@GutterPoetry @nicolasvivant Not our only two options (thank fuck).

@aral @nicolasvivant

They definitely were talking notes from #Bluesky Jay Graber's disingenuous 'decentralized' charm offensive.

@aral @nicolasvivant Do not use wsocial.

@aral@mastodon.ar.al @nicolasvivant@colter.social it's surreal how these folks would throw any new corporate crap at us while ignoring the literal elephant in the room - that ActivityPub has already proved its point and they just need to run their instances.

--EDIT--

Oh, a closer look points to something interesting:

Anonymous accounts and automated bots are not allowed, according to the project’s backers

So how do you prevent anonymous accounts and bots?

Simple, with online identity verification!

That's why they ignore ActivityPub

They're trying to sell us the solution for an existential problem that they have created themselves around an emergency that doesn't exist.

At this point any Trojan horse that can get EU citizens to swallow online identity verification can work. And if they can edulcolorate with a "but it's a European sovereign social network!" (even if the ID verification mechanisms still rely on Google's and Apple's operating systems) then why not give it a try?

(Also, I guess that "no bots" implies "no public APIs" too. The war of walled gardens).

@aral @nicolasvivant here is a picture of W Social's CEO on LinkedIn. "Make Europe Great Again"

@fedi @nicolasvivant *smdh*

@mastodonmigration @aral @nicolasvivant I checked it and the company is actually registered in Sweden. It’s amazing that they think they can attract regular people with a “top-bottom”-approach by first courting tech companies and LinkedIn peeps . At least bluesky started with the furries and lgbtqia+ people

@fedi @aral @nicolasvivant

They're fascists then? Surely that's what the hat means?

@fedi @aral @nicolasvivant ok. W definitely stands for wankers then

@FediThing @fedi @aral @nicolasvivant I don't understand - why are we hating a European tech startup here? Have I missed something? Surely we want more EU startups?

@fedi @aral @nicolasvivant ️

@davidt @FediThing @fedi @nicolasvivant Yeah, I think you missed the exit to Bluesky and ended up at Mastodon.

@fedi @aral @nicolasvivant truly pitiful

@davidt @fedi @aral @nicolasvivant

No, we want European infrastructure to be controlled by ordinary Europeans, not multinational corporations.

VC startups are only set up to be sold out to the highest bidder, which is usually outside Europe. VCs don't care what happens to their startup, they just want to sell out and get the money.

Other problems with W are:
-They're using fascist phrases and clothing
-They're erasing Mastodon from history
-They're centralised with all the problems that brings (list of them at https://fedi.tips/why-is-the-fediverse-on-so-many-separate-servers/ ).

@FediThing @fedi @aral @nicolasvivant I hear you, the reason the US is so successful in building that infrastructure that we're all now so hooked on and deeply embedded within though is because of VC startups - I don't think governments and institutions have the risk appetite for stuff like this. Besides, do you think W creators would have instead worked on infrastructure if not for this? I don't think so personally. We can have both!

@fedi @aral @nicolasvivant Cringe-worthy. At this juncture, cosplaying fascists isn’t edgy or ironic, it’s just stupid and counterproductive.

@fabio @nicolasvivant @aral And it seems like they are going to rely on AI for moderation/filtering and will not ban accounts. I guess fascist would be ok.

The clip where the CEO say they won't ban people https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxOqOEys_yr23eTXrV4CiYJf5S4Nmim1Zf?si=KTernWSN8HRmP7Dv

@aral @nicolasvivant

More #techshit to compost.

techshit – #OMN (Open Media Network)

(hamishcampbell.com)

@bob @aral
But what if we build *our own* homegrown torment nexus?

@davidt @fedi @aral @nicolasvivant

The purpose of connecting people isn't to make money, it's to provide vital infrastructure.

VCs are the wrong vehicle for vital infrastructure.

Look at the sheer scale of electoral interference through Meta and Twitter/X. Musk especially is using Twitter/X to promote fascists.

These are failures, they are failing society and even getting people killed ( https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/dec/06/rohingya-sue-facebook-myanmar-genocide-us-uk-legal-action-social-media-violence ).

"I don't think governments and institutions have the risk appetite for stuff like this. "

The costs of building something like the Fediverse are absolutely tiny (some prices for scale: https://masto.host/pricing ).