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Ask HN: Organize local communities without Facebook?

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Re: Ask HN: Organize local communities without Facebook?

#271

Post by pixl97 »

coldpie wrote: post #226
pixl97 wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hello, it appears you've never even ran the most basic internet platform before in your life. Simply put you have to ask the most important questions first, then build an app backwards from that 1) How will it be paid for 2) How will it be moderated. So, you've already failed number one. You have no means to pay for it. Then you failed number two. If it gains even a modicum of popularity it will be completely and tot…

I agree it's unlikely to succeed, but I find thinking about our problems and trying to fix them much more admirable & interesting than just rolling over and accepting things as they are. You can't improve things if you never even try.

The important issue in thinking about problems is understanding all the interconnected problems.

The internet is a horrifically hostile place. If you design a product without that in mind you're creating a danger for yourself and for your users. Slap a community site up without thinking about COPPA or GDPR or whatever Californian law and suddenly you'll have problems. Slap a site up without heavy moderation and it will be filled with the most awful porn you can imagine.

It's not about just accepting the way things the way the are, it's avoiding becoming a casualty of the way things are.

Re: Ask HN: Organize local communities without Facebook?

#272

Post by neilv »

A friend recently moved to a rural area, and this question came up. I mentioned Fediverse as one possibility, with caveats.

I think you'd have to go through and make sure you know exactly what to tell them to install/configure for each of the following scenarios:

* Willing to install an iOS app.

* Willing to install an Android app.

* Willing to create an account in a Web site, and want to get email when someone in the group says something (with a hashtag or whatever).

Also see whether they're willing to talk on Fediverse, or they want something less public.

Re: Ask HN: Organize local communities without Facebook?

#273

Post by mmooss »

XCabbage wrote: post #171
ADeerAppeared wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> because say the CEO of a company is friendly to the President. "Engaging in political censorship of their platform in favour of the President" is a little more than being "friendly". Free Speech in the US is dying. Ignore it at your own peril.

Huh? When has Facebook ever implemented political censorship on behalf of Trump ? I am not aware of a single case of such a thing even being requested, let alone granted. The scandals about government-directed social media censorship were under Biden's admin, not under Trump's.

While I agree about Trump, Facebook has censored left-wing causes such as Palestinians. Zuckerberg's embrace of Trump, including possibly getting approval for Facebook's recent changes, raises many concerns.

Re: Ask HN: Organize local communities without Facebook?

#274

Post by PaulHoule »

jfactorial wrote: post #256
bko wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> techno fascism I keep hearing this. What does this mean? My guess would be "a system in which big technology firms can effectively censor speech with coordination from the state". But I think those that use it mean something else.

I think "techno fascism" is a term people are using to describe tech company CEOs operating as unelected oligarchs embedded within the new US government. If you're looking for a better term, we could call it "technocratic anti-liberalism" to perhaps cover all the bases. People are attempting to describe the current situation in which the wealthiest humans in all of history are supporting an anti-liberal executive by…

I'd say categorically that fascism is not a helpful term to describe movements outside the 1900-1945 period in Europe. (e.g. Japan's movement was anti-colonial if anything, Tokugawa Japan would have been happy to be left alone to gaze its navel, if that wasn't possible it wanted the asia-pacific region as a buffer zone)

Today it is "Keir Starmer is a fascist" (Sci-fi writer Charlie Stross), "the local people department is fascist" (BLM supporters), I half expect to hear "Jesus was a fascist" although certainly that accusation is leveled at his followers.

There's something seductive about the imagery in Pink Floyd's The Wall and V is for Vendetta that is evocative of the period. Perhaps today's political systems are on the brink of failure due to inaction the way that the remnants of European aristocracy were. But we're not going to face what we're up against using "thought stopping" terms.

One could make the case that the real problem with "people worried about the price of eggs" is a lack of meaning and that Trump's talk about going to Mars or annexing Greenland addresses that more directly, as do the fantasies of fascism which can elevate ordinary feelings of despair.

Re: Ask HN: Organize local communities without Facebook?

#275

Post by acomjean »

khrbrt wrote: post #225

A club I'm active with posts everything to Meetup and Facebook. Meetup is the "official" source of truth for posting events and photos and limited chats related to the events themselves ("Where are we parking?" type questions). Facebook for social chat and announcing "unofficial" hangouts/parties.

Meetup is often used in the groups I'm in. A friend used to organize and it cost the organizers money but no the members. It was pretty ad free.

Now they're asking members to sign up (and pay) for more feature (meetup plus). and show ads. But still decent for organizing meetings.

Re: Ask HN: Organize local communities without Facebook?

#276

Post by archagon »

scarface_74 wrote: post #205
coldpie wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone agrees this is an uphill battle. What I'm saying is that's a boring reason not to do something you believe in.

It doesn’t matter what the poster believes. He is doing something for the benefit of a community that doesn’t care about whatever ideological battle he is trying to fight and inconveniencing them in the process

Fine, let’s nobody do anything and convince nobody of nothing. Sit on couch, watch telly, mind own business. Great life!

Re: Ask HN: Organize local communities without Facebook?

#277

Post by sanderjd »

XCabbage wrote: post #245
chriswarbo wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Instagram hides search results for 'Democrats'" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g32yxpdz0o > While users who type "#Democrat" or "#Democrats" see no results, the hashtag "Republican" returns 3.3 million posts on the social media platform. > By manually searching Instagram for "Democrats", rather than clicking on a hashtag, users are greeted by a screen reading "we've hidden these results". > "Results for the t…

This is really obviously not intentional, let alone requested by the Trump admin.

Definitely curious to see how long it takes to get fixed, now that it has gotten media attention.

Re: Ask HN: Organize local communities without Facebook?

#278

Post by mmooss »

latexr wrote: post #89

Are we talking 50k people per town ? So over a quarter of a million people in total, each with more connections to other people outside said towns? I applaud and encourage your chutzpah, but I’m not too optimistic about your prospects. Do you want to move your community out of Facebook, or does the community want to do it? Do they even agree with your reasons for wanting to move, or is it possible they actually agree…

> you only have one shot

That is not true at all. Trying, failing, and trying again are part of any change or innovation. In fact, it's close to the truth that nobody succeeds the first time.

Re: Ask HN: Organize local communities without Facebook?

#279

Post by dylan604 »

Jgoure wrote: post #61
dylan604 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

when's the last time you were happy and excited when someone randomly knocked on your door? exactly

why is this

Random people knocking on your door is in-person spam that is much more expensive for you to receive
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