5 ms·

Embrace, extend, enshittify

48 points by cdme 3y ago

siquick 3y ago
At this point it feels like the only thing that can stop Meta shittifying the web even more is the EU launching an anti-competitive measure against them.
bhaney 3y ago
The only thought I had while reading this post was: "Obviously?"
- camdenlock 3y ago
  Yep. Cory Doctorow.
ChrisArchitect 3y ago
tl;dr, Meta is making a play like they have before with Threads, cloning other platforms' features etc, in this case to use ActivityPub and take advantage of the mess Twitter is in with a seemingly large mass of people looking for a new centralized space to converse in.
clessg 3y ago
I love the "enshittification" moniker that's been going around lately. I feel it nicely encapsulates the nature of what's been happening the last few years in particular. I wonder who coined the term? I don't recall seeing it used until pretty recently. Taking a quick glance, it seems like it might've been this article? https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-platforms-cory-doctorow/ https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-platforms-cory-doctorow/ I sure do yearn for the days of "Extinguish" though, it seems wondrous compared to what's happening nowadays. At least if they extinguished their platforms, many others would jump in to fill the void left behind, and hopefully do a better job at it. Better yet, the world will ~~objectively~~ arguably be better off! Thanks for taking one for the team, Tumblr.
- ChrisArchitect 3y ago
  Yeah think it was a Doctorow thing. It sounds like something out of HBO's Silicon Valley also, which kind of exemplifies the very point.
- aib 3y ago
  > I wonder who coined the term? Nice summary at https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/enshittification https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/enshittification (TL;DR: Cory Doctorow)
  - johnzim 3y ago
    https://twitter.com/St_Rev/status/1676598397489250304?s=20 https://twitter.com/St_Rev/status/1676598397489250304?s=20
frio 3y ago
I feel like the Facebook Messenger XMPP support is a better example -- but it's hard to find any reference to it remaining outside of the internet archive. Even this old HN thread about its death leads to a dead end (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9266769 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9266769). 8 years doesn't feel like long enough for this extremely relevant example of Facebook closing support for an open protocol to have vanished.
wilg 3y ago
I doubt Threads can hurt ActivityPub much, it’s either valuable to users or it isn’t. If it is, Meta can’t really kill it, if it isn’t, it’s a nice pressure release valve for people who dislike Meta or prefer custom clients to still interact with their platform and provide content to people on Threads.
- grepfru_it 3y ago
  Remember XMPP? I would use a custom client to connect with my facebook friends. Then one day they said nope and turned it off. Did that hurt XMPP? No, not technically. It is used behind the scenes with jitsi for example.. but would you use XMPP for a new project today? Unlikely. I foresee the exact same thing happening with ActivityPub. Edit; I should really scan all comments before I post, someone else posted something similar
  - rgbrenner 3y ago
    And the fact that they didnt launch with ActivityPub enabled clearly indicates they don't believe the protocol is a necessity for Threads success.
difosfor 3y ago
I think all centralized and practically unavoidable to use services should be run by non profit organizations controlled and subsidized by democratically voted governments. That way they would serve people instead of the other way around. You see the same kind of thing with unavoidable things like infrastructure; people and countries thrive if they take care of it instead of trying to compete or worse, monopolizing it. Or at least regulate to that end. Perhaps the EU could simply require all large companies like meta to support ActivityPub for services like this.

48 points by cdme 3y ago

At this point it feels like the only thing that can stop Meta shittifying the web even more is the EU launching an anti-competitive measure against them.

bhaney 3y ago

The only thought I had while reading this post was: "Obviously?"

camdenlock 3y ago
Yep. Cory Doctorow.

ChrisArchitect 3y ago

tl;dr, Meta is making a play like they have before with Threads, cloning other platforms' features etc, in this case to use ActivityPub and take advantage of the mess Twitter is in with a seemingly large mass of people looking for a new centralized space to converse in.

clessg 3y ago

I love the "enshittification" moniker that's been going around lately. I feel it nicely encapsulates the nature of what's been happening the last few years in particular. I wonder who coined the term? I don't recall seeing it used until pretty recently. Taking a quick glance, it seems like it might've been this article? https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-platforms-cory-doctorow/ https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-platforms-cory-doctorow/ I sure do yearn for the days of "Extinguish" though, it seems wondrous compared to what's happening nowadays. At least if they extinguished their platforms, many others would jump in to fill the void left behind, and hopefully do a better job at it. Better yet, the world will ~~objectively~~ arguably be better off! Thanks for taking one for the team, Tumblr.

ChrisArchitect 3y ago
Yeah think it was a Doctorow thing. It sounds like something out of HBO's Silicon Valley also, which kind of exemplifies the very point.
aib 3y ago
> I wonder who coined the term? Nice summary at https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/enshittification https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/enshittification (TL;DR: Cory Doctorow)
- johnzim 3y ago
  https://twitter.com/St_Rev/status/1676598397489250304?s=20 https://twitter.com/St_Rev/status/1676598397489250304?s=20

frio 3y ago

I feel like the Facebook Messenger XMPP support is a better example -- but it's hard to find any reference to it remaining outside of the internet archive. Even this old HN thread about its death leads to a dead end (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9266769 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9266769). 8 years doesn't feel like long enough for this extremely relevant example of Facebook closing support for an open protocol to have vanished.

wilg 3y ago

I doubt Threads can hurt ActivityPub much, it’s either valuable to users or it isn’t. If it is, Meta can’t really kill it, if it isn’t, it’s a nice pressure release valve for people who dislike Meta or prefer custom clients to still interact with their platform and provide content to people on Threads.

grepfru_it 3y ago
Remember XMPP? I would use a custom client to connect with my facebook friends. Then one day they said nope and turned it off. Did that hurt XMPP? No, not technically. It is used behind the scenes with jitsi for example.. but would you use XMPP for a new project today? Unlikely. I foresee the exact same thing happening with ActivityPub. Edit; I should really scan all comments before I post, someone else posted something similar
- rgbrenner 3y ago
  And the fact that they didnt launch with ActivityPub enabled clearly indicates they don't believe the protocol is a necessity for Threads success.

difosfor 3y ago

I think all centralized and practically unavoidable to use services should be run by non profit organizations controlled and subsidized by democratically voted governments. That way they would serve people instead of the other way around. You see the same kind of thing with unavoidable things like infrastructure; people and countries thrive if they take care of it instead of trying to compete or worse, monopolizing it. Or at least regulate to that end. Perhaps the EU could simply require all large companies like meta to support ActivityPub for services like this.