In this searing investigative report on #Bluesky @davetroy asks how are the users flocking to there safe from EXACTLY THE SAME THING that happened at Twitter/X.
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Mastodon Migrationreplied to Vivek Gani last edited by [email protected]
@vivekgani @TFFPrisoner @davetroy
And this is in response to this deep dive into the subject by @cwebber :
Christine Lemmer-Webber (@[email protected])
How Decentralized Is Bluesky Really? https://dustycloud.org/blog/how-decentralized-is-bluesky/ A technical deep-dive, since people have been asking me for my thoughts. I'll expand a bit on some of the key points here in a thread. 🧵
social.coop (social.coop)
The fact remains that there is still only one node in this 'distributed' network, making it kind of not a distributed network no matter how it is architected.
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@mastodonmigration @davetroy The crypto bros who invested in BlueSky will be very happy to sell to Elon (or any other #oligarch if he overpays for it like he did for Xitter. The core team will find it very hard to resist a unicorn valuation. So the odds are very high that the ascendant #oligarchy in America will get control of BlueSky very soon, one way or another.
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Tend to agree, but they will wait until critical mass is established and the next important inflection point is months away, leaving no time to for the dispossessed to regroup.
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@mastodonmigration @davetroy I think the timeline will be driven by when BlueSky burns through the $15M they just raised, which is probably a year away. I will be very surprised if they aren’t effectively controlled by the #oligarchs by this time in 2025.
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They are already controlled by the oligarchs. The question is the timing on when they lower the boom. They will wait until they have captured the entire liberal social media ecosystem, then spring the trap a few months before the next critical election. The money is nothing to them. $15M even $100M is chicken feed.
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@mastodonmigration @davetroy That’s fair, the whole thing was started by Jack Dorsey in the first place.
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@clive @peterbrown @mastodonmigration @davetroy Except that too much is in one person's control. Thankfully, non-Mastodon Fediverse/Open Web is big enough for us to decamp together if Mastodon degrades.
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Only one detail is different. Eugen avoided the poison pill of vulture capital.
And that makes a huge difference. It's in many ways the harder way, but it allows that "one man" to stay his own man.
OSS projects often live and die with the guidance of one special person, and these are often eccentric. Eugen is measured by that standard refreshingly normal.
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⚯ Michel de Cryptadamus ⚯replied to charvaka last edited by
@charvaka @mastodonmigration @davetroy selling out to someone like elon should be the entire reason Blockchain Capital invested in BlueSky, though there is an alternative explanation: they want to use BlueSky as a new venue to spin crypto narratives and sell tokens to chumps.
either way the blockchain capital guys are some of the most OG worst of the worst crypto bros. expect serpents.
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@yacc143 @clive @peterbrown @mastodonmigration @davetroy Yes, right up until they're not. It's not at all straightforward even before that: I've seen plenty of people making the case that the centralization there is slowing Mastodon development down.
It's a common model, but inherently risky: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benevolent_dictator_for_life
Consider the turmoil with WordPress at the moment.
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@mastodonmigration @davetroy But if this did happen... couldn't users just vote with their feet a 2nd time?
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@mbrailer @mastodonmigration @davetroy Finding profiles on mastodon and following them if they're on different servers is still really clumsy/annoying imo
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The issue is that there is an opportunity to actually build something that can not be controlled and muted. If progressive voices are once again silenced just before the next election or critical historical moment, what effect will that have? We already lost perhaps the most important election in our nation's history, what will be the damage next time?
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@deskJet95 @mbrailer @davetroy
Different servers shouldn't matter.
If you know the account name, or close to it, you can simply type it into search as shown below for your account.
Also, @FediTips explains ways of finding accounts: https://fedi.tips/how-do-i-find-accounts-to-follow-on-mastodon-and-the-fediverse-how-do-i-find-my-friends/
And, Fedi.tips has an extensive directory: https://fedi.directory/fedi-tips/
Beyond that, to load a curated batch of great accounts on different topics check out Follow Packs here: @mastodonmigration.wordpress.com
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Mastodon Migrationreplied to ⚯ Michel de Cryptadamus ⚯ last edited by
@cryptadamist @charvaka @davetroy
Yup. In any case, the point is that it is not a safe haven.
There be monsters...
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Mastodon Migrationreplied to Hilda Bastian last edited by
@hildabast @yacc143 @clive @peterbrown @davetroy
Mastodon development is 3 or 4 people, so yes that slows things down. It is amazing what they have accomplished with this small a team, but there is only so much a few people can get done. Perhaps this is the cost of sticking to principle and not taking on venture capital, but it would be great if there were a way to both adequately fund such a vital product, and keep it out of the hands of investors who could take away control.
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Dave Troy :toad:replied to Mastodon Migration last edited by
@mastodonmigration @hildabast @yacc143 @clive @peterbrown this is misleading; there are way more people involved in development when you look at the whole ecosystem of apps, stack, etc.
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@deskJet95 @mbrailer @mastodonmigration it’s really very straightforward.
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Mastodon Migrationreplied to Dave Troy :toad: last edited by [email protected]
@davetroy @hildabast @yacc143 @clive @peterbrown
Excellent point. It is important to distinguish Mastodon gGmbH the non-profit company that developed and maintains the Mastodon application from the underlying Activity Pub protocol, the open source software that powers the Fediverse. There are many engineers involved with the AP protocol. Also there are many third party apps for Mastodon and there are other Fediverse applications like Pixelfed. So, many excellent engineers involved.
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Mastodon Migrationreplied to Mastodon Migration last edited by [email protected]
@davetroy @hildabast @yacc143 @clive @peterbrown
Also, there are the many IT systems folks that maintain Mastodon server instances as well as people who do the painstaking work on instance moderation. So altogether a big enterprise.
That said, it would be great if Mastodon gGmbH had more development resources given the enormous importance of this technology to open social media worldwide.
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