker, the esoteric programmer and Davie Dean reshared this.
✰ 𝔽𝕣𝕖𝕕 ✰
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •"It is easy"
That is the main reason most people have chosen for Whatsapp instead of better alternatives...
zetabeta
in reply to ✰ 𝔽𝕣𝕖𝕕 ✰ • • •signal is centralized, and favors too much centralized google play and apple app store. following link is difficult to find.
signal.org/android/apk/
Signal Android APK
Signal MessengerElena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to zetabeta • • •cuan_knaggs
in reply to ✰ 𝔽𝕣𝕖𝕕 ✰ • • •The Drop Bear 2.0
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Cainmark Does Not Comply 🚲 reshared this.
I AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑🔥
in reply to The Drop Bear 2.0 • • •that drama is sort of why I mostly block the bridging accounts. There has to be a line in how much I expose myself to drama, and that line has proved helpful.
@elena
Cainmark Does Not Comply 🚲 reshared this.
Photo Ewen 📷
in reply to The Drop Bear 2.0 • • •I gave BlueSky a short go. Saw lots of familiar faces, bit also saw the old Twitter snark imbued into nearly every discourse. Remembered how toxic that space was for me. Everybody shouting, nobody listening.
It is a problem that most folks will only see the joy of Mastodon (etc) once they've signed up. And they won't sign up until they see the joy in it. I'm just glad there's enough nice people here for me to have a community.
The Drop Bear 2.0
in reply to Photo Ewen 📷 • • •WhichOne'sPink 🇫🇮
in reply to The Drop Bear 2.0 • • •Makes me feel like I'm among adults which is welcome.
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Photo Ewen 📷 • • •Yeah the "everybody shouting, nobody listening" describes it to a T for me. It feels like any other commercial network where people post messages - as if they were sending out a press release - and pray for it to be seen by as many people as possible.
On the Fediverse I have created so many amazing connections and genuine friendships...
Photo Ewen 📷 reshared this.
The Drop Bear 2.0
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Photo Ewen 📷
in reply to The Drop Bear 2.0 • • •I find myself blocking accounts a lot. Somebody I follow might boost stuff from accounts that only post angry political memes, or stolen photos, or trash memes scrapped off other social media.
If I notice the same person keeps boosting that stuff, I end up unfollowing them. There's plenty of weeds about. Takes effort to keep the garden nice.
@elena
Dec [{()}]
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Photo Ewen 📷
in reply to Dec [{()}] • • •I noticed a few photographers did exactly that.
Left me feeling a little hollow. Apparently our generous community and thoughtful conversation wasn't enough, their time was too important to stay here when there was a bigger audience to throw memes at.
Made me see their photography in a different light. Made me sad.
The Drop Bear 2.0
in reply to Photo Ewen 📷 • • •Photo Ewen 📷
in reply to The Drop Bear 2.0 • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Photo Ewen 📷 • • •I had the same experience with my filmmaking / activist communities. It's sad to see they only gave the Fediverse a short try (if that, even) and then immediately gravitated towards the dopamine hits of Bluesky.
BTW your photography is amazing and so are your videos Ewen. I'm so glad you're active on the Fediverse, leading the way ❤️
Photo Ewen 📷
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •That's so kind of you!
🤍
Not sure I'm leading the way so much. A lot of photographers get cranky that I don't limit my posts to photography!
There's a great line in a comedy show I used to watch where this guy is talking about being a dad post-divorce. He says it's not that hard, who can't be a dad for three days a week and every second Sunday? 90% of being father of the year is just showing up.
And so here we are. We all showed up.
Jon Sullivan
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •reshared this
Photo Ewen 📷, CartyBoston, UkeleleEric and Cainmark Does Not Comply 🚲 reshared this.
UkeleleEric
in reply to Jon Sullivan • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to UkeleleEric • • •UkeleleEric
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •crossgolf_rebel - kostenlose Kwalitätsposts
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •thanks for your work and welcome to my live 😉
I've been here since 2010-11 and haven't been able to convince anyone yet, you've been much more successful
long live the #Fediverse💪
flo
in reply to crossgolf_rebel - kostenlose Kwalitätsposts • • •@crossgolf_rebelThe FediVerse shall live long and prosper 🖖
Sorry, couldn't resist 😁
@elena
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to flo • • •I LOVE this corner of the internet, it feels like the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire
crossgolf_rebel - kostenlose Kwalitätsposts likes this.
