Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Is the proposition of “being more connected” really worth the downsides? And 'proposition' is the right word to use, since its really just the promise of social networks that people like. In practice it has not worked as a means of connecting people to each other. Certainly not better than the alternatives it replaced. We should call the experiment a failure. I'm all for getting rid of social networks, especially g…
> since its really just the promise of social networks that people like. In practice it has not worked as a means of connecting people to each other. I went off FB for a year or two, only to come back on when the pandemic started. I definitely missed the connections and conversations I had with family and friends across the world while I was gone. If I could have that without feeling like I was contributing to all th…
Meta is building a decentralized, text-based social network
311–320 of 361 posts
Re: Meta is building a decentralized, text-based social network
#312What if, and hear me out: we ditch the idea of a better replacement social network and just ditch the concept in general? Let’s go back to not being bombarded by ads every 3rd post, to not getting lost in massive echo chambers, to not doom scrolling for 20-40% of our waking hours, being locked into mega platforms, etc... Is the proposition of “being more connected” really worth the downsides?
You do realize that social networks are optional ? No one is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to use them.
Re: Meta is building a decentralized, text-based social network
#313Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hotels where you don't pay rent, in exchange for the hotel recording everything you do in the room, in the lobby, and if you aren't careful, putting a GPS tracker on your person.
I doubt that a recording of everything I do in a hotel room would be valuable enough to pay for the room. Pity really, I'd quite like to do some touring without having to pay!
It is not at all problematic to extract enough value from a conventional hotel visitor to pay for their room. The real puzzle is that a free room doesn't attract that kind of people. You get people who feel obligated to draw penises on the wall, shit in the sink and stab holes in your mattress. The normal audience you get, after making the reservations and/or picking up the key mostly wont be in the room because they don't need it.
Whatever plot one was to come up with to realize it it is almost guaranteed that it would work better if you charged extra for a room with such creative original features all this wonderful product information as the deeper the pockets the more valuable and less annoying the promotional circus.
Re: Meta is building a decentralized, text-based social network
#314What if, and hear me out: we ditch the idea of a better replacement social network and just ditch the concept in general? Let’s go back to not being bombarded by ads every 3rd post, to not getting lost in massive echo chambers, to not doom scrolling for 20-40% of our waking hours, being locked into mega platforms, etc... Is the proposition of “being more connected” really worth the downsides?
This puts the cart before the horse. Otherwise, you seem to be assuming that all people on social networks were somehow tricked into being there. They're there for a reason. It just so happens that this current implementation of entertainment is particularly popular. Is that because they lack other options or because this is actually prime entertainment? Or is it because it's essentially free and mildly fulfilling an…
The trap is exactly what you just said: "it's essentially free". Which of course it is not. Time is one's most valuable resource, I guess it is up to you what you value it. Mental well being has value. Privacy has value. I really don't know that many people that walk away from FB or IG or Twitter and say "that was fulfilling". Maybe I am really off base there.
Re: Meta is building a decentralized, text-based social network
#315Earlier quoted context omitted.
Case in point: we're discussing this on Hacker News, a very well moderated website. Libertarian tech bros love the idea of technical solutions for political problems. What they don't realize is the real service platforms offer is moderation.
I see many comments here every day that would get anyone instantly banned from most of the biggest subreddits. However, I think that most people would agree that this place is a lot less toxic than reddit. Smaller subreddits are somewhat better, but at this point this behavior has become pervasive in site, and users are expected to respond aggressively to any disagreement. As a result, any discussion becomes impossib…
Re: Meta is building a decentralized, text-based social network
#316Yeah. Meta is hiring, Meta is firing, Meta is about to publish their first coloring book, ML models available, discount mattresses, the boss-lost-his-mind-everything-has-to-go, Meta is taking VR to the next level, Meta is building a decentralized, text-based social network. Sure, sure. Good luck, Meta!
The bastardization of the term "decentralized" in this post has energy levels over 9000 for sure. Should be flagged as click-bait.
Re: Meta is building a decentralized, text-based social network
#317Why is this obsession with decentralized? I don’t see the benefits of it at all. A central server is better if they have a good moderation plan built in. This whole decentralized idea is to wash their hands off moderation and not take a blame for the hellhole it will become. From a pure functional point of view, how can a decentralized network provide any performance guarantee? What am I missing?
"An authoritarian regime is better if they have a good dictator and the proper watchdogs"
Re: Meta is building a decentralized, text-based social network
#318Earlier quoted context omitted.
My previous text just mentions Mastodon limitations. Quite frankly couldn't really care less about ActivityPub or what it could do similar to Nostr (not even doing so today is already a bad thing in itself). You yourself repeat the same castrating limitations "so long as you own your domain". And that's the point. Most people: + don't own domains + don't want to own domains + don't need to own domains for the sake of…
I'm not sure what I said to warrant the attitude from you but probably you can frame your arguments in a better way if you want to continue the discussion.
Re: Meta is building a decentralized, text-based social network
#319Earlier quoted context omitted.
Social networks changed the world, and are now predominant in the world we live in. It's like when someone pollutes water. Our society and culture are water, and social networks are... pollutants. It's fine and normal and good to want to look at the superfund site that is our global culture and want to push social networks out of the very-toxic pollutant it happens to be, and into something we can all abide, even for…
The pollutants are people as they’ve always been. Social media is a natural progression of society. It has all the same positives and negatives of an local social structure.
Re: Meta is building a decentralized, text-based social network
#320Earlier quoted context omitted.
do you realize that roads are optional? you don't have to leave your house to talk to friends. do you realize that using the mail service is optional? nobody forces you to write post cards. do you realize that electricity is optional? you can get a shack in the forest and burn wood. do you realize that water pipes are optional? you can dig for your own ground water. the world is not made of solipsistic individuals. i…
Roads, mail service, electricity and water pipes are valuable for me and improve my life. I want to use them, and I do. Social networks are not valuable for me, and they would not improve my life. I don't want to use them, and I don't. It's that simple, really.