Something that continues to annoy me about some ongoing conversations I've seen on here: people trying to apply the logic of consumerism to the #FediVerse, and #OpenSource (the latter is an old, old issue)
These are *participatory* and *community-driven* spaces. Approaching them with the mindset of consumerism is off-putting, especially to those of us who have been here for a long time.
So what this comes down to is a simple disagreement about the type of people you want on this platform.
You want this platform to be one way, other people want it to be a different way, and that's just an honest disagreement.
@volkris no, what I'm saying is this platform *cannot* be run on the logic of consumerism.
The power structures that are inherent to that kind of space simply don't exist here.
Specifically, what doesn't exist here?
Top-down authority. IP used as a tool to enforce homogeneity and eliminate competition. Workers beholden to bosses. Profits.
Oh I see that here everyday, with instance owners enforcing their own rules and profiting off of running their instances.
I think you have a very narrow view of what's going on on this platform. That other stuff is definitely here.
Well every single person operating an instance, paying to keep it online, is doing so because they drive some value from doing so, some profit from doing so.
Nobody is going to harm themselves intentionally by spending resources on running an instance if they don't think it's for the best.
You've never heard of a volunteer worker being exploited or ordered around? Hell, I've heard a lot of volunteers complaining about exactly that sort of thing throughout my life.
It just really comes across like you need to broaden your experience of it, both on this platform and in the broader world.
So you've got no evidence of your original claim. So we can dismiss that.
I've been involved in the open-source movement for 22 years, as user, paid, and volunteer contributor. But go on and tell me how I need to "broaden my experience".
I mean I can say it again if you need me to: you are saying a thing doesn't exist even though I see it every single day on this platform, so clearly you are not having a broad enough experience to see that it happens.
You've really never seen instance operators put up the rules of their instance? I figure most instances have those right on their front page, and if I was at a computer I would go take a screenshot or something for you, but it seems so ubiquitous that I can't believe you can't just go look for yourself.
You think the good people behind indieweb.social are operating your instance because they think it's a bad thing without value to them? I really doubt that. I'm certain the guy operating my instance finds it to be a profitable pursuit. I guess I could ask him, but it seems obvious to me.
So it strikes me that if you haven't experienced these things then you are living kind of a sheltered life. But really I suspect that you have, but you're ignoring it for rhetorical effect.
Either way, it's a bit silly.
Nice ship-of-theseus.
You've backpedalled from claiming that instances are somehow making these big profits (admitting in the process that the owners are often paying to run them). So that was completely baseless.
Now you're trying to pivot to instances... enforcing rules? I never disputed that, and neither did I voice objections to it.
Your ad-hominems of me are quite funny, by the way. By all means, keep them up, I need some entertainment.
Big profits? We're in the world did you read that?
And you don't think the enforcement of rules is a power structure?
What you're doing here is trying to lead away from the original argument into vague nonsense, so I'll bring it back.
Explain to me how your notion of "profit" as a vague personal notion of value can stand up a company.
While we're at it, explain to me how an instance's community conduct rules can enable someone like Eugen to order people to work on specific tasks.
Explain to me how any of this lets anyone stop a fork.
You can't do it.
It just sounds like now you're at the point of saying other than these profits there are no profits, and other than this power structure there isn't a power structure.
It's not a brilliant stance to take.
Multi-replies won't help you; neither will strawmen.
@volkris receipts?
If you've really got evidence of widespread profiteering, then by all means, post it.
As for the rest, explain to me how exactly one exploits, orders around and fires a volunteer worker.
As for IP, you're just wrong. Mastodon is GPLv3. I could create a derivative right now if I wanted.