Federated #SocialMedia requires #federated #services, too.

There is a discomforting trend to undermine the #Fediverse by introducing high-level #API​s that foster irreversible #centralization, and enable #surveillance and #censorship.

APIs for supporting the ingestion process of external search engines, inevitably leading to centralization: There's only so many search engines a Fediverse server admin is willing to feed, and much fewer even that people are willing to use. And with inevitable centralization comes frustration: neither admins nor people have choice.

APIs for "moderation as a service" that help submit all media to external actors, in the very same hash-and-match way that is one of the battlegrounds of the #ChatControl assault on privacy (and has always been, for those who can remember the #UploadFilters debate).

And it's always "only an API". That can be implemented by "whoever wants to". That is targeting "only the #FourHorsemenOfTheInfocalypse", never any legitimate posts. That is "innocent" of its glaringly apparent potential for abuse, and the course it sets, ignoring the history of the net. That you just misunderstood, or didn't look closely enough at.

And, that does not suggest or even mandate any kind of federation between its implementations.

Essentially, these APIs are an order, a call to surrender: Acknowledge the inferiority of federated systems – resistance is futile, you will be assimilated.

"The stated rationale for this centralization was to eliminate unnecessary duplication, inconsistency, and costs in systems, processes, policies, contracts, and services across these functions.

The committee understands and accepts this rationale. However, the committee heard on numerous occasions from personnel at various centers that this centralization had actually reduced efficiency, with suggested values of reduction in the 20–30 percent range.

This can be seen as an unintended but significant consequence of the centralization initiative."

#NASA #gcdigital #centralization

https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27519/nasa-at-a-crossroads-maintaining-workforce-infrastructure-and-technology-preeminence

Maybe it would help if people thought of centralized social media and data tech companies as predators, preying on, nay, addicted to appropriating your personal data for things... horrible things... you never consented to. It's in their nature. #Centralization #SurveillanceCapitalism #TheHunger #Privacy

In today’s society, I often feel that my anti-capitalist and anti-hierarchy views are suppressed. Whether it’s capitalism or any other hierarchical system, there’s constant pressure that stifles open expression of these beliefs.

This is why anarcho-syndicalism resonates with me; it seeks to dismantle oppressive structures and eliminate centralized control. By promoting a decentralized system where individuals, communities, and unions share decision-making power, anarcho-syndicalism supports true self-determination. In this framework, I can express my beliefs without fear of being silenced.

Anarcho-syndicalism values every voice, encouraging cooperation and mutual aid over competition and hierarchy. It fosters an environment that promotes open dialogue and collective action, allowing us to build a world based on freedom, equality, and justice for all.

Hey @delta how much money do you spend in a year? Just asking for a friend.

I hate Youtube ​​

And specifically the fucking clickbait in thumbnails...
And the algorithm... the fucking algorithm...

How difficult is it to make a timeline option as videos are uploaded to the platform?

#timeline #youtube #enshittification #youtubers #youtuber #google #socialmedia #centralization

@Harrybear @GottaLaff @bkahn

Traditional #media is dead. #Socialmedia is where the challenge and redemption lies now

Away from #plutocracy and #centralization

Towards this: the #Fediverse

We need to turn this place into a tool of #resistance, #sanctuary from the now unconstrained malice, build it into a muscular alternative

Some like #Mastodon, etc as fringe

I utterly disagree with such people

The wonderful part is this is #decentralized. You stay fringe, let us do what is necessary

Many people moving to Bluesky from Twitter though a perfectly valid, owned-by-the-people solution exists right here. Do people just love corporate centralization that much, the crack cocaine that is the algorithm, or is the UI simply prettier? Maybe it’s the signing up is hard narrative? (Instances.social makes it easy)

Anyone asked a Bluesky user what sent them that way? Comment if it was something else.

When news outlets use Twitter/X as a source for their publications, you know it's time to close the tab and move on.

Knitting Our Internet in Berlin!

How does the Internet actually work? Why is it such a mess? How can we make it better?

Join my free workshop Knitting Our Internet in #Berlin TODAY to explore these questions and to for their answers, together!

Location: @xHain_hackspace, Grunberger Straße 16, 10243, Friedrichshain, Berlin
Date and time: Saturday 26 October 2024, from 17:30 until ~18:30

No participation fee, no reservation required, no knowledge or material required. Just come and bring your friends!

I promise: it’s not a complex technical thing, but an participatory collective experience instead. (I have cool stickers too )

See you tomorrow!

@berlin

#Centralization #CentralizedWeb #Oligopolies #Microsoft #CrowdStrike #CyberSecurity: "Hace 20 años, internet era una infraestructura diversa llena de consorcios de operadoras y proveedores de servicios locales. La nueva generación de cables submarinos de fibra óptica está siendo desarrollada exclusivamente a Google, Facebook y Microsoft. OpenAI está integrando su modelo de IA generativa en servicios, aplicaciones y empresas de todo el mundo, incluyendo aquellas destinadas a atender las necesidades de los ciudadanos, como la administración, la educación y la salud. SpaceX domina absolutamente la infraestructura de internet satelital.

Una sola actualización del software de una empresa que casi nadie ha contratado directamente ha bloqueado aeropuertos en todo el mundo en un viernes de julio. Podemos culpar a CrowdStrike. Pero, cuando es inevitable que la escena se repita, sería más sensato reconocer el síntoma de un error sistémico: nuestra dependencia de la infraestructura corporativa opaca, centralizada y monolítica de empresas como Microsoft. Sería el primer paso para desarrollar infraestructuras digitales más resilientes y sostenibles, capaces de garantizar la estabilidad del sistema, la competitividad del mercado y la protección del ciudadano."

https://elpais.com/opinion/2024-07-22/los-fragiles-monocultivos-digitales.html

The IT world collapsed yesterday and it was nothing to do with #crypto.

Shall we reflect on priorities?

#centralization #decentralisation #decentralization

This push for #HTTPSEverywhere would've been perfectly fine if it just focused on #HTTPS / #TLS / #SSL as an option always available. But no, it also pushed for it to be mandatory (even if it doesn't make sense if you look at the #threatmodel), and as a result pretty much everything in the #web cannot be accessed with a #browser that doesn't have an up-to-date enough TLS support. Which is fine I guess if you're on a modern computer anyway, but a pain if you're on #retrocomputing. ​:seija_coffee:​

The #LetsEncrypt #centralization is also a serious concern, which is why I avoided using it for my #VPS.

RE: https://hamishcampbell.com/a-balanced-and-pragmatic-approach-to-native-openweb-security/

If you're old enough to remember, AOL was pretty big back in the 90's. Even back then, it's management was smart enough to see that the Internet is the future. At one point they got so ambitious that they tried to serve both as the infrastructure and the services online; in some way, for a brief period of time, AOL was The Internet for a lot of Americans.

Then other providers and services pushed in, based their offerings on open standards, and eventually eliminated the vendor lock-in for a lot of the fundamental online services.
Ultimately, standards and interplay won and The Web grew bigger than just the playground of a single company.

Nowadays there's Twitter, now X. It grew in popularity and so many people are using it, that a lot (including Elon Musk himself) are referring to it as the global public 'town square'. In some ways it is. But it is a centralized system, run by a commercial entity.

In the last couple of years, an open standard emerged (ActivityPub), enabling the collaboration between diverse social networks.
I am wondering whether history will repeat itself or proprietary tech will continue to be the platform for public discourse.

Thoughts?