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>> I’ve found GNU social close to a replacement for Twitter, whereas Diaspora was more like Facebook. > That’s what I gathered. I’m in favor of projects like t

>> I’ve found GNU social close to a replacement for Twitter, whereas Diaspora was more like Facebook. > That’s what I gathered. I’m in favor of projects like these, because I know they’re useful for other people, but it wouldn’t fit my lifestyle. I just use email. You can call me the Mailman—as in True Names, Vernor Vinge’s science-fiction story. I really don't get this. Computers are supposed to open the doors to technological and social change, no? Why would anyone drag their feet like this? There are so many things that have come out since email and even more still coming.

nyolfen 8y ago
email is fine if you don't enjoy the public performance of social media. they're all messaging systems when it comes down to it. stallman also famously reads webpages by curling and emailing them to himself.
- throwaway180118 8y ago
  He also eats things he picks off his feet. A perplexing genius.
  - zzo38computer 8y ago
    OK, although that is not relevant to the arguments he is making, I think. (Although I suppose it is still something to say, perhaps? But I have not seen that elsewhere anyways so do not know if it is true or not, but anyways it is irrelevant is what I am saying.)
loseyourslinky 8y ago
He clearly values privacy very highly, and using a social media network, even a free one means giving up some of your privacy. I doubt Stallman cares much about this, but there also is a very real effect of people competing with each other on social media to show more and more artificial happiness and consumerism in their lives. Thirdly, most of GNU development is still done via mailing list, if your using email for all your work, why not use it socially as well?
- mitchtbaum 8y ago
  > using a social media network, even a free one means giving up some of your privacy there's no fundamental difference between email and web-based messaging frameworks. a modern web-based messaging framework might even have better privacy guarding features than email, and more useful features by virtue of continued development.
  - loseyourslinky 8y ago
    Well the other feature of email in his case is all the GNU email list are archived, you can read his email announcing the GNU project still, I am skeptical any mastodon instance will still be running in 30 years. Mastodon as a whole may still exist, but instances come and go.
    - icebraining 8y ago
      You can archive Mastodon messages too. There are tools made for that, just like with email: https://github.com/kensanata/mastodon-backup https://github.com/kensanata/mastodon-backup
zzo38computer 8y ago
Yes, but much of it isn't design as good, or maybe is, but regardless, email is still better for many things, enve if you do have other stuff too. I don't use Facebook, Twitter, GNU social, or Diaspora; none of them are so useful to me. I do use IRC (although I wrote my own client since I don't like the other ones I found), and would use NNTP if they made that available. Also, as mentioned, you may want to keep some things private. I do too, but may want to write things to public too, although the stuff mentioned above I do not find useful, and neither does Stallman, presumably.
esotericn 8y ago
What do you mean by 'drag their feet'? I'm something like half RMS' age, and for the most part I use e-mail, IRC, and the odd board like HN (which I probably spend too much time on). Social networks are simply not useful to me. By contrast I have a coffee machine and barely anyone else I know does (UK). Because I find it useful and they don't. What's wrong with that? It's nothing to do with the age of the software and all to do with the purpose it serves. My car is old because it works and I don't need a new one, too.
- mitchtbaum 8y ago
  you may not need another car but you might benefit from a plane
  - tonyedgecombe 8y ago
    I used to love the stream of new technologies and was often an early adopter. Eventually I realised most of the promises of these products were illusory. There is very little benefit to them, sometimes even negative value.

nyolfen 8y ago

email is fine if you don't enjoy the public performance of social media. they're all messaging systems when it comes down to it. stallman also famously reads webpages by curling and emailing them to himself.

throwaway180118 8y ago
He also eats things he picks off his feet. A perplexing genius.
- zzo38computer 8y ago
  OK, although that is not relevant to the arguments he is making, I think. (Although I suppose it is still something to say, perhaps? But I have not seen that elsewhere anyways so do not know if it is true or not, but anyways it is irrelevant is what I am saying.)

loseyourslinky 8y ago

He clearly values privacy very highly, and using a social media network, even a free one means giving up some of your privacy. I doubt Stallman cares much about this, but there also is a very real effect of people competing with each other on social media to show more and more artificial happiness and consumerism in their lives. Thirdly, most of GNU development is still done via mailing list, if your using email for all your work, why not use it socially as well?

mitchtbaum 8y ago
> using a social media network, even a free one means giving up some of your privacy there's no fundamental difference between email and web-based messaging frameworks. a modern web-based messaging framework might even have better privacy guarding features than email, and more useful features by virtue of continued development.
- loseyourslinky 8y ago
  Well the other feature of email in his case is all the GNU email list are archived, you can read his email announcing the GNU project still, I am skeptical any mastodon instance will still be running in 30 years. Mastodon as a whole may still exist, but instances come and go.
  - icebraining 8y ago
    You can archive Mastodon messages too. There are tools made for that, just like with email: https://github.com/kensanata/mastodon-backup https://github.com/kensanata/mastodon-backup

zzo38computer 8y ago

Yes, but much of it isn't design as good, or maybe is, but regardless, email is still better for many things, enve if you do have other stuff too. I don't use Facebook, Twitter, GNU social, or Diaspora; none of them are so useful to me. I do use IRC (although I wrote my own client since I don't like the other ones I found), and would use NNTP if they made that available. Also, as mentioned, you may want to keep some things private. I do too, but may want to write things to public too, although the stuff mentioned above I do not find useful, and neither does Stallman, presumably.

esotericn 8y ago

What do you mean by 'drag their feet'? I'm something like half RMS' age, and for the most part I use e-mail, IRC, and the odd board like HN (which I probably spend too much time on). Social networks are simply not useful to me. By contrast I have a coffee machine and barely anyone else I know does (UK). Because I find it useful and they don't. What's wrong with that? It's nothing to do with the age of the software and all to do with the purpose it serves. My car is old because it works and I don't need a new one, too.

mitchtbaum 8y ago
you may not need another car but you might benefit from a plane
- tonyedgecombe 8y ago
  I used to love the stream of new technologies and was often an early adopter. Eventually I realised most of the promises of these products were illusory. There is very little benefit to them, sometimes even negative value.