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I think it would be better if you made your point rather than asked it rhetorically. To me your argument reads like 'internet chat is currently proprietary so i

I think it would be better if you made your point rather than asked it rhetorically. To me your argument reads like 'internet chat is currently proprietary so it always will be' but maybe I'm missing a step you'll need to fill in.

vasco 6y ago
And I think part of internet discourse should allow to posit questions without actually having a big point to make. Why is it necessary to pontificate about everything? In any case, if you want a point, whenever technical people bring up the technical superiority of X protocol or tool in a discussion, I like to ask myself this question. How many people actually use the thing that someone is telling me is so much better for the world? If it's so good, why is nobody using it for practical things? Have they used it before and there's a decline, or is it a new up and comer and it just hasn't caught on? I think just asking the question sparks a valuable train of thought.
- rapnie 6y ago
  > In any case, if you want a point, whenever technical people bring up the technical superiority of X protocol or tool in a discussion They are not talking about "technical superiority" though, but about "alive and kicking" and "work together pretty decently" and you followed up with a question of daily volume as somehow being the indicator of the maturity of the technology itself. There are multiple reasons for a lack in adoption, of course. Network effects, FOMO and walled gardens, financial might and power of dominating competitors to name a couple besides just the quality of the tech itself. And it doesn't help when many people off-handedly state the technology is not good, because it is not yet as broadly adopted as the centralized giants it is trying to be an alternative too :)
- twelvechairs 6y ago
  Its not really a question though when everyone already knows the answer. The 'why' you have here is a more open question and there's a lot in there. Companies trying to make money from it, users not having seen many real privacy implications on a wide scale, police presence being up and down etc. etc.

vasco 6y ago

And I think part of internet discourse should allow to posit questions without actually having a big point to make. Why is it necessary to pontificate about everything? In any case, if you want a point, whenever technical people bring up the technical superiority of X protocol or tool in a discussion, I like to ask myself this question. How many people actually use the thing that someone is telling me is so much better for the world? If it's so good, why is nobody using it for practical things? Have they used it before and there's a decline, or is it a new up and comer and it just hasn't caught on? I think just asking the question sparks a valuable train of thought.

rapnie 6y ago
> In any case, if you want a point, whenever technical people bring up the technical superiority of X protocol or tool in a discussion They are not talking about "technical superiority" though, but about "alive and kicking" and "work together pretty decently" and you followed up with a question of daily volume as somehow being the indicator of the maturity of the technology itself. There are multiple reasons for a lack in adoption, of course. Network effects, FOMO and walled gardens, financial might and power of dominating competitors to name a couple besides just the quality of the tech itself. And it doesn't help when many people off-handedly state the technology is not good, because it is not yet as broadly adopted as the centralized giants it is trying to be an alternative too :)
twelvechairs 6y ago
Its not really a question though when everyone already knows the answer. The 'why' you have here is a more open question and there's a lot in there. Companies trying to make money from it, users not having seen many real privacy implications on a wide scale, police presence being up and down etc. etc.