I'm pretty sure Mastodon is the first social network I've been on that didn't immediately ask me to betray all of the people in my address book.
I mean, think about this for just a sec: LinkedIn, Twitter, SnapChat, Instagram, the list goes on and on. The VERY first thing these platforms will do after you've installed the app and logged in is to ask you to share all of the information in your address book. Ever wonder how these social networks got so big so fast? It's remarkable how much of their growth is based on convincing everyone it's totally fine and normal to give away all of the contact information given to them by friends, family and acquaintances.
There was a brief time that printed White Pages went digital and even national. That was mind blowing. I could see contact information for everyone in the US.
It only lasted a few months I think. Then gradually all White Pages went away.
So the process can reverse.
@jgordon @briankrebs Pretty sure the only reason they went away is because cell phones came on the scene and everyone with a cellphone got an unlisted number.
White pages died with landlines.
