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The public zeitgeist is finally catching up with the realisation that being entirely dependent on massive siloed community platforms is not entirely in the user

The public zeitgeist is finally catching up with the realisation that being entirely dependent on massive siloed community platforms is not entirely in the users’ best interests I see zero evidence this happening.

api 10y ago
If anything I see the public and businesses going the other way toward the cloud to avoid the hassle of IT. For the average person a PC is a broken piece of time consuming junk that accumulates malware. Edit: There's another comment in this thread where someone brings up the hassle of IT as a major centralizing force. Best comment so far in this thread.
lj3 10y ago
I see it in some places. For example, my sister now avoids facebook and instagram because she doesn't want pictures of her kids on those services. Unfortunately, none of the decentralized and distributed services are easy enough for her and the rest of the family to use without help.
- DrJid 10y ago
  And just because it's decentralized may not necessarily solve the problem of pictures of kids on those services. That problem could still be solved with a centralized photo sharing platform.
ryanmarsh 10y ago
Indeed people have been saying this since AOL. This is a tired argument. Nobody is forced to use anything and you can still buy a domain and run your own Wordpress in like 15 min. Hell you can set up your own social network on Wordpress on your own domain in like 15 min.
- TaylorAlexander 10y ago
  Many computer users can do this, but most computer users can't. So most users don't have that choice.
  - c22 10y ago
    Saying they don't have a choice is sorta disingenuous. Almost everyone was born with the required organs. Most of the tech has free alternatives and instruction exists in numerous freely accessible and easily digestible blog posts and YouTube videos. Saying the users have no choice in this matter is like saying a lot of users can't choose to vote because they're not registered and they don't know where the polls are.
    - TaylorAlexander 10y ago
      Well, I certainly disagree. Technically you are correct. In a vacuum any person, even my own mother, could endeavor to learn these things and do them. But when you put a person's life in to context, how do you expect a working mother of three to just learn the tools? What if she has the remotest of computer literacy? That is, she could operate Facebook but no more? Then is it reasonable to expect her to learn how to administer her own server? Can she choose to spend hours a week learning for months while her children need food to be prepared for them, clothes to be washed, and beds to be made? In a practical, not theoretical sense, does she really have that choice? The example with voting feels disingenuous because voting is specifically designed to be accessible to every person. Learning bash and administering your own web server is absolutely not the same.
      - type0 10y ago
        > What if she has the remotest of computer literacy? That is, she could operate Facebook but no more? Then is it reasonable to expect her to learn how to administer her own server? She wouldn't have to, it's all about the money and the wish to be dependent or independent. There are web hosting as well as consulting companies that can setup private social network for one time fee, with automated backups and all. To me, when I hear that some "computer illiterate" person "learns to use facebok" it kinda sounds reminiscent of hearing that someone learns to make crack from cocaine. Is it useful - maybe, is it good for society - eh I don't think so. I rather see them "learn" how to use sandstorm...

api 10y ago

If anything I see the public and businesses going the other way toward the cloud to avoid the hassle of IT. For the average person a PC is a broken piece of time consuming junk that accumulates malware. Edit: There's another comment in this thread where someone brings up the hassle of IT as a major centralizing force. Best comment so far in this thread.

lj3 10y ago

I see it in some places. For example, my sister now avoids facebook and instagram because she doesn't want pictures of her kids on those services. Unfortunately, none of the decentralized and distributed services are easy enough for her and the rest of the family to use without help.

DrJid 10y ago
And just because it's decentralized may not necessarily solve the problem of pictures of kids on those services. That problem could still be solved with a centralized photo sharing platform.

ryanmarsh 10y ago

Indeed people have been saying this since AOL. This is a tired argument. Nobody is forced to use anything and you can still buy a domain and run your own Wordpress in like 15 min. Hell you can set up your own social network on Wordpress on your own domain in like 15 min.

TaylorAlexander 10y ago
Many computer users can do this, but most computer users can't. So most users don't have that choice.
- c22 10y ago
  Saying they don't have a choice is sorta disingenuous. Almost everyone was born with the required organs. Most of the tech has free alternatives and instruction exists in numerous freely accessible and easily digestible blog posts and YouTube videos. Saying the users have no choice in this matter is like saying a lot of users can't choose to vote because they're not registered and they don't know where the polls are.
  - TaylorAlexander 10y ago
    Well, I certainly disagree. Technically you are correct. In a vacuum any person, even my own mother, could endeavor to learn these things and do them. But when you put a person's life in to context, how do you expect a working mother of three to just learn the tools? What if she has the remotest of computer literacy? That is, she could operate Facebook but no more? Then is it reasonable to expect her to learn how to administer her own server? Can she choose to spend hours a week learning for months while her children need food to be prepared for them, clothes to be washed, and beds to be made? In a practical, not theoretical sense, does she really have that choice? The example with voting feels disingenuous because voting is specifically designed to be accessible to every person. Learning bash and administering your own web server is absolutely not the same.
    - type0 10y ago
      > What if she has the remotest of computer literacy? That is, she could operate Facebook but no more? Then is it reasonable to expect her to learn how to administer her own server? She wouldn't have to, it's all about the money and the wish to be dependent or independent. There are web hosting as well as consulting companies that can setup private social network for one time fee, with automated backups and all. To me, when I hear that some "computer illiterate" person "learns to use facebok" it kinda sounds reminiscent of hearing that someone learns to make crack from cocaine. Is it useful - maybe, is it good for society - eh I don't think so. I rather see them "learn" how to use sandstorm...