Lemmy.world Admin Response to Meta/Threads
Lemmy.world Admin Response to Meta/Threads
There has been significant discussion in recent weeks regarding Meta/Threads. We would like to express our disappointment with the negative and threatening tone of some of these discussions. We kindly ask everyone to engage in civil discourse and remember that not everyone will share the same opinions, which is perfectly acceptable.
When considering whether or not to defederate from Threads, we're looking for a decision based on facts that prioritize your safety. We strive to remain neutral to make an informed choice.
First, there seem to be some misconceptions about how the Fediverse operates based on several posts. We’ve compiled some resource links to help explain the details and address any misunderstandings.
Fed Tips , Fediverse , ActivityPub
Initial Thoughts:
It seems unlikely that Meta will federate with Lemmy. When/if Meta adopts ActivityPub, it will likely affect Mastodon only rather than Lemmy, given Meta's focus on being a Twitter alternative at the moment.
Please note that we have a few months before Threads will even federate with Mastodon, so we have some time to make the right decision.
Factors to Consider:
Factors to consider if Meta federates with Lemmy:
Privacy - While it’s true that Meta's privacy settings for the app are excessive, it’s important to note that these settings only apply to users of the official Threads app and do not impact Lemmy users. It’s worth mentioning that Lemmy does not collect any personal data, and Meta has no means of accessing such data from this platform. In addition, when it comes to scraping data from your post/comments, Meta doesn’t need ActivityPub to do that. Anyone can read your profile and public posts as it is today.
Moderation - If a server hosts a substantial amount of harmful content without performing efficient and comprehensive moderation, it will create an excessive workload for our moderators. Currently, Meta is utilizing its existing Instagram moderation tools. Considering there were 95 million posts on the first day, this becomes worrisome, as it could potentially overwhelm us and serve as a sufficient reason for defederation.
Ads - It’s possible if Meta presents them as posts.
Promoting Posts - It’s possible with millions of users upvoting a post for it to trend.
Embrace, extend, and extinguish (EEE) - We don't think they can. If anyone can explain how they technically would, please let us know. Even if Meta forks Lemmy and gets rid of the original software, Lemmy will survive.
Instance Blocking - Unlike Mastodon, Lemmy does not provide a feature for individual users to block an instance (yet). This creates a dilemma where we must either defederate, disappointing those who desire interaction with Threads, or choose not to defederate, which will let down those who prefer no interaction with Threads.
Blocking Outgoing Federation - There is currently no tool available to block outgoing federation from lemmy.world to other instances. We can only block incoming federation. This means that if we choose to defederate with our current capabilities, Threads will still receive copies of lemmy.world posts. However, only users on Threads will be able to interact with them, while we would not be able to see their interactions. This situation is similar to the one with Beehaw at the moment. Consequently, it leads to significant fragmentation of content, which has real and serious implications.
Conclusion:
From the points discussed above, the possible lack of moderation alone justifies considering defederation from Threads. However, it remains to be seen how Meta will handle moderation on such a large scale. Additionally, the inability of individuals to block an instance means we have to do what is best for the community.
If you have any added points or remarks on the above, please send them to @[email protected].
You're viewing a single thread.
I fully expect Threads to be vaporware, just like the Metaverse. The only way I see it replacing Twitter is if they're more aggressive with forcing Instagram users onto the service, which they might do, but more likely it's just going to be a flash in the pan.
Twitter will hold on for a while longer yet.
I wouldn't even think IG users need anything else. What does Twitter or Threads have that IG doesn't? I mean, even audioshows are more likely to have IG than Twitter these days, so it's not like it's images first anyway.
But who knows, maybe it's not only bots doing all the engagement on Threads.
What does Twitter or Threads have that IG doesn’t?
Conversation threads instead of a photo with comments.
Maybe the question should be, what do IG users not have now that they think they need?
Maybe the question should be, what do IG users not have now that they think they need?
Any platform centered around pictures is far less accessible to people with visual impairments than a text-based platform. I don't know how accessible the current Threads app is but the possibility to use alternative clients via ActivityPub means they can be tailored towards specific needs.
The thing for me is, twitter and facebook (which by default includes instagram and threads) have very different purposes for me.
Facebook for me has always just been close friends and famliy. Its personal photos shared with those close to me, its commenting on cat photos and peoples weddings. Its more of a private thing. (its one I don't use much but it is a way to keep in touch with the ongoings of close friends who maybe live further away etc)
Twitter, is where I discuss with like-minded (and the opposite) people anything from cycling to politics, from darts to the situation in gaza, its where i talk about doping in sport, or Liverpool FC. Or where (prior to the blue check fiasco) would check reliable journalists and writers i followed for opinions and news.
Twitter and Facebook+ serve very different purposes, and have very different groups of people i interact with on the two platforms.
My facebook profile is private, and restricted and contains personal stuff. Twitter is public, unrestricted and contains all sorts of bollocks.
Threads makes no sense to me, because, I don't particularly want those two worlds to cross. And because of this, to a degree I don't think threads will be particularly successful and will end up just kinda blended into instagram in some way
Honestly, I would much rather they stick around and replace twitter, but leave us tf alone. Unless Musk attempts to sell twitter in the near future, I can't see it lasting in the state its in. Like even with the culture its breeding aside, the unpaid bills, server issues, paywalling of features, and the introduction of limitations might be enough to drive people away. A lot of what has killed reddit alts in the past often comes down to the reliability of the site. If your service is constantly crashing, is super slow, or you have to implement limits to save on resources, people are going to bail if they can't do what they want when they want to.