It's really interesting hearing @waffles talk about the weird early days of the internet. Like, people scrounging computers, fumbling their way online, figuring out how to eke out network bandwidth in some sketchy co-lo. None of this was done for some big profit, it was just fun becaues the internet was cool and exciting. Just to nerds at first, but then thanks to nerds, to everyone!
I still sense some of that weird spirit alive in this Mastodon instance, and Mastodon in general.
@tommertron @tchambers @waffles Proud to be a so-called "nerd"! Someone who believed and still believe in Internet as a bridge rather than a series of islands full of obstacles, like the monsters in Greek myths.
We can still be alive and strong, and we must take this responsibility in hand. Crying on "what OTHERS turned Internet into", is not the solution. I feel responsible myself in first person, for having underestimated the huge marketing campaign Facebook made in early 2008, Zuckerberg touched a couple of weak points in me: the fact I could restore contacts with old friends (being blind in the 90s meant barriers in corresponding with folks coming from other cities or countries); and Facebook fooled me even with the mechanism "just write without thinking of templates, graphics, etc". Not to talk of alternative texts in photos which worked not so good but Facebook knew how to exploit them.
I've contributed in first person to enshittification, and now I'm a proud fighter to help other (younger and older) human beings, to restart exploring the world for what it really is.
@tommertron @waffles Yes, exactly so.
@tchambers @waffles Like, as much as Mastodon isn't 'taking off,' I still think there's something special being built here. Maybe I'm just dreaming, but I wonder whether the real future of the internet is being built here, which will survive and provide value long after the algorithmic industrial complex eventually collapses under its own weight. Maybe I'm just being optimistic?
@tommertron I'm there with ya, buddy. It doesn't really matter if Mastodon "catches on" with the masses. It's not about the protocol, it's not about numbers...
It's the idea that there is a place where the people care about their experience and can determine their own digital destiny.
