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Threads, an Instagram app

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Re: Threads, an Instagram app

#951

Post by nobody9999 »

hrisng wrote: post #691
luckystarr wrote: post #524

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People on the Fediverse expected it very much. Meta already was trying to talk to the larger instances "off the record"[1]. Fediverse users are already planning to boycott any instance which federates with Meta to block any Embrace, Extend and Extinguish moves. [1] https://fosstodon.org/@kev/110592625692688836 edit: More info here: https://wedistribute.org/2023/06/fedipact-blocking-meta/

Why? I would love for the general public to be able to connect to Fediverse. I don't love Meta per se, but let be real here, the majority of people are not gonna sign up for random instances that run by someone they don' know, to interact with a very small and niche subset of people, with a risk of it being shut down by that said person due to whatever personal circumstances they may have. It's the biggest obstacles…

>If this rumor is real and Threads takes off, you can still stay in whichever instance that you like, but now be able to get updates from the artist, the experts, educators, politicians, the influencers that would not have joined the Fediverse otherwise. And more importantly, more people now can get updates from you. Reach might not be something you personally appreciate but it's very important for content creators.

Then those content creators can set up their own (or pay someone else to do so) Fediverse instances. The Fediverse is decentralized on purpose to avoid the kinds of lock-in that FB/IG/etc. require.

I want no part of that, which is why I don't use such centralized services. As such, why should I allow those same centralized services run by greedy scumbags anywhere near my instance(s) or even my consciousness?

Can you provide me with a cogent argument as to why, after making the effort to get away from those toxic ad-riddled environments, I should welcome those same folks into my world? I imagine that could be an interesting discussion.

Re: Threads, an Instagram app

#952

Post by kilroy123 »

ducharmdev wrote: post #250
brucethemoose2 wrote: post #87

Oh, wait, this feels like the start of a cyberpunk story. If TikTok gets banned, where to the users go? Instagram. Threads could replace Twitter. Reddit is going downhill... Maybe Meta could even buy it in a firesale? Outside of chat apps like Discord, Slack, Teams and Telegram (which compete with WhatsApp), Meta will have consolidated most of the world's social media under them. And that's assuming they dont buy out…

The beginnings of a western WeChat?

Didn't ever really realize this until you said it...

WhatsApp, Instagram, Threads, messenger, and Facebook all in one app. Horrifying.

Re: Threads, an Instagram app

#953

Post by gofreddygo »

mullingitover wrote: post #93

I'm calling it now, this is going to hollow out twitter in extremely rapid fashion. I give twitter a couple of months once this launches, they'll do a Wile E Coyote where they walk off the cliff, followed by plummeting. Meta is going to grind the blue bird to a fine powder, not saying this as a Meta fan, just a casual observer. There's massive pent-up demand for an alternative, and so far Bluesky and Mastodon haven't…

> this is going to hollow out twitter

should. I hope it does. Treating users like they are deserves much worse.

> There's massive pent-up demand for an alternative

Nope.

If there was, we'd already have seen more attempts with some strong competition.

Twitter has always struggled to make more money. Founding team and CEO are gone. Musk tried all he could to get himself out of buying it. Twitter board was desperate to sell it.

Twitter's power users were happy with 140 chars and a textbox. They got there years ago. They're still there not because of what Twitter has become, but despite of it. Not many, not a growing community and they're not leaving.

What kept it alive en-masse was celebs and politicians. They're seemingly not missing Twitter.

Threads is about Ego. Musk burned $400 billion and Zuck $650 billion on shit ideas. This is them dueling, burning more money just to prove they know how to make popular products. In reality neither has a a fking clue about what people actually want.

We'll see this burn to ashes after the elections.

Re: Threads, an Instagram app

#954

Post by jtode »

luckystarr wrote: post #524
modernerd wrote: post #481

“Soon, you’ll be able to follow and interact with people on other fediverse platforms, like Mastodon. They can also find you with your full username @username@threads.net.” [1] Did not expect Fediverse integration from Meta. [1] https://9to5google.com/2023/07/03/threads-instagram-app-coun...

People on the Fediverse expected it very much. Meta already was trying to talk to the larger instances "off the record"[1]. Fediverse users are already planning to boycott any instance which federates with Meta to block any Embrace, Extend and Extinguish moves. [1] https://fosstodon.org/@kev/110592625692688836 edit: More info here: https://wedistribute.org/2023/06/fedipact-blocking-meta/

I have been a rather happy user the last few months but the last couple of weeks it's turned pretty narsty; downloaded my data and turned off my main instance account, and I'm waiting for the schism to happen before I go back in.

I have zero issue with Meta using ActivityPub, cause whatever they try, it makes them at least somewhat permeable in theory. I do have zero intention of interacting with them on any level though.

Re: Threads, an Instagram app

#955

Post by jtode »

luckystarr wrote: post #874
smoldesu wrote: post #821

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Free Software isn't about picking and choosing who gets to run your program or interact with your protocol. Federation is , but the concept of Meta using ActivityPub has nothing inherently wrong with it. If Meta has the gall to rug-pull the entire Fediverse, things will just return to the same status quo they are today. Multiple content silos with thousands of freely-federating alternative platforms. As a Mastodon us…

> Free Software isn't about picking and choosing who gets to run your program or interact with your protocol. Federation is, but the concept of Meta using ActivityPub has nothing inherently wrong with it. Meta can ActivityPub themselves all day long, as far as I'm concerned. If I were a server operator, I wouldn't let them anywhere NEAR my users though, so no federation with them. > If Meta has the gall to rug-pull t…

There is a pact to instantly defederate, many have already preemptively blocked their domains.

I deleted my account this morning, with a backup natch - nice thing about Mastodon, I can start up exactly where I left off, including whatever followers come over to the non-Meta side of the schism.

People act like the schism Fedi being small is a bad thing, I don't think we're supposed to interact with the entire planet as individuals. We apes do not have the capacity to handle it.

Re: Threads, an Instagram app

#956

Post by jtode »

meragrin_ wrote: post #576
dstaley wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's great is I can easily swap to an instance that is federating! Unidirectional federation sounds like a nightmare on the UX side, so if that's the case I imagine it'd be Threads to Mastodon, enabling you to follow (but not interact) with Threads users.

> What's great is I can easily swap to an instance that is federating! Define swap. I'm hearing instances which federate with FB will be defederated as well. If instances need to be federated to "swap", it likely won't be easy.

Don't sweat it; the Defederation radicals are far fewer in number than the rest.

Our splinter network will exist but be a non-factor to those who want "reach".

Re: Threads, an Instagram app

#957

Post by jtode »

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #252
jeroenhd wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most big servers seem to be in a pact to defederate from Facebook before it even goes online. I also remember the rumours stating that the Federation part was exclusively targeting large Mastodon servers, and also mostly unidirectional (from Mastodon to Threads). I don't think the federation support will be all that great from what I've heard. But who knows, maybe it'll bring the Fediverse to the mainstream.

So for the record, the author of the "pact" has been publishing blatant fiction under the guises of "unverified rumors" and nearly everything you said here falls into that. All of it has been confirmed false by either Meta or representatives of the fediverse who met with Meta. Meta isn't making any special deals with large servers and basically no large servers have signed the pact. Most of the pact signatories are s…

They will defederate servers that send them troll content though, and I don't see Meta stopping that anytime soon.

Re: Threads, an Instagram app

#958

Post by jtode »

bleachedsleet wrote: post #819
madeofpalk wrote: post #610

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am/was a twitter doomer, and jumped ship to mastodon ages ago. I'm not convinced Threads will manage to capture the people that used Twitter (which was significantly media & politics types) and kill Twitter. Personally, I don't have faith Meta will remain comitted to Threads. We spurn Google for killing of projects, but Meta/Facebook has a history of spinning up side projects especially for Instagram and killing th…

Mastodon ain’t it because the exact minute a minimum wage Geek Squad tech has to explain to a sorority group the reason they can’t follow each other is because they are using different federated instances is the exact minute mastodon fails to gain any mainstream appeal. It will likely always captivate some niche of users looking for a slice of the nostalgic, techie internet (Mastodon will remain an HN darling no doub…

I wish you were right. People talk about it "failing" because it fails to meet the expectations set by capitalist platforms, and you are exactly correct - Mastodon is a throwback to the time before these beasts inundated the earth with their tidal wave enshittification.

But I just closed my account this morning cause there is a large mob now who are quite determined that this will be twitter 2.0, and they are already bullying the culture in that direction.

Once the schism comes I'll go back.

Re: Threads, an Instagram app

#959

Post by ocdtrekkie »

jtode wrote: post #957
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So for the record, the author of the "pact" has been publishing blatant fiction under the guises of "unverified rumors" and nearly everything you said here falls into that. All of it has been confirmed false by either Meta or representatives of the fediverse who met with Meta. Meta isn't making any special deals with large servers and basically no large servers have signed the pact. Most of the pact signatories are s…

They will defederate servers that send them troll content though, and I don't see Meta stopping that anytime soon.

Oh, absolutely. Even amongst all of the large servers, which expect to allow federation with Threads, none of them intend to give Meta special treatment. If they can't keep their house in order, they will end up getting defederated.

That being said, the big question will be how open Threads is to the rest of the fediverse. It likely won't include the global federated feed, so the question will be how much Threads users end up interacting with the average Mastodon user. It might end up being we only see Threads users when they either manually know a user they want to follow, or Meta promotes content from folks like George Takei into Threads and we see trash comments on that.

Re: Threads, an Instagram app

#960

Post by fknorangesite »

bigyikes wrote: post #689
geokon wrote: post #666

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any thoughts on why they attached to the IG graph and not the FB graph? Maybe I'm in a bubble, IG seems very low text, low drama, low politics. Not very Twitter-y

I think the IG graph is more similar to the Twitter graph than the FB graph. Also, IG has much more of a “cool factor” which they’re hoping Threads will inherit. I follow my grandparents on FB, and I don’t necessarily want that on my Threads.

> I think the IG graph is more similar to the Twitter graph than the FB graph.

Very much so: Facebook is unlike Instagram and Twitter in that its relationships are bidirectional.

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