Threads, Meta

[chikorita157]

As of now, we are planning to limit threads.net, which is Meta's new social network that work with ActivityPub. Yes, there are some controveries that it's Meta's attempt to take over the Fediverse. However, blocking it is a bit too extreme and it can upset users who want to follow users there.

Therefore, I will go in the middle and just limit threads.net. That means users can follow users on Barcelona/Threads when it finally federates. However, users there when following users here must have their follow request approved by the user (meaning the user needs to accept the request). That way, the user can control at least for the most part if the content goes there or not.

 

[emily]

I think this is a good decision to put some restriction on it since right now it's a 'grey area' whether Meta will 'try' to monopolize it or not.

Also if Facebook were to end up blending Facebook and Instagram with threads.net people can finally get rid of their Facebook accounts and still talk with their family and friends from those platforms.

We will see what will happen regarding whether Meta does 'takes over.' I just think that at least, that they would have an interest to not allow users to migrate from their instance. But, they also might allow it. They don't have to fedderate, allowing migration is optional for them.

 

[Hika]

I don't understand, why is Meta entering the Fediverse "taking over"? They can't take it over right, it's free space?? How would they??

 

[chikorita157]

I think this is a good decision to put some restriction on it since right now it's a 'grey area' whether Meta will 'try' to monopolize it or not.

Also if Facebook were to end up blending Facebook and Instagram with threads.net people can finally get rid of their Facebook accounts and still talk with their family and friends from those platforms.

We will see what will happen regarding whether Meta does 'takes over.' I just think that at least, that they would have an interest to not allow users to migrate from their instance. But, they also might allow it. They don't have to fedderate, allowing migration is optional for them.

I like to take a cautious approach, but I’m no fan of Meta obviously given the Cambridge Analytica scandal Meta aka Facebook as in 2016.

Cambridge Analytica - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Of course, it can end up like being BlueSky, which I shared being hostile towards people of color because they only hide posts through labels.

 

[chikorita157]

I don't understand, why is Meta entering the Fediverse "taking over"? They can't take it over right, it's free space?? How would they??

I saw some toots debating this issue

tech.lgbt Moderators (@mods@tech.lgbt)

We, the moderation and administration of tech.lgbt, are signing the Anti-Meta Fedi Pact in fellowship with our peer communities. (https://vantaa.black/pact) There is over a decade of precedent that Facebook will not have users' best interests as their guiding principle but rather profit...

tech.lgbt

MOVED vantablack@cyberpunk.lol (@vantablack@beach.city)

there are rumblings that certain big fedi admins had meetings with meta under NDA? whatttttt it looks like the post i keep seeing replies to has been deleted but the breadcrumb trail is there 👀 gargron and dansup what are you hiding 👁️

beach.city

I think this is more of Meta doing the the embrace expand extinguish. There is the fear that Meta can embrace ActivityPub, extend it trying to bring more users and extinguish, by shutting off the federation in the future, hence enshittification. That means that when they turn it off, users that are not on threads need to join their service io interact with their users so they can make money.

I do want to see how this play out, which I’m not jumping the gun and blocking it, just placing a limit when they do enable federation, users here can follow their accounts, but accounts over there needs a follow request before they can follow a user here. If a user here doesn’t want their posts to show up there, they can choose to decline the follow request and block the domain for threads entirely. (Limit also hides thread posts from public view, so the user needs to follow it).

 

[chikorita157]

Okay, I’m just going to suspend threads/Barcelona for now. We can revisit to possibly limit it in the future when federation is actually active and see how it actually going before moving them back to silence/limit.

 

[emily]

Meta turning off federation from working in their server, when they get majority of users, could be the worse case scenario.

Although I'm not sure if it would go the same way as them buying Instagram because anyone can make an instance starting at a more affordable price and compete. Mastodon has an app, and easy to use 3rd party apps.

Meta can't just go out there and force buy every single server out there, and there are people willing to fight meta on that ground, who couldn't afford to before.

While sure you had forums, as a user you would had had to known about a specific forum, on your own. While with Mastodon or other federated services, you can use mastodon's default instance searching tool, or you can use a third party instance search tool which usually do offer more instances and better search features. Which is how I found Sakura jima, by using a different instance search tool. I was able to simply type in anime and skaurajima came up as one for the choices.

With an open source app, and social media, and since mastodon is still kinda popular right now Meta will have some competition for at least the first decade.

 

[chikorita157]

Looks like this block will be permanent. Not holding my breath, but Meta has a hate speech problem already. Not sure how it's like on Instagram as I don't use that site.

‘I’m Scared for My Followers’: Anti-Trans Hate Is Absolutely Rampant on Facebook

“I have DMs from people literally telling me to kill myself and Facebook won’t do anything about,” one trans creator told VICE News.

www.vice.com

If someone made a one way bridge (like with birdsitelive) where a user can only follow a user there, but no interactions sent from our servers to Threads, basically following users there like you do with an RSS feed, only "sub" only, this is something I can live with. Of course, the bridge will be hidden from the public timelines.

 

[celadonCamellia]

Anecdotally, Instagram is less hateful, but that doesn't mean much and still had enough hate on the platform to burn my mental health to the ground.

Looks like this block will be permanent. Not holding my breath, but Meta has a hate speech problem already. Not sure how it's like on Instagram as I don't use that site.

‘I’m Scared for My Followers’: Anti-Trans Hate Is Absolutely Rampant on Facebook

“I have DMs from people literally telling me to kill myself and Facebook won’t do anything about,” one trans creator told VICE News.

www.vice.com

If someone made a one way bridge (like with birdsitelive) where a user can only follow a user there, but no interactions sent from our servers to Threads, basically following users there like you do with an RSS feed, only "sub" only, this is something I can live with. Of course, the bridge will be hidden from the public timelines.

 

[nubesurrealista]

For me it doesn't matter a bit, it doesn't affect me if we accept threads or not xD although looking at the general panorama, it is probable that its presence in the fediverse is good for everyone, in the sense that it would attract users, users that would be a bit silly to close the doors, wouldn't it be better to open them and show them that they can expand their limits in the fediverse? I feel that if we are hostile, they will be too. But then again, I'm not that interested in the subject either. Anyway, greetings, I love the server :3

 

[nubesurrealista]

For me it doesn't matter a bit, it doesn't affect me if we accept threads or not xD although looking at the general panorama, it is probable that its presence in the fediverse is good for everyone, in the sense that it would attract users, users that would be a bit silly to close the doors, wouldn't it be better to open them and show them that they can expand their limits in the fediverse? I feel that if we are hostile, they will be too. But then again, I'm not that interested in the subject either. Anyway, greetings, I love the server :3

One thing I love about you Mastodon people, is how warm and good you are with the new ones, I came from Twitter, a place full of hate, I was escaping... I thought they would treat me badly, I thought it would not be well seen , but it has been the opposite, I fell in love completely. Don't you think the same thing could happen to someone from Threads? xD now yes, final words, again, for the second time, what a good server is sakurajima

 

[chikorita157]

For me it doesn't matter a bit, it doesn't affect me if we accept threads or not xD although looking at the general panorama, it is probable that its presence in the fediverse is good for everyone, in the sense that it would attract users, users that would be a bit silly to close the doors, wouldn't it be better to open them and show them that they can expand their limits in the fediverse? I feel that if we are hostile, they will be too. But then again, I'm not that interested in the subject either. Anyway, greetings, I love the server :3

Not to mention, you can't escape Threads if you create one using an Instagram account. One would have to delete their Instagram account. That is why it's not available in the EU because it doesn't comply with GDPR.

 

[chikorita157]

Update, Threads is testing federation now, but on a limited fashion. Of course, we don’t intend to lift our block on Threads. It’s obvious why, I just don’t trust Meta, who of course besides having really bad privacy (non-existant), has involved themselves in that Cambridge Analytica scandal and of course misinformation and accounts that violates the TOS.

This probably explain the reasons why…

How to Kill a Decentralised Network (such as the Fediverse)

How to Kill a Decentralised Network (such as the Fediverse) écrit par Ploum, Lionel Dricot, ingénieur, écrivain de science-fiction, développeur de logiciels libres.

ploum.net

If someone makes a one way bridge with Threads that users can get posts from users from Threads through a read-only bridge, but not be able to send anything back, we may consider that, but no direct federation with Threads, as most users are against it.

Like I said, if you want to follow thread users, create a threads account.

Note: We do not intend to defederate with servers that decide to federate with Threads. Also, we are not in the Fedipact and have no plans to do so.

 

[emily]

Good call on dethreading for threads. no pun intended. bwahaha.

In seriousness,
Some more reasons to not federate an instance with threads.

Threads might for the time being allow people to dm their users from the fediverse, one thing i'm predicting is that they won't let you see peoples posts without having a the ads account, because that is where the advetisements are.

Another thing to consider is that Threads does not have any incentive to follow or respect the Mastodon convenant. So servers that do federate with threads, their users will have to block threads to avoid such a content. Another thing is, what if a user just doesn't block threads and they complain about spam, and not knowing how to block threads, Particualrly the more casual mainstream internet users from Facebook, TikTok and the like.