Antoine Schmitt (mastodon) reshared this.
crossgolf_rebel - kostenlose Kwalitätsposts
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •@fasnix@iceshrimp.de
I AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑🔥
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •I have to say that, even as a long term IT ops person, I found the bar for entry to the Fediverse pretty high. It's hard to leave some old site and move to a new place where you know nobody.
I really enjoy Mastodon especially after forming new connections with new people and finding some good "human algorithms" that boost a lot of interesting things.
I'm playing with other federated systems, but slowly.
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to I AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑🔥 • • •if I were to take a trip down memory lane to when I joined (October 2022) I think the hardest obstacle for me - aside from choosing an instance - was sticking to a network where I didn't know anyone.
being on the Fediverse to me is like buying or leasing a plot of land and learning how to plant seeds and tend to them... results are slow... things take a while to blossom but at the end the experience is so much more satisfying (than the hollow, cheap dopamine hits of commercial social media).
I've become a better online citizen thanks to the Fediverse (always using Alt Text and CamelCase) and I've been motivated and helped in learning how to self-host... I'm like a new and improved person now ❤️
I AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑🔥
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •I decided to try out goto social, and it was remarkably easy to setup. I expect there are a million configuration issues, but I'm pleasantly surprised.
I feel like this is within the reach of many more people than I would have guessed. I mean, they need to have a server of some sort, but that's a matter of a couple dollars a month if you shop around a bit.
i assumed it would be harder than it was and just never checked, but you convinced me.
I AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑🔥
in reply to I AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑🔥 • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to I AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑🔥 • • •glad to hear you took a leap and tried it out... I really enjoy my GtS account.
That being said, I don't know how many of my "normie" friends (aka everyone I know) would be convinced to follow along and set something up. Small steps... maybe after they tried the Fediverse for 6 months they could be convinced...
bitzero
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Your analysis is right, your points valid. But as I tooted just a few hours earlier, are we sure that all this perceived unfriendliness of fedi is a problem that must be solved?
Being on fedi is better than being in a corpo techbro centralized social network, yes. We told other people so, yes. We even tried to prove it, yes. They don’t come. They want different things. Can’t we say: “ok bye”?
I don’t think - but of course it’s me, ymmv - that we should change the nature of fedi to make it more appealing. We start with little tech details and then fall easily in the “let’s change this and that” pit. The little anarchic in me even says that “top mastodon” is already too much techbro-adjacent for my tastes.
Sorry if I’m rude, but… People really should learn a bit of tech and stop being passive. Not because I nerdishly think tech savvy people is superior but because today, I think, getting agency on tech is critical. Stakes are too high, for everyone.
Honestly - and again I’m s
... Show more...Your analysis is right, your points valid. But as I tooted just a few hours earlier, are we sure that all this perceived unfriendliness of fedi is a problem that must be solved?
Being on fedi is better than being in a corpo techbro centralized social network, yes. We told other people so, yes. We even tried to prove it, yes. They don’t come. They want different things. Can’t we say: “ok bye”?
I don’t think - but of course it’s me, ymmv - that we should change the nature of fedi to make it more appealing. We start with little tech details and then fall easily in the “let’s change this and that” pit. The little anarchic in me even says that “top mastodon” is already too much techbro-adjacent for my tastes.
Sorry if I’m rude, but… People really should learn a bit of tech and stop being passive. Not because I nerdishly think tech savvy people is superior but because today, I think, getting agency on tech is critical. Stakes are too high, for everyone.
Honestly - and again I’m sorry if I sound harsh - I also think that “fedi is hard” is mostly an inferiority complex many of us have. Normal people - whatever this means - use digital services and apps more complex than fedi all the time.
I sound rude - again, apologies for that - because this isn’t just a technical issue. Is a serious social one. Fedi, sometimes even a single specific instance - is a safe(r) place for many people. I don’t want to risk that in the name of popularity.
That said, it’s just my opinion. (Yeah I know it sounds passive aggressive
)
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to bitzero • • •No need to apologize, I fully agree with you.
"The Fediverse is so hard" some people say... and then they go on to create super complex videos on TikTok with green screens, and animations and text overlays.
I don't have a TikTok account but I've sat in airports many many times behind young people who spend half an hour creating TikTok videos and it's always awe-inducing to see them at work... the very same people who then criticize the Fediverse for being too difficult. Sure Jan.
Neutrin
in reply to bitzero • • •I only got into Twitter (approx 2014) because an IRL friend spent an hour helping me get to a critical mass of people to follow.
I switched to mastodon (when musk purchased Twitter) but still can’t get to that critical mass, let alone help anyone else do so. I don’t know anyone IRL who is on the Fediverse.
bitzero
in reply to Neutrin • • •My rant about "knowing tech" was in the broadest sense, not just for fedi. People today use many digital services and technologies without actually knowing what's behind them. Example: if you use a smart home system, do you know how it works, what it does with your data, what's its degree of privacy and vulnerability? Now that everything is connected (with no reason, mostly), you should know these things. Don't trust tech companies blindly.
So, for me the first step in getting agency on tech is simply being more informed. And this is not hard.
Back to fedi. Its perceived difficulty is - I think - mostly caused by the absence of an algorithm suggesting you "relevant" content and contacts. It's all "manual": you decide whom to follow (people, hashtags), explore the public and federate timeline to see more content, interact and so on.
The concept of a critical mass... I don't even think is valid here. Yes, the more people you follow the more stuff you see. But I think the main point here is not seeing more stuff, but interacting with people. Toot, comment, don't min
... Show more...My rant about "knowing tech" was in the broadest sense, not just for fedi. People today use many digital services and technologies without actually knowing what's behind them. Example: if you use a smart home system, do you know how it works, what it does with your data, what's its degree of privacy and vulnerability? Now that everything is connected (with no reason, mostly), you should know these things. Don't trust tech companies blindly.
So, for me the first step in getting agency on tech is simply being more informed. And this is not hard.
Back to fedi. Its perceived difficulty is - I think - mostly caused by the absence of an algorithm suggesting you "relevant" content and contacts. It's all "manual": you decide whom to follow (people, hashtags), explore the public and federate timeline to see more content, interact and so on.
The concept of a critical mass... I don't even think is valid here. Yes, the more people you follow the more stuff you see. But I think the main point here is not seeing more stuff, but interacting with people. Toot, comment, don't mind the morons replying "oh I didn't want a reply eh", don't mind the number of boosts or favs you get. Those numbers are ingrained in people's minds as the ultimate measure of "social worthiness" but mostly they're simply tricks to get you more engaged.
See fedi as real life. The best part is interacting with people, not being entertained by them. It's harder, I know. And mind you: you're doing nothing wrong. But here is so worth the effort you make.
FediThing
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •If you can get people aware of the alternative, if it's in the back of their mind, then when the main thing goes bad it's the alternative they try next.
Every time big tech does something even more evil, the Fediverse attracts curious people who want to find out more. And this happens because someone told them about it, even if they didn't join at the time.
Don't sell yourself short, any info you put out has a long term effect! 👏 It's like planting seeds, they take a while to grow.
Cainmark Does Not Comply 🚲 reshared this.
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to FediThing • • •Thank you! Planting seeds is the perfect analogy... and probably why most people aren't patient enough to grow their communities on the Fediverse. It takes time, effort and care. So much care. And sadly after 20 years of commercial social media most Gen Xers and millennials default to the easy, fast-food-like option.
I'm LOVING this corner of the internet and tending to it is extremely rewarding for me 🌿
prince lucija
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •One of the starting and main talking points about the difference and difficulty of moving from silos to decentralized social media is the one-app simplicity: it's extremely convenient and mindless to simply get one app from the app store and make an account there. that's all you really need to do in case of Meta products (like instagram, threads, whatsapp...).
with federated decentralized social media, one needs to know so much more before starting the process - or learn through. but I think it's impossible to navigate fediverse without understanding the concept of servers and instances and clients...
and it's hard, and those who would like to get off the big tech should attack this head on. mastodon tried to make it simple with mastodon official app and m.s flagship instance..
but i think ultimately that's a wrong way. i much prefer gentle and kind help like @FediTips fedi.garden and fedi.directory and the like. it's hard to wake up the lulled. and it's barrier to entry for disadvantaged.
prince lucija
in reply to prince lucija • • •prince lucija
in reply to prince lucija • • •also you probably know "What is The Fediverse" video?
framatube.org/videos/watch/429…
Framasoft
2022-04-28 11:51:16
Cainmark Does Not Comply 🚲 reshared this.
Michael Bishop ☕
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Jules 🍺
in reply to Michael Bishop ☕ • • •Fedi.Tips
in reply to Jules 🍺 • • •They tried the word "communities" already (I think in about 2020?), it caused even more confusion because people thought they were forums. Most interaction is between servers rather than within them, so the forum analogy was misleading people.
Whatever we call it, it has to get across that the Fedi is federated like email or the phone network?
Robert Kingett
in reply to Fedi.Tips • • •Tom Walker
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •reshared this
Ciara and Cruiser 🇪🇺🇺🇦🇬🇱🇨🇦🇲🇽 reshared this.
rastilin
in reply to Tom Walker • • •Cruiser 🇪🇺🇺🇦🇬🇱🇨🇦🇲🇽 reshared this.
Ciara
in reply to Tom Walker • • •JWcph, Radicalized By Decency
in reply to Tom Walker • • •It's also why we should have a "front door" somewhere where people can actually see what's going on - like, a non-logged-in feed of the most recent, public posts from the entire 'verse.
Such a feed is viewable on many individual servers but "outsiders" will never get that far - so let's let them find it as literally the first thing they see when they go looking.
I'd make it myself if I had the skills.
JWcph, Radicalized By Decency reshared this.
JWcph, Radicalized By Decency
in reply to JWcph, Radicalized By Decency • • •Helvede
Mastodon hosted on helvede.netSir Dankalot
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Sir Dankalot • • •Nonya Bidniss
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Nonya Bidniss • • •I wholeheartedly agree with you that Mastodon is easy. I think it requires more time to set up an account to your liking because you need to go and seek out interesting people to follow... and most "normies" are used to algorithmic feeds and don't enjoy the effort.
The Fediverse feels like my little organic garden where I'm growing genuine connections and I wish it would get more recognition... It makes ZERO sense to me that European institutions and politicians don't have their own servers and are still using American, fascist-friendly commercial social networks. It's maddening.
Neutrin
in reply to Nonya Bidniss • • •Except I still don’t have as many accounts to follow on here as I would like. I suspect they ARE here, and I just don’t know how to find them.
Nonya Bidniss
in reply to Neutrin • • •Neutrin
in reply to Nonya Bidniss • • •Furbland's Very Family-Friendly Account™
Unknown parent • • •Ramin Honary
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •@elena I completely agree with this. Another thing is that “nobody else I know is using it,” which is a deal breaker for a lot of people, more so than a slightly different UI/UX or missing features like full text search. Sometimes harassment and poor moderation are also an issue, and that very much depends on joining the right instance.
People who choose to use the fediverse usually do so out of an understanding that non-corporate run, community-owned applications like Mastodon are inherently better, not because of their feature set, but because of who owns and operates the app, and who the app empowers.
When I try to convince people to use the fediverse, I always sell t
... Show more...@elena I completely agree with this. Another thing is that “nobody else I know is using it,” which is a deal breaker for a lot of people, more so than a slightly different UI/UX or missing features like full text search. Sometimes harassment and poor moderation are also an issue, and that very much depends on joining the right instance.
People who choose to use the fediverse usually do so out of an understanding that non-corporate run, community-owned applications like Mastodon are inherently better, not because of their feature set, but because of who owns and operates the app, and who the app empowers.
When I try to convince people to use the fediverse, I always sell the political aspect of it. Not just that it is anti-Elon, but because it empowers ordinary people, and that is both moral, and an important thing to do.
