Re-centralists: "The Fediverse can never scale because one single company isn't making it happen! For mass adoption, we need walled gardens!"
*then proceeds to send an email and surf the web*
The entire bloody Internet is built for de-centralization—and we all use it.
We just now believe otherwise because VC-funded tech companies have convinced the world that surveillance capitalism is the only viable path forward.
What do you all think these walled garden apps even use? Their own proprietary tech?
No, it's open source tech built for de-centralization.
The reason you all don't benefit from this is because Big Social refuses to pay it forward.
You might not all realize this but Facebook and Twitter originally promised interoperability across the web.
They reneged on this promise once they realized it was easier to steal 3rd party innovations than develop their own.
So no, you don't need walled gardens to drive adoption of social media technology.
The reason Big Social pushes walled gardens on you isn't because it's "easy", it's because they have contempt for the people who use their platforms.
How do I know this?
I've talked to many devs that work for Big Social.
They think you're stupid, and that you can't handle the "real" Internet.
There's a reason I don't use the term "average user"—and it's because every developer who uses this term perceives the "average user" as a slobbering idiot who can't achieve daily tasks.
They really do believe that visiting a simple website is more difficult than driving a car or baking a cake.
This, of course, is silly.
It's not that centralization is "easy" for people who use Big Social.
It's that centralization is easy for profits.
It's funny, devs in this thread are justifying their use of the term "average user".
But read their responses.
Who are they imagining the "average user" to be?
Again, a slobbering idiot.
This is contempt. Devs don't acknowledge this is the case, but it is.
If you disrespect the persona you're building for, you're inevitably going to build an app that's hostile to the people who use it.
How does "average user" hostility manifest itself in an app?
Let's look at why I decided to delete my Facebook account.
I woke up one morning. Checked my Facebook feed. What did I see?
A live broadcast of Muslims getting murdered over in New Zealand.
I did not consent to see this.
Yet, Facebook decided it was relevant to me, and that it should auto-play.
From that moment, I decided that I would never use a Meta product ever again.
@atomicpoet
Ya, fuk social media platforms that manipulate and abuse. Oh, and people too
