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>even though it’s inconvenient, it’s important to me to have control over my social media The whole post is basically showing pretty much features lacking that

>even though it’s inconvenient, it’s important to me to have control over my social media The whole post is basically showing pretty much features lacking that are otherwise quintessential for social media. Can't see posts, can't see replies, can't see trends, can't search etc. I mean at this point why even use it? It's like having a Ford Mustang in your garage that doesn't have tires and steering wheel but hey that V8 engine is sure nice.

serf 3y ago
I could see the point of using a social media 'service' by myself as an internal journaling method for aggregating links and media and so on, but I wouldn't because much better methods exist for such things.
- eternityforest 3y ago
  It seems like people are finally realizing how miserable the idea of self hosting anything is. I almost wish I'd never made a personal site and just done GitHub pages, even DokuWiki in the cloud isn't perfect.
tptacek 3y ago
You can see posts and you can see replies. You won't by default see posts and replies that you didn't subscribe to, or that aren't addressed to you. If your preferred experience of social media is sitewide trending stories, or searching for topics, single-person Mastodon servers aren't a good fit for you. If, like Julia Evans, you have both a large audience and a network of people you talk to on the regular, it's probably pretty OK. If Mastodon succeeds (I'm rooting for it), I expect single-person servers, delivered by hosting providers like Masto.host (but a generation or two away, like Blogger vs. the first generation of blog software) to be the normal way people use it.
- the-printer 3y ago
  This makes a lot of sense. It’s hard enough finding communities in real life as it is and the internet is at scale where the ease of social networking doesn’t exist like it did in the past. At this point I think most people who been online long enough have a network that’s been sustained across many different platforms. Federation is great for these sorts of people when it’s used in the way that you’ve described. Centralization still has its use as a meeting ground. The “public square” concept can still apply, but the thing is that it’s unhealthy to spend all of your time there and private/controlled gatherings are people can get a break and cultivate more unique bonds. Mastodon is interesting because it gives people the option to have both (public square or private hall).
- eviks 3y ago
  How is it "probably OK" when the author mentions it isn't and writes about workarounds?
  - tptacek 3y ago
    I guess my biggest clue is that they're retaining this configuration despite the downsides.
colesantiago 3y ago
> It's like having a Ford Mustang in your garage that doesn't have tires and steering wheel but hey that V8 engine is sure nice. "OK, but I made the square tyres myself and that is all that matters to me. I also don't need rear view mirrors either because they are far too distracting."

serf 3y ago

I could see the point of using a social media 'service' by myself as an internal journaling method for aggregating links and media and so on, but I wouldn't because much better methods exist for such things.

eternityforest 3y ago
It seems like people are finally realizing how miserable the idea of self hosting anything is. I almost wish I'd never made a personal site and just done GitHub pages, even DokuWiki in the cloud isn't perfect.

tptacek 3y ago

You can see posts and you can see replies. You won't by default see posts and replies that you didn't subscribe to, or that aren't addressed to you. If your preferred experience of social media is sitewide trending stories, or searching for topics, single-person Mastodon servers aren't a good fit for you. If, like Julia Evans, you have both a large audience and a network of people you talk to on the regular, it's probably pretty OK. If Mastodon succeeds (I'm rooting for it), I expect single-person servers, delivered by hosting providers like Masto.host (but a generation or two away, like Blogger vs. the first generation of blog software) to be the normal way people use it.

the-printer 3y ago
This makes a lot of sense. It’s hard enough finding communities in real life as it is and the internet is at scale where the ease of social networking doesn’t exist like it did in the past. At this point I think most people who been online long enough have a network that’s been sustained across many different platforms. Federation is great for these sorts of people when it’s used in the way that you’ve described. Centralization still has its use as a meeting ground. The “public square” concept can still apply, but the thing is that it’s unhealthy to spend all of your time there and private/controlled gatherings are people can get a break and cultivate more unique bonds. Mastodon is interesting because it gives people the option to have both (public square or private hall).
eviks 3y ago
How is it "probably OK" when the author mentions it isn't and writes about workarounds?
- tptacek 3y ago
  I guess my biggest clue is that they're retaining this configuration despite the downsides.

colesantiago 3y ago

> It's like having a Ford Mustang in your garage that doesn't have tires and steering wheel but hey that V8 engine is sure nice. "OK, but I made the square tyres myself and that is all that matters to me. I also don't need rear view mirrors either because they are far too distracting."