It's actually really awesome that Mastodon attracted a shitload of users who largely aren't aware that the underlying GNUSocial platform is old.
You know why?
Because it means we can do this over and over.
Every time someone releases a new implementation with different-looking chrome on top, it can go through its own marketing and media cycle and garner new users. *And the network effect will be cumulative.*
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@chris_martin this is a really important point. I was trying to make to someone earlier today but you said it better.
@chris_martin @wakest i'm cool with this. i mean, i hope folks hear about it and know a bit about all these iterations (just like we would any other media), but i don't think hostility towards newcomers is doing anyone any favors.
@ghost @chris_martin whos having the hostility towards newcomers?
@wakest @chris_martin i'm not naming names, & they're not important. