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I like the idea of a decentralized Google free YouTube. But I find these posts about PeerTube, Frama, Mastodon, protocols, etc just very confusing. And it’s har

I like the idea of a decentralized Google free YouTube. But I find these posts about PeerTube, Frama, Mastodon, protocols, etc just very confusing. And it’s hard to understand how everyday people can use this platform or it is even meant for that. Years after first hearing of this, it has gone nowhere. I know this is a negative take but does someone have an explanation or an understanding of whether this project means anything from a practical standpoint?

butz 2y ago
Some youtubers are posting their videos to Peertube based video sites, like makertube.net , tilvids.com , tinkerbetter.tube , just to name a few. Please share your favorite Peertube instances. Sure, there are way less videos to choose from compared to youtube, but that leaves more time for productivity or for time away from the screen.
liotier 2y ago
> it’s hard to understand how everyday people can use this platform Because they are not platforms: they are software, free to use. Their audience is systems administrators, not users. Either the user is it's own systems administrator, or someone else has to do it... And in any case there is infrastructure to be paid for. Most users currently prefer someone else to do it and the price to be the watching of advertisements. I believe a sweet halfway point is hosting cooperatives - not free of cost, but delivering user-control at a reasonable cost to users who do not wish to take on the burden of sysadmining.
chneu 2y ago
A lot of this is about control over your information. It isn't about being on YouTube. It's about being able to share your media/information in a way that you feel comfortable. These projects are for people to explore self hosting or creating a platform based around the ideology the software respects. I personally self host nearly all my stuff. I'm a photographer/videographer/tech contractor and it allows me full control over my ecosystem without sacrificing my data. The folks running these aren't really interested in building a big social network or spending hours everyday scrolling what other people are doing.
Beretta_Vexee 2y ago
They don't have a plan to conquer the world, a business plan, or anything else. They're just FOSS developers doing stuff that interests them. The majority of framasoft developers are French and European teachers and academics. Framasoft is the antithesis of y-combinator. Sometimes they reach a wide audience, like framapad and framadate, which are quite popular in France and Western Europe. Partly because they just work and don't require you to create an account. Sometimes nobody really knows who it's for. Most of the time people often mistakenly think it's an isofunctional 1:1 alternative to another product. When it's not.
- frontfor 2y ago
  Regardless of whether the developers of PeerTube intend for their work to be widely used and successful, it doesn’t refute the argument that “if this software/platform/service is to be successful and widely used, it needs more marketing and/or funding and/or clearer UI/UX”. If they’re not doing that, then they are either unable or unwilling to. But that’s a separate issue.

butz 2y ago

Some youtubers are posting their videos to Peertube based video sites, like makertube.net , tilvids.com , tinkerbetter.tube , just to name a few. Please share your favorite Peertube instances. Sure, there are way less videos to choose from compared to youtube, but that leaves more time for productivity or for time away from the screen.

liotier 2y ago

> it’s hard to understand how everyday people can use this platform Because they are not platforms: they are software, free to use. Their audience is systems administrators, not users. Either the user is it's own systems administrator, or someone else has to do it... And in any case there is infrastructure to be paid for. Most users currently prefer someone else to do it and the price to be the watching of advertisements. I believe a sweet halfway point is hosting cooperatives - not free of cost, but delivering user-control at a reasonable cost to users who do not wish to take on the burden of sysadmining.

chneu 2y ago

A lot of this is about control over your information. It isn't about being on YouTube. It's about being able to share your media/information in a way that you feel comfortable. These projects are for people to explore self hosting or creating a platform based around the ideology the software respects. I personally self host nearly all my stuff. I'm a photographer/videographer/tech contractor and it allows me full control over my ecosystem without sacrificing my data. The folks running these aren't really interested in building a big social network or spending hours everyday scrolling what other people are doing.

Beretta_Vexee 2y ago

They don't have a plan to conquer the world, a business plan, or anything else. They're just FOSS developers doing stuff that interests them. The majority of framasoft developers are French and European teachers and academics. Framasoft is the antithesis of y-combinator. Sometimes they reach a wide audience, like framapad and framadate, which are quite popular in France and Western Europe. Partly because they just work and don't require you to create an account. Sometimes nobody really knows who it's for. Most of the time people often mistakenly think it's an isofunctional 1:1 alternative to another product. When it's not.

frontfor 2y ago
Regardless of whether the developers of PeerTube intend for their work to be widely used and successful, it doesn’t refute the argument that “if this software/platform/service is to be successful and widely used, it needs more marketing and/or funding and/or clearer UI/UX”. If they’re not doing that, then they are either unable or unwilling to. But that’s a separate issue.