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1. Fedi.Tips 🎄 (feditips@mstdn.social)'s status on Friday, 21-Apr-2023 19:33:58 JST Fedi.Tips 🎄

   The official Mastodon app is doing something new which is potentially very dangerous to the existence of Mastodon and the Fediverse.

   The official Mastodon app now prompts users to join mastodon.social by default, when previously it prompted them to pick a server. If you're new this may sound harmless, but let me explain.

   The entire point of this place is to be a social network spread out on as many servers as possible (the reasons are here: https://fedi.tips/why-is-the-fediverse-on-so-many-separate-servers/).

   (1/6)

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   • Wrongthink (wrongthink@cdrom.tokyo)'s status on Saturday, 22-Apr-2023 00:22:03 JST Wrongthink

     in reply to

     • stux⚡
     • Александр
     • 🦣丁斯特Dingster

     @shuro @feditips @leftsidestory @stux

     • When you tell about new service a very large group of people immediately tries to find it in their smartphone app store. It has to be obvious and they expect this app to be their main or only interface. Not having “the app” is showstopper.

     I have no desire to interact with people like that.

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   • Александр (shuro@friends.deko.cloud)'s status on Saturday, 22-Apr-2023 00:22:05 JST Александр

     in reply to

     • stux⚡
     • 🦣丁斯特Dingster

     @stux @feditips As someone who tried promoting Fedi among non-geeky people I can tell two things:

     - When you tell about new service a very large group of people immediately tries to find it in their smartphone app store. It has to be obvious and they expect this app to be their main or only interface. Not having "the app" is showstopper.

     - having to choose servers is confusing AF and too many just don't want to bother. Some drop out at this point, some (far lesser group) will choose randomly and end up on some kiwifarms or even decent but wrong choice of server. E.g. once someone I knew eventually got expelled from German server because he posted in another language which annoyed server audience and made moderators nervous.

     So just a random picker like @leftsidestory suggested won't work. It has to be either complicated or dealing with a curated pool of stable and well-maintained general purpose servers.

     If we want "normal people" then this is the reality and Mastodon team adapts. Making things different would mean limiting access.

   • stux⚡ (stux@mstdn.social)'s status on Saturday, 22-Apr-2023 00:22:06 JST stux⚡

     in reply to

     @feditips I also saw this indeed

     And only thing I wondered was..

     Why…

   • Machismo (zerglingman@freespeechextremist.com)'s status on Saturday, 22-Apr-2023 02:35:35 JST Machismo

     in reply to
     @feditips >If that happens, the Fediverse would no longer be protected from buyouts by nasty people.
     Yes it would. Anyone on massoc gets what they fucking deserve.
     
     Also obligatory >(3/6)
     Join a real instance already.
   • Fedi.Tips 🎄 (feditips@mstdn.social)'s status on Saturday, 22-Apr-2023 02:35:36 JST Fedi.Tips 🎄

     in reply to

     For the first time ever, the most common way to sign up on the Fediverse is now directing people to sign up on one specific server, rather than making them choose.

     This will make mastodon.social grow even more quickly than it has before, and future waves of new Mastodon users may end up mostly there. It's very plausible this one server could become the majority of the Fediverse in the near future.

     If that happens, the Fediverse would no longer be protected from buyouts by nasty people.

     (3/6)

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   • Fedi.Tips 🎄 (feditips@mstdn.social)'s status on Saturday, 22-Apr-2023 02:35:37 JST Fedi.Tips 🎄

     in reply to

     There is technically still an option on the official app to "pick my own server", but it's much harder to read or notice, and new users will probably click the mastodon.social button without even understanding the other button.

     Mastodon.social just passed 1 million registered users about a week ago, out of a total network of approx 7 to 11 million users (dependiing on how you count them).

     Most of these users probably signed up via the official app.

     (2/6)

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   • Machismo (zerglingman@freespeechextremist.com)'s status on Saturday, 22-Apr-2023 02:36:04 JST Machismo

     in reply to

     • Wrongthink
     • stux⚡
     • Александр
     • 🦣丁斯特Dingster
     @wrongthink @stux @leftsidestory @feditips @shuro "Gatekeeping" is just a word for a functioning immune system. Anyone who is against gatekeeping wants to give every community on the internet AIDS.
   • 🌲Number 1 Pleroma Criminal on XBL 🇵🇱|🇺🇸 (phenomx6@fedi.pawlicker.com)'s status on Saturday, 22-Apr-2023 02:37:15 JST 🌲Number 1 Pleroma Criminal on XBL 🇵🇱|🇺🇸

     in reply to

     • Wrongthink
     • stux⚡
     • Machismo
     • Александр
     @shuro @wrongthink @Zerglingman @feditips @stux >open website up like goatse
     >Website becomes shit twitter clone with the same fear porn hysteria and low quality posting
     
     Lol lmao
   • Александр (shuro@friends.deko.cloud)'s status on Saturday, 22-Apr-2023 02:37:16 JST Александр

     in reply to

     • Wrongthink
     • stux⚡
     • Machismo
     • Александр
     • 🦣丁斯特Dingster

     @stux @Zerglingman @feditips @wrongthink @leftsidestory Well, obviously it is not what Mastodon team wants.

     I am with them by the way.

     Don't mix up immune system and sheltering at home :)

   • Fedi.Tips 🎄 (feditips@mstdn.social)'s status on Saturday, 22-Apr-2023 04:10:25 JST Fedi.Tips 🎄

     in reply to

     Yes, signing up on one server is much easier for people who are used to centralised services like Twitter, Facebook etc.

     But as we have seen from Twitter, such a setup leaves you at the mercy of Musk-type takeovers. For-profit social networks do not like federation, they hate it as they see it as competition. It is very likely that a commercial takeover of a majority server would defederate it, to prevent people leaving and simplify its maintenance.

     (4/6)

   • Fedi.Tips 🎄 (feditips@mstdn.social)'s status on Saturday, 22-Apr-2023 04:10:47 JST Fedi.Tips 🎄

     in reply to

     So, what can be done?

     1. Tell new people to use third party apps, they are better anyway and have more features. More info at https://fedi.tips/which-apps-can-i-use-should-i-use-the-official-app-or-a-third-party-app/

     2. Tell people to sign up on the website. Mastodon's official site at https://joinmastodon.org is still asking people to choose a server, and is very professionally laid out. (I've also got my own amateurish effort at https://fedi.garden.)

     3. If you're comfortable using github, give a thumbs up at https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon-ios/issues/1023

     (6/6)

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   • Fedi.Tips 🎄 (feditips@mstdn.social)'s status on Saturday, 22-Apr-2023 04:10:48 JST Fedi.Tips 🎄

     in reply to

     • Eugen Rochko

     This is not an attack on Eugen, I don't do those. Most of what @Gargron does is amazing, the Fedi owes him a great deal, and the fact he turned down large sums of VC money recently shows great integrity.

     But eventually most people in that position will crack. Ever larger sums of money can make even the nicest people sell out.

     If most of the Fediverse is on mastodon.social, it WILL receive more takeover bids. If it grows even further, these bids will become even higher.

     (5/6)

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