5 ms·

They've pretty much all tried having comment sections, and removed them. Turns out, it's kind of hard and the incentives discourage it.

rglullis 4y ago
This is not what I mean. What I mean is that they (CNN, FOX, MSNBC, NYT, WSJ et caterva) could, e.g, set up a Mastodon server and give accounts to their staff and at least encourage cross-posting. They could give free accounts to their subscribers. There is so much that they could to send a strong signal that they are against Twitter/Facebook as the single place of public discourse. But of course they don't do any of that. The NYT is more interested in paying 7 million dollars to buy Wordle than in combating the Big Tech oligopoly.
- riffic 4y ago
  They don't even need to use Mastodon itself. CNN, Fox, MSNBC, NYT etc could put ActivityPub in their content management systems and be direct participants to this wider standards-based ecosystem. btw it'd be nice to see the fedi grow beyond being the "mastoverse", other implementations of AP exist
  - rglullis 4y ago
    Definitely, I used Mastodon as an example because it is what has become associated as the alternative for Twitter. But the important thing would be for them to adopt ActivityPub and get the "public square" out of the control from any single entity.
- amalcon 4y ago
  I don't think this is the best way to send that message. The best way to send that message would be to stop breathlessly covering the various goings-on on Twitter. If done well, that sends the message that there are plenty of other ways to have public discourse than on two specific websites. Edit: Trying to compete with Twitter specifically will just reenforce the impression that what's happening there is uniquely valuable. Attempting to clone Twitter, even if only for their staff and subscribers and/or in a federated form, opens them up to the exact same issues that motivated them to get rid of the comment sections. There would even be the additional problem that they'd need to advertise the thing. The software being available off the shelf doesn't matter, because the software is not the only hard part. Of course NYT are more interested in buying Wordle than in trying to "combat" the big tech oligopoly. They also didn't try to compete with, say, Ma Bell or Clear Channel, but they have been a big player in the word game space for longer than the personal computer has existed.
  - rglullis 4y ago
    > The best way to send that message would be to stop breathlessly covering the various goings-on on Twitter. Reporters are going to report on what brings readers, and one of the most upsetting things about the press nowadays is this idea that they should help "shape the narrative". If the press is truly independent, they could and should report on what happens at Twitter. In any case, your idea and mine are orthogonal. > Attempting to clone Twitter I used Mastodon in the example, but it wouldn't be a twitter clone. This is not what ActivityPub is. The point of adopting ActivityPub for them would be simply to be able to claim that they can be in control of their own discourse and that they do not depend on Big Tech and their social networks. > They also didn't try to compete with, say, Ma Bell or Clear Channel, Is not that they would do it to "compete", they could do it simply to stop contributing to the problem that they are so frequently writing about. And it certainly requires infinitely less resources to run an AP server than to create a phone network. I can profitably run a Mastodon server for the NYT for less than $500/month.

rglullis 4y ago

This is not what I mean. What I mean is that they (CNN, FOX, MSNBC, NYT, WSJ et caterva) could, e.g, set up a Mastodon server and give accounts to their staff and at least encourage cross-posting. They could give free accounts to their subscribers. There is so much that they could to send a strong signal that they are against Twitter/Facebook as the single place of public discourse. But of course they don't do any of that. The NYT is more interested in paying 7 million dollars to buy Wordle than in combating the Big Tech oligopoly.

riffic 4y ago
They don't even need to use Mastodon itself. CNN, Fox, MSNBC, NYT etc could put ActivityPub in their content management systems and be direct participants to this wider standards-based ecosystem. btw it'd be nice to see the fedi grow beyond being the "mastoverse", other implementations of AP exist
- rglullis 4y ago
  Definitely, I used Mastodon as an example because it is what has become associated as the alternative for Twitter. But the important thing would be for them to adopt ActivityPub and get the "public square" out of the control from any single entity.
amalcon 4y ago
I don't think this is the best way to send that message. The best way to send that message would be to stop breathlessly covering the various goings-on on Twitter. If done well, that sends the message that there are plenty of other ways to have public discourse than on two specific websites. Edit: Trying to compete with Twitter specifically will just reenforce the impression that what's happening there is uniquely valuable. Attempting to clone Twitter, even if only for their staff and subscribers and/or in a federated form, opens them up to the exact same issues that motivated them to get rid of the comment sections. There would even be the additional problem that they'd need to advertise the thing. The software being available off the shelf doesn't matter, because the software is not the only hard part. Of course NYT are more interested in buying Wordle than in trying to "combat" the big tech oligopoly. They also didn't try to compete with, say, Ma Bell or Clear Channel, but they have been a big player in the word game space for longer than the personal computer has existed.
- rglullis 4y ago
  > The best way to send that message would be to stop breathlessly covering the various goings-on on Twitter. Reporters are going to report on what brings readers, and one of the most upsetting things about the press nowadays is this idea that they should help "shape the narrative". If the press is truly independent, they could and should report on what happens at Twitter. In any case, your idea and mine are orthogonal. > Attempting to clone Twitter I used Mastodon in the example, but it wouldn't be a twitter clone. This is not what ActivityPub is. The point of adopting ActivityPub for them would be simply to be able to claim that they can be in control of their own discourse and that they do not depend on Big Tech and their social networks. > They also didn't try to compete with, say, Ma Bell or Clear Channel, Is not that they would do it to "compete", they could do it simply to stop contributing to the problem that they are so frequently writing about. And it certainly requires infinitely less resources to run an AP server than to create a phone network. I can profitably run a Mastodon server for the NYT for less than $500/month.