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Jürgen Hubert @thefolklore.cafe

There is a lot of disdain here on #Mastodon and the #Fediverse for those who have chosen to stay on #X / #Twitter and other social media platforms. And I think that this is not helpful.

There is a lot of disdain here on #Mastodon and the #Fediverse for those who have chosen to stay on #X / #Twitter and other social media platforms. And I think that this is not helpful.

I mean, sure, in the case of governments, political leaders, and major news organizations, disdain away. But many activists and small-time business owners depend on having a large reach and good networking for their activities, and this reach might simply not be feasible on the Fediverse - especially if their primary focus is on a demographic underrepresented around here (as the Fediverse skews heavily towards white Europeans and North Americans).

Hating on these people accomplishes nothing useful - and worse, it contributes to the Fediverse's well-deserved reputation for snobbery, which has driven a lot of people away.

So instead try empathy. Understand why such people make the choice to stay on other social media platforms, despite their problems. And instead of berating them for it, emphasize that these platforms will almost certainly get worse over time, due to the Enshittification cycle that all tech businesses touched by Silicon Valley venture capitalists must inevitably go through.

Suggest that developing a Fediverse presence is a useful "Plan B" for their social media efforts - and that among social media platforms, the Fediverse alone has the potential to develop into something better over time.

14 comments

    • @oldladyplays@wargamers.social

      I absolutely agree that X must be destroyed. I just don't think that berating X users for staying there is going to accomplish that.

      We must make it easier for others to leave, and for that we must understand why they still stay there - and offer a welcoming off-ramp.

      • @juergen_hubert@thefolklore.cafe

        And I'm saying, it's nice that you have the freedom to approach it as an intellectual exercise. I, on the other hand, will use every tool at my disposal, including contempt if that's what it takes, to induce people to leave that fascist site, because it's a direct threat to me. There are literally people on that site who make money off identifying trans people for MAGA chuds to violently target.

        You do it your way, and I'll do it my way. And don't expect much sympathy for a kinder gentler approach to people who are enabling an incipient genocide. If they don't want to hear that they're doing that, they know how to block and mute. But please don't lecture me about how I need to be nice to people enabling my elimination.

      • I absolutely agree that X must be destroyed. I just don’t think that berating X users for staying there is going to accomplish that.

        The way to destroy it is to reduce the number of users, and the only way to reduce those numbers is to convince people to stop using it.

      • @juergen_hubert@thefolklore.cafe @oldladyplays@wargamers.social I think if you want to build the off ramp, then it's in small community groups where you persuade amd shepherd people in.

        Twitter grew at first because of word of mouth. I joined in 2009 and I left in 2022. I only joined because others were using it as a communications medium.

        People often stay on their first network, there's more inertia to move.

        In the past two years Musk has been mask off. There's no excuse for staying on other than "numbers" and "reach"

  • I closed my X account a long time ago solely because of Musk.

    However, I agree completely with you. Many people have an intolerance for anyone who makes different choices than they do. Look at the brouhaha over federating with Threads. Some admins block other instances solely because they don't block Threads and then follow up with hateful messages. They sound so much like that one person they hate so much.

    Showing people that it can be just as toxic in the Fediverse doesn't help.

    I think people should stop hassling others who think differently and stop the whining. I'm with you on this.

  • 2/ As an addendum, I want to make clear that I have absolutely zero sympathies for the social media platforms and their owners themselves. In fact, I consider them to be a dire threat to civilization, as their algorithms and owners promote hatred and bigotry of all kinds.

    What I want to stress is empathy for many of the users on these platforms. Most of them stay there for reasons that make sense to them, after all.

    And "empathy" does not mean "agreement". But if you don't take the time to understand their points of view, you are unlikely to convince them to give the #Fediverse a try.

    • @juergen_hubert@thefolklore.cafe You surely understand that you pay them with your money-worth personal data. Every user contributes to the size and therefore the power of a big platform. No users = no money.
      But not every user has the power to be heard there. Tw's algorithms and shadowbans have long been working against democracy and freedom!

      People often choose the Fediverse because they understand that democracy needs independence and the open fight against fascism. Please understand that too!

  • @juergen_hubert@thefolklore.cafe Sorry to say that: I had empathy for a long time.
    But since the owner's open help for fascism (including shadowbanning of activists) and now all his campaign aid and open admiration for Trump, we should learn from German history! If these people come to power in Nov, there will be chaos and the destruction of freedom and democracy worldwide (European right-wing extremists are just waiting for it).
    Your data give him power/money. Far-right extremists will give you nothing! 1/2

14 comments