If I do recommend the fediverse, I usually recommend the instance that I myself use, and tell them they can move their account to something more mainstream like mastodon.social if they would like. (Because really, would they ever want to do that?) I don’t think I have convinced anyone I know yet, but at least a few of my friends have indicated interest, so I think it is just a matter of them building up the courage to sign up somewhere.
Mastodon
Mastodon hosted on mastodon.socialreshared this
Beachbum and Frank Heijkamp reshared this.
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Ramin Honary • • •Ramin Honary likes this.
🇪🇺 Paul Schoonhoven 🍋🍉
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •'the people' follow leaders, large (commercial*) accounts.
* even for journalists the reach of a message is important, so algorithms are important for them too.
(So I don't even mention commercial companies)
Only if the Fediverse wants to overcome this hurdle one way or another more journalists, influencers (in the good meaning) and others will join if BS ends the same way as Twitter.
mkj
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •I agree that a lot of people want "easy". A lot of people also want exactly the same feature set as they already have. (I ran into questions relating to this transitioning a group of people from Messenger to Signal.)
Still, I wouldn't dismiss the impact you're having based on a relative lack of known successes. We (in a broad sense) are working against multi-trillion-dollar international corporations. We have nothing resembling their budgets. What we can and do have is perseverance.
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to mkj • • •Rí Rua
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •I've held 'centralisation' as the reason that both Twitter and Reddit have been successful for a long time. I agree that centralisation is the reason that Bluesky was/is successful.
In a federated world, somewhere like Lemmy needs to have an incredible search feature to search across instances.
Otherwise I've thought it would fit really neatly into non-official websites like for sports fans and things like that.
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Rí Rua • • •Till Kleisli
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Focus on benefits like "no algorithm" and therefore no stupid engagement posts to boost the algorithm. Organising accounts in lists (great if one has diverse interests) and following topics/hastags.
reshared this
Sebastiaan Ammerlaan 🇳🇱 reshared this.
Pete Prodoehl 🍕
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Most people I know from Twitter (I joined when there were less than 7000 users) just want Twitter without Nazis, and for them Bluesky is good enough (for now).
They'll wait until Bluesky turns to shit and then find something else... probably another easy to sign up for centralized service... Sigh.
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Pete Prodoehl 🍕 • • •Axel Knauf
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •When trying to explain federation / the #fediverse to non-tech people I often use examples they already know: email is really a good one - it's technically a distributed, federated system. And everybody is aware that there a different domain names and providers for it. Federation is just the next step up on the journey to take control over your own data through #selfhosting.
(That being said, I'd not encourage beginners to host their own email servers - it's an advanced topic.)
NB: I really enjoy reading about your endeavors, keep going ❤
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Axel Knauf • • •thanks!
I try to use that analogy too but I'm not having much luck getting friends to try the Fediverse 😢
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
Unknown parent • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
Unknown parent • • •Jon Sullivan reshared this.
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
Unknown parent • • •Ahri Enby
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Ahri Enby • • •I'm OBSESSED with Sharkey - most gorgeous UX/UI of the Fediverse IMHO (all the *key projects that is).
If I were to advise friends to try the Fediverse, I would tell them to sign up for a Sharkey instance
Amber likes this.
Amber reshared this.
Goose was not valued
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Yep, that all makes sense!
I've also seen some of my old friends from Facebook reflect "I've been thinking of getting back onto FB. That's where my friends are, and I miss them."
There are many "introduce Fediverse to folk who don't know about it" articles; this one's mine:
todon.eu/@dusk/114090438016504…
(My "folk converted to the fediverse" numbers are similar to yours 😅 )
Goose was not valued
Yep, that all makes sense!
I've also seen some of my old friends from Facebook reflect "I've been thinking of getting back onto FB. That's where my friends are, and I miss them."
There are many "introduce Fediverse to folk who don't know about it" articles; this one's mine:
todon.eu/@dusk/114090438016504…
(My "folk converted to the fediverse" numbers are similar to yours 😅 )
Goose was not valued
2025-03-02 02:18:47
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
Unknown parent • • •This is what resistance to the digital coup looks like
Elena RossiniKrzysztof Sakrejda
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Krzysztof Sakrejda • • •Krzysztof Sakrejda
in reply to Krzysztof Sakrejda • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Krzysztof Sakrejda • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
Unknown parent • • •Till Kleisli
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Till Kleisli • • •Emil Jacobs - Collectifission
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Off topic, but: "because I wanted to say my piece in one go and I would have run into Mastodon character limits"
This is why I started maintaining my own instance and just set the limit to 50k characters. Not because I write super long posts. I just never, ever, want to think about it.
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Emil Jacobs - Collectifission • • •bstow
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to bstow • • •Jerry on Mastodon
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •I sometimes wonder if things would be different if people weren't told to "pick a Mastodon server", a terribly techie term and instead were told to, "Pick a Mastodon provider".
People have email providers and cell phone providers. They understand it doesn't matter which provider they choose, and they should choose based on the provider's policies. That they still connect with people who choose other providers.
Imagine if people were told to pick an email server or a cell phone server. It would have slowed down acceptance.
I think the Fediverse started off on the back foot by allowing a developer to write the instructions.
Sebastiaan Ammerlaan 🇳🇱 reshared this.
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Jerry on Mastodon • • •Sebastiaan Ammerlaan 🇳🇱
in reply to Jerry on Mastodon • • •"Provider" does sound like a sensible term! Moreso than "community" as was also suggested. I'll have to try and remember this. @FediTips
#mastodon #feditips
Furbland's Very Family-Friendly Account™
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •About Mastodon and the Fediverse
bluepixelcomputing.comElena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Furbland's Very Family-Friendly Account™ • • •Furbland's Very Family-Friendly Account™
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Furbland's Very Family-Friendly Account™ • • •Troed Sångberg
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •You're absolutely right - and there's a lot of contention around that with federated service. A lot of people don't like that matrix.org exists as "the Matrix server", and the same was said about making mastodon.social "the Mastodon server". However, being able to say "join Matrix" and "join Mastodon" knowing that people will download the official apps where signup is streamlined for those two specific "default" instances does help.
The thinking is that once people have joined, it's easier for them to learn about federation and other services ... later.
Myself I think it would be even easier if, when we tell friends to join us, we could just give them a signup link that will have them join the same server as we're on, together with a follow-pack we've curated.
^[[200~Michael
in reply to Troed Sångberg • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to ^[[200~Michael • • •Crazy Pony
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •that is totally the same thing that i seen and said all the time since 2022
The second problem following is that who actually federates with whom is a mess. It is a very real experience of pain to pick an instance that you can connect at least with the majority of friends and interesting people
It will always happen that some friends are just cut off and disappear because your or their instance admin chooses to defederate, not even related to you at all
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Crazy Pony • • •Beachbum
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •TweetDeleter | Blog
TweetDeleterKevin Russell
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Login must be fixed, linking to posts must be fixed.
A million websites have twitter links, that work. Mastodon links on blogs and news sites do not work as has become expected.
Fix Mastodon links.
News sites can't embed a mastodon post with a video.
#mastodon
Santiago 🔭🪐
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Santiago 🔭🪐 • • •I agree and I think it's a matter of "when" and not "if".
During these dystopian, authoritarian times I'd rather be on a network populated by people who can teach me how to self-host (and they have!) instead of being on a platform where you can engage with lively conversations about the White Lotus finale. But that's me. Priorities.
And if I sound elitist, so be it. I'm just a realist that wants to resist
Santiago 🔭🪐
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Shanie MyrsTear
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •You've hit the well-squared nail on the head.
That's the easy part! Now we need to find out how to make it easy, without saying "go to Mastodon's web page and sign up", as that doesn't fix the problem of centralization.
Shanie MyrsTear
in reply to Shanie MyrsTear • • •I talked to a friend of mine months ago, techie but *simple* techie, and they were like "why so many websites? Why the e-mail-like @? No algorithm??? Bluesky is just simple."
Little do they know the e-mail "@" is just a "." on Bluesky, and the day they make the 30 million they need to spin up one new instance, it might matter, but probably won't.
Meanwhile Turkish citizens get silenced on Bluesky. Just another day.
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Shanie MyrsTear • • •yeah just another day in this post-literate world. Neil Postman was so right.
From Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985):
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture.
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
Unknown parent • • •Doppelmembran-Würgenippel
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •But if you dont like the normal people?
You know, when all the facebook, whatsapp or x people would be here, we would have all the shit here too.
Sometimes less can be more.
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Doppelmembran-Würgenippel • • •Yeah I can see that. Two words: "Eternal September."
I'm not so worried about getting IRL friends on here... my concern is for the long term, when my little one will be a teenager. I want the Fediverse to succeed (as a viable alternative to offerings by toxic, predatory Big Tech) because so much of youth culture happens online and one's self-esteem today is tied to popularity / performance on these crap platforms (excuse my language).
I'm really worried for her and that's why I'm fighting and advocating so hard for the Fediverse
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
Unknown parent • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
Unknown parent • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
Unknown parent • • •cuan_knaggs
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
Unknown parent • • •Ciencia Al Poder
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Ciencia Al Poder • • •Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
Unknown parent • • •Aw I'm sorry Michael! My 4-year-old was by my side when I was typing and I was hurring to get a message out and resume playing with her 😅
Never heard of Lynis, thank you for the heads-up! I will look into it for my Ubuntu VPS (my Debian one has YunoHost and I'm taking advantage of their excellent diagnostics for that sort of thing)
Christoph
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •@Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
Just arrived here (via friendica and mastodon) and trying to get used to everything.
The Fediverse IS a bit more complicated and needs some love and patience, but it's worth though.
I am having mixed feelings regarding convincing people to switch to a decentralized network.
A) you are often referred to as a tin foir wearer. (If they don't say it, they still mean it!)
B) 99% of the so called friends on Facebook I don't give damn. I don't even want them to be here. I rather start from scratch with people that think alike.
I still do a bit of advertising for it, but I don't try to convince people. People who need to be convinced and are not curious of their own accord should stay where they are.
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Christoph • • •Thank you for your thoughtful message! In my first year - year and a half on the Fediverse (late 2022 - mid 2024) I was super frustrated by the fact my Twitter (RIP) friends would not make the switch over.
But then I found the most amazing community on the Fediverse, made up of kindred spirits. So your sentence "I still do a bit of advertising for it, but I don't try to convince people. People who need to be convinced and are not curious of their own accord should stay where they are" really resonated with me. Very wise words ❤️
Mr. Teatime
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Kind of reminds me of my own astonishment when people dumped their e-mail providers for Gmail. I didn't get it, and it's still hard.
It's as if they *wanted* e-mail to be centralized and their data siphoned off and used against them.
There's some sense in it, though: Having one "obvious" choice of provider removes the need to decide which one to use, and the risk of questioning that choice later.
Running with the herd is easier, and decision paralysis is a thing 🙁
@_elena
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Mr. Teatime • • •Mr. Teatime
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •I obviously don't know how you arrived at the number of TWO people joining and one staying in the fediverse. I *know* I've convinced one person (in 5 years or so), but your online presence is much more visible than mine. I dare speculate that there is a larger number of people joining whose choice to join (or stay) was at least influenced by you and your presence here.
I think the real draw comes not from individuals but from the sum of cool (visible) people, like you, who reside here.
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Mr. Teatime • • •thanks.
One person joined after reading one of my newsletters - I had a link to "Mastodon, my favorite network" in the footer, which prompted her to join. She's still here.
Another person tagged me when she created her Mastodon account - after reading one of my blog posts about the Fediverse, which was shared on Threads. Sadly she's no longer posting here.
My point of pride and joy is getting messages from people who say they took a leap and tried self-hosting after reading about my positive experiences with YunoHost. I'm delighted beyond words.
I know I'm preaching to the choir most days... but I love that I found a community of kindred spirits on here...
Mr. Teatime
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Although my big project this year is self-hosting myself, by buying an appartment. The setup process may take a while...
Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂
in reply to Mr. Teatime • • •ah you're reminding me my next big challenge is figuring out Borg backups.
And good luck with the most important self-hosting project of all - aka buying a place to live in!
damon
in reply to Elena Rossini on GoToSocial ⁂ • • •Community Showcase | Bluesky
docs.bsky.app