Notices by Evan Prodromou (evan@prodromou.pub)

This looks so cool.

https://github.com/cloudflare/wildebeest

Hey Mastodon, I need some suggestions for my playlist of songs that tell you don't do something

Centralisation of communications media is an extremely powerful force.

The typical remediation for centralization is regulated public utilities is breaking up a monopoly into a cartel of 3-5 local monopolies.

Also not great.

We are participating here at a very rare occurrence of decentralisation.

For everyone who thinks this is important for our lives and for the world, it is incumbent on all of us to build structures now that hold this ground as the federation grows.

#cosocialca

I highly recommend the excellent book "The Master Switch" by Tim Wu.

It details the initial decentralization, followed by centralization and monopoly, of various media from telegrams to film, radio, tv, telephones, cable TV, and the Internet.

It's a fascinating read, and well worth your time.

One of the big mistakes people make, over and over again, is relying on technological determinism.

That is, thinking the architecture of the technology will preserve the topology of the network.

Mastodon is Open Source. It's built with open standards.

This is necessary but not sufficient to keep the network decentralized.

We're going to need social and legal structures, plus cultural norms, that counterbalance Metcalfe's law, which pushes the network towards centralization.

@andyc oh damn, pleroma has better polls!!!

Don't post on Twitter.

The content and connections that you are investing there are supporting an abusive system.

Post that content here.

Bring your connections here.

There, you are small, and you are a commodity.

Here, you are important, and you are a person.

You know all this.

If you feel compelled to open Twitter, investigate that compulsion.

You've heard that algorithmic apps can cause addictive behavior.

Is that what you're doing?

And if so, shouldn't you stop?

Is there a way to send to a list in the default interface? Or in advanced interfaces? Like, if I want to send family photos just to people I've marked "close friends and family".

@KevinMarks @blaine @darius Yes, I know! It was pretty good.

#introduction

My name is Evan Prodromou. I'm an Open Source software enthusiast, best known for my work in wikis and in social software.

I work as Director of Open Technology at the Open Earth Foundation.

I live in Montreal, love to garden with native plants, make wine, cook, and live an examined life.