Reasons for Fediverse Instances to Block Federation with Threads
As of this writing on July 7, 2023, there is an argument about whether to federate or not with Threads. These are my thoughts.
The Argument As I See It:
I genuinely believe that the core argument taking place is whether a person values community or outreach.
- Community Perspective: Some people want small communities that interlink consciously with other small communities. This is a reason to block Threads.
- Outreach Perspective: Some people want massive outreach and visibility. The more attention their content can get, the better. This is a reason to federate with Threads.
The above is a drastic oversimplification. It does appear to be the core factor behind most of the debate. I also feel like no one is simply saying it outright: Some people want community. Some people want a wide audience.
Reasons Not to Federate
As I have both thought about this and spoken to others, these reasons to block federation have all come up.
Cultural: Escaping Corporate Social Media.
Some people joined the Fediverse to escape large, corporate-run social media. The most effective way to remain liberated is to be on a server that blocks federation with Threads.
Cultural: Preserving the Existing Culture.
- People who have invested time, money, and resources into the current Fediverse did so with certain goals and cultural expectations in mind.
- People who join an instance have agreed to that instance's rules and cultural expectations.
- People coming in through Threads will have near-zero investment in the Fediverse. Nor will they have much guidance or reason to assimilate into the existing cultures.
Cultural: Safe spaces.
- Look through any list of Mastodon/Fediverse servers and you will see a lot of LGBTQ+ safe spaces. A lot of other instances are open for everyone, but with additional rules to protect those same people.
- Now combine Meta's approach to moderation with Twitter's “hot take” culture. You have just imagined “Threads.” The simplest way to handle the influx of problems is to block the problems at the source.
Safety and Moderation
Meta would be moderating the largest instance in the Fediverse by way of Threads.
- Meta's track record for moderation is poor at best and has cost real human lives at its worst. Disinformation has been spread. Lives have been lost.
- Instagram has endured notorious bullying problems, which ended with lives lost. Notice that the new app's full name is “Threads, an Instagram app.” https://edubirdie.com/examples/cyberbullying-and-instagrams-influence-on-suicide-among-american-teens/
- Their failures also (allegedly) helped lead to one racial cleansing atrocity. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/09/myanmar-facebooks-systems-promoted-violence-against-rohingya-meta-owes-reparations-new-report/
Privacy Concerns
These may be unfounded. They may have basis in truth. Time is going to tell. The ultimate concern is that Threads will use ActivityPub to more easily scrape information from Fediverse users.
ActivyPub's Own Survival
Embrace, Extend, and Extinguish is a corporate practice so common that it has its own Wikipedia article. It does what it says on the tin.
- A large business entity embraces an open technology, mutates the open technology, absorbs the userbase, then cuts ties with the open technology that they mutated.
- The average users are locked into another walled garden. They are probably unaware that anything of note happened at all.
- The open technology and people who care about it are effectively abandoned by everyone.
This is Incomplete and Non-Comprehensive
These are the reasons I have seen to block federation with Threads. This is not an all-inclusive list. Any instance will have their own reasons.
This is only my best exploration of common reasons to block Federation. This is also my best understanding of where much of the friction is coming from. I am one person on the Internet. Please get other opinions.
The beauty of the Fediverse is that it endorses different communities with different standards.
I Want to Focus on Tarot & Related Studies.
I do not want this turned into a personal blog. After this post, I will return to my “woo” exploration of tarot and related metaphysical studies. It is time to meditate on the 3 of Water(Cups), for instance.
I also wanted this post in a place that felt appropriate to share with other federated spaces.
About Andrew
Andrew is a home recording enthusiast, former comedian and occasional amateur stage magician.
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