I cam here to get away from all the corporate BS, but suddenly people want to welcome Facebook/Meta to the fediverse? I cannot fathom how people see their intentions as pure or innocent, especially since they aim to profit off of the open source software everyone has worked so hard on.
I just don’t see how the fediverse survives if it decides to let these massive companies make their instances. It feels like it’ll be a repeat of the rise of social media, where all the smaller forms got wiped out by large, consolidated social media platforms.
The network effects are hard to overcome for a majority of people and they shouldn’t be punished for it. I think most of the people in charge of large fediverse instances are hyper aware of the embrace-extend-extinguish mindset and will be wary buying into corporate versions of the fediverse. Personally, I’ll remain skeptical but I won’t advocate for defederating or any punitive actions without cause.
I feel like past experience should inform the decision. Why give em another chance to shit things up?
Agreed. And believe me you, they’ll find a way to screw us all over if we give them half a chance.
This was my first reaction as well but it felt like collective punishment. I think the best path forward should be setting the example we would want them to emulate even if it’s naively optimistic.
I think you are indeed being a bit naive if you think Meta will have any interest in following any good example the Fediverse sets. They only care about profit. They will eat this place if possible.
Yes, that is the most likely outcome and I still think preemptive action is the wrong way to go.
If you expect them to ruin it like corporations have done at every opportunity in the past with federated hosting, why would you even allow them the opportunity. Let people join. Corporations are not people. Don’t treat them as if they are.
In this case, I think there could be some benefit to exposing the larger meta community to the fediverse. How many more people will try linux/self-hosting or learn to appreciate their privacy by becoming aware of all the tools that are out there? Maybe some of those same people who started with threads will switch over to a foss client after learning about how their data is being used. It’s likely going to be a tiny percentage of people but we’re already a very small subset of the social media space. Maybe some of those people will have some influence in their family/community. Again, all of this is pie-in-the-sky thinking and weighing the risks and benefits is worth talking about.
Thats a fair take on the situation. Just hope everyone stays wary of the situation. I wouldn’t put it past instagram/facebook to try to feed ads all across the fediverse.