It’s rough right now politically in the US. A lot of people around me seem like they’re ready to give up hope. It makes me incredibly angry seeing Zuck up there with all the other billionaires, and Elon is a parasite that has infected the government.
I often find myself wondering how I can make a difference. How can we regain control of our world?
Idk if I’m being dramatic, but the Fediverse really seems like it could be our response to these fuckers controlling the narrative on social media. It could be more than just an interesting decentralized social media platform. I really think this could be a key step in reclaiming our democracy.
Am I being dramatic lol? Do you all feel the same way? I was kinda getting emotional even. Like we could bring real change. That gives me hope, which is something we are desperately lacking right now.
It’s not just Lemmy. It makes me happy to see all the Fediverse platforms (specifically activity pub based) blowing up.
Friendly reminder if you have the financial means, donate to your instance, donate to the Lemmy devs, donate to Pixelfed or any other social media app fighting big social media. And better than a one-time donation, set up a monthly contribution even if it’s just $2/month. It really helps open-source developers when they have a steady income.
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Mark Zuckerburg was up there at the inauguration because he is one of the richest men alive, and he became so mostly because of the platforms he owns.
By using the Fediverse and not his platforms, I’m denying him revenue from ads and data, even if its an infinitely small amount.
Use open platforms, give your money to ethical businesses and keep it from these assholes. Money isn’t the only way for someone to have power, but there’s no denying that the net worth on that inauguration stage was the most concentrated anywhere on earth. Don’t give them a cent more.
The Fediverse and open source world do give me hope. But my worry is seeing people not adopt them. I know they aren’t pertect but compared to the big tech alternatives they’re a no oasis.
Using the Fediverse feels like a small step in the right direction. Big changes are built on lots of small steps. I would say move in the direction of using the Fediverse more, the old alternatives less, and think of more small steps in the right direction you can do. I don’t think just using the Fediverse is enough, but it is an important step to take. Keep going.
The Fedi is the only hope right now.
I don’t think you’re dramatic.
For me it’s about reclaiming my right to participate in online discourse on my own terms. In a way the fediverse is freedom.
I plan on trying to self host a mastodon instance for myself and rebuild my blogs.
I don’t think I’d ever want to self host a lemmy, I like being anonymous to a reasonable degree. But I like that lemmy lets me have a voice without acquiescence to reddits enshittification.
Also the community is largely great. I love the memes, I love the comments and discussions, and I like that I learn things from fellow internet users again.
Fediverse as a technology yes but the userbase here does the opposite. By definition someone commenting on a message board is not a normal person because normal people don’t do that, but to be commenting on a niche platform like this makes you hyper not-normal, and yes, that applies to me as well and I’m well aware of that.
Absolutely.
The Fediverse is a sewer of antisemitism, and antisemitic censorship
…abd this goes on anticorporate. Thank you very much. And yes, I think it does and we do make a difference. Keep it up. Organize and search for people like yourself. Instead of turning the naysayers one by one and burning out, find your allies and spread the word efficiently. Think of the ideal situation and make it happen. I‘m here, lets fucking go (same mission, different continent)!
Yes. The fediverse is a pretty difficult thing to be controlled by a single group: that’s sorta the idea. I see it as almost a refuge from all the bullshit. The lack of ads, tracking, content farming, censorship and control etc is refreshing. Here’s to hoping the fediverse continues to spread.
There’s plenty of censorship here though. Some instances are worse than others but even on a community basis, your average moderator is just some random dude who is free to remove your posts/comments and ban you just because they don’t like something you said and there’s not really anything you can do about it.
Not all moderation = censorship 🙄 You play by the rules or you face the consequences. Nowhere on the planet are the consequence-free zones - at least not forever.
If you really want fediverse instance where absolutely everything is permitted, make it. I bet you after the first CP post you’ll rethink your stand on “all moderation = censorship”.
Fediverse? Maybe. It will stay small and not monetized. For some that’s good.
Lemmy? No hope. Lemmy and the pessimistic world views here give ME no hope for anything on this planet. I want to leave, but keep finding myself back here doom scrolling. Some communities seems good though. The platform is good though and seems to be picking up.
Specially for those of us who aren’t from the USA, there’s basically no content other than their news, a couple different hobby communities and the sellers from nsfw.
Agreed. This is the most cynical corner of the internet I’ve ever been to, yet here I’m.
Reddit is worse
Reddit is more diverse. The same kind of cynicism exists there too but it’s dilluted by all the other content so it’s easier to ignore. Here that is less the case as majority of the content is news articles - granted that I haven’t been to reddit for over a year so I don’t know what it’s like today.
I also hope it stays not monitored, though I would happily pay $1/month to support running costs.
It gives me memes and that’s close enough
set up a monthly contribution even if it’s just $2/month
I remember somewhere on the fedi, some instance admin saying that on average it cost $2/month per user. So, if you are relatively active on the server, $2 monthly recurring donation might cover your share of expenses.
how I can make a difference
https://blog.elenarossini.com/supporting-the-fediverse-one-small-act-at-a-time/
2$ a month is bad advise as payment processing fees will eat too much of it. Costs are also usually much less than 2$/month/member, but that is assuming the admin labor is provided by volunteers.
Hopeful that some parts of the population won’t be giving all their data away. There will always be bootlickers (apple fanboys, google lovers, reddit aficionados, Musk-worshippers, …) , people who just don’t know better (too old, uninterested, ignorant, unexposed, …), and people who can’t join due to things like censorship, internet speed, or whatever else.
Unfortunately, I am an Apple user lol. I don’t hate the products, but don’t care for Tim Cook, and I hate their labor practices. I also hate that they are anti-right-to-repair. I do appreciate the quality of their products and software. I hope the government slaps them with the biggest antitrust lawsuit.
Moving forward, I will be considering alternatives due to the ethics of their manufacturing. I am a big open-source supporter, and I understand that my support of Apple is a bit of cognitive dissonance. But I do wish Linux could find a way to deliver a product that feels as refined as a MacBook. I would be willing to donate to an effort to do so.
It seems like the only semi-viable alternative to oligarch run social networks.
I am not American, but behaviour exhibited by oligarchs such as Zuckerberg/Musk (and these are just the ones that get in the news) is not at all surprising.
