A community index of servers added a new rule recently, that requires every participant to defederate from Threads. Some admins are unhappy.

Server indexes of places for newcomers to join can be instrumental for Fediverse adoption. However, sudden rule changes can leave some admins feeling pressure to change policies in order to remain listed.

  • @[email protected]English
    29•9 months ago

    In this analogy, they haven’t kicked your nuts.

    Sure they have, over and over and over, just not in this neighborhood yet. Folks were either too young to witness or just weren’t paying attention to the decades of anti-consumer bullshit from this company.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook#Criticisms_and_controversies

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawsuits_involving_Meta_Platforms

    Here’s a couple recent individual ones:

    https://theintercept.com/2024/03/26/meta-gaza-censorship-warren-sanders/

    https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/03/netflix-ad-spend-led-to-facebook-dm-access-end-of-facebook-streaming-biz-lawsuit/

    They have been very nearly the worst example of an awful tech company for their entire existence. They will exploit the fediverse to the maximum extent they can, and we should not be voluntarily accompanying them.

    • @[email protected]
      2•9 months ago

      the worst example of an awful tech company for their entire existence

      Not to stir the pot, but at one point Zuck was an idealist. Circa 2008? When interviewed by a news corporation about privacy concerns he said, and I quote, “It’s your data. You own your data.” At the time, he hadn’t monetized with anything more than ads, and I think he truly believed it.

      A short few years later he saw the opportunity to become a multi-billionaire and probably decided ethics and idealism is for poor people. Much the same as Reddit, Google, Apple, etc. Do you remember? Those of us who lived through it remember.

      One day, the largest Lemmy instances may be no different. Time will tell.

      • @[email protected]
        3•9 months ago

        Slight difference is that Zuck has had control from the start, whereas other companies might have had “don’t be evil” leadership that was… optimized away for financial reasons.

        Not that it really matters nowadays. Just an observation.

      • @[email protected]English
        0•9 months ago

        I don’t really see the point of this comment.

        • Is it that we should not hold Threads at arms length because [citation needed] Zuck was once a tech idealist and had lots in common with current fediverse denizens? (setting aside my doubt for the moment)

         

        If so, I don’t really care how nice and kind Zuck was when he was a freshman in college. I care about what he has done since then, and leading up to now.

         

        • Is it that one day I may not like something large Lemmy instances do, so should not be so anti-Threads?

         

        I don’t even get that idea, so I am guessing that can’t be it.

         

        Much the same as Reddit, Google, Apple, etc. Do you remember? Those of us who lived through it remember.

        I lived through using 8" floppies, so yes, I remember.

        Which of those are open source projects that anyone can fork and/or run their own instance of at any time, providing a place for people to seamlessly transition from Reddit, Google, or Apple if they don’t like what those companies do with their platform? The comparison you are trying to make falls apart immediately.

        • @[email protected]
          1•9 months ago

          Take it at face value. The comment is a historical correction and gentle reminder that we only have one chance to prevent data from walking out the door, regardless of how friendly the platform is. Once your data is out, it’s out. Guard it well.

          Is FaceBook detrimental now? Yes it is, unquestionably.

          Was it always? No, it wasn’t.

          Should we de-federate? Absolutely. Yesterday and retroactively, if possible.

          Which of those are open source projects that anyone can fork and/or run their own instance of at any time, providing a place for people to seamlessly transition from Reddit, Google, or Apple if they don’t like what those companies do with their platform?

          Reddit. Once upon a time.

          I lived through using 8" floppies, so yes, I remember.

          Ah, 8" floppies. Good memories. And bad. “Please read that… Why aren’t you reading it? If you’re not going to read it, spit it out… Let go. Now try again. Why is it blank? It wasn’t blank after I wrote to it. Why did you wipe it? Damn.” It was the best of times.

          I was so excited when 3 1/2" introduced attached switchable write protection. The peak of convenience.