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That's an issue, but I don't think that's the main issue. There's plenty of ways around that if the will is there. Worst case scenario you could just create an

by bnralt 3y ago

That's an issue, but I don't think that's the main issue. There's plenty of ways around that if the will is there. Worst case scenario you could just create an old-school mailing list. Everyone has the infrastructure for that already in place, and plenty of close communities were built around them ~30 years ago. However, there's two big things standing in the way: 1. The vast majority of the population - I'd say at least 99.99%, probably more - is only interested in jumping on the next big thing. People who liked and enjoyed being part of mailing list communities, handcraft html webrings, AIM, self-hosted forums, MUDs, etc. would probably be happy to go back to those if they were suddenly popular again. But when they went out of popularity in favor of current social media trends, everyone jumped ship. Everyone's following the crowd. 2. Online communities tend to not place any limits on output, so a few hyperonline individuals dominate the conversation (and in cases where moderation occurs, have methods to control the community). Hyperonline individuals don't tend to be the best socialized ones (people with healthy lives aren't spending all day on the internet).

than3 3y ago
That's flawed in a few ways. With regard to #1 The vast majority of the population are seeking to fill some need when they get online. Its not about popularity, popularity only provides exposure. Its whether that need is being satisfied, both at the time they choose to jump ship, and continuing on into the future. Also, almost everyone born after the 90s has been indoctrinated prior to the age of reason that they can go online and find anything they might need, addiction triggers and other psychological traps await. There is also, as always, the ever present coercion through concentration of business sectors into a few entities who play shell games and limit your agency and choice. In some places you can't apply for college anymore using paper, its all digital and digital systems break when they aren't properly designed for resilience; these result in less opportunities acting as a filter and coercively limiting those who fall into the implementation cracks with no other choice. #2 is purely normative, and neglects abuse which may include jamming communications or something more subtle but still malign. This view is filled with supposition, and makes broad over-generalizations, its non-sequitur.

by bnralt 3y ago

than3 3y ago

That's flawed in a few ways. With regard to #1 The vast majority of the population are seeking to fill some need when they get online. Its not about popularity, popularity only provides exposure. Its whether that need is being satisfied, both at the time they choose to jump ship, and continuing on into the future. Also, almost everyone born after the 90s has been indoctrinated prior to the age of reason that they can go online and find anything they might need, addiction triggers and other psychological traps await. There is also, as always, the ever present coercion through concentration of business sectors into a few entities who play shell games and limit your agency and choice. In some places you can't apply for college anymore using paper, its all digital and digital systems break when they aren't properly designed for resilience; these result in less opportunities acting as a filter and coercively limiting those who fall into the implementation cracks with no other choice. #2 is purely normative, and neglects abuse which may include jamming communications or something more subtle but still malign. This view is filled with supposition, and makes broad over-generalizations, its non-sequitur.