Thread by @swardley

X : Are you on mastodon?
Me : @[e-mail]
X : Is that a real thing?
Me : I am not going to promote a system which will degenerate rapidly into small excluded tribes reinforcing social divisions with huge amounts of people being denied a fair voice.

X : You don't think it's a good thing?
Me : I lurk. I have a lot of faith in the community. I'm like a moth to the flame. But ... the way mastodon is currently setup raises red flags for me. It seems a good technical solution if you ignore the social aspects of society,

X : Social aspects?
Me : security, exclusion, recourse, fairness ... it's a long ist. Just make sure that whatever server you have decided to become a serf on has pleasant lords who will treat you kindly and pay for all the costs .... just like throughout history.

X : Painful lessons?
Me : There will be. Don't get me wrong, there is potential in this path, there are a lot of ideas to like, there is even a path to national services but ... people will get burned along the way.

X : But it's growing?
Me : Well, I see a lot of people claiming to have so much "fun on mastodon" that they have to come back here to tell us how much fun they are having elsewhere. Don't they have people on mastodon that they can talk to about how much fun they are having?

X : Why are you negative about mastodon?
Me : Growth.
X : Growth is bad?
Me : Too much growth, expectation and pressure onto an existing community. Some are already "mourning a social media experience that was destroyed this week" - hughrundle.net/home-invasion/

X : You're in favour of the paid verification system?
Me : It's not a "paid verification system". It's a subscription system. To be blunt they should keep the subscription, including all the conditions / changes they are adding and drop the whole "blue ticks" completely.

X : You don't like the blue ticks?
Me : For many it seems to have blurred into a symbol of rightness / correctness / validity. I don't like the ticks, I never liked the potential reinforcement of existing social status. I do, however, like the subscription model based on PPP.

X : Get rid of blue ticks?
Me : Or give them to everyone who subscribes. Same effect, All it becomes is a signifier that someone has subscribed nothing more.
X : No different signifiers?
Me : The only ones that I see as valid would be for authorities such as Government.

X : Companies?
Me : They are no different to people. The distinction between people or companies and Government is that Governments are the authority for identity & verification ...

Me : ... if you really want a verified system of social media then it should be nationalised, provided by Government and all its institutions of identity, verification and authority should be applied.

X : Couldn't this identity and verification be provided by the community?
Me : Yes, if there were the right guiding principles in place. However, in their abscence then bad things will happen - secjuice.com/mastodon-child… - and rules will be introduced, and rules require rulers ...

Me : ... before you know it, the system will create hiearchies and fiefdoms. What started as a "great leveller for the community" will become another "reinforcer of rules, exclusions and restrictions" due to the whims of "leaders".

X : What guiding principles are needed?
Me : No-one probably knows. Hence my comment on good looking technology but lacks consideration of the social systems. I can see this going like most DAOs that don't start with beliefs and principles.
X : Which is?
Me : Nowhere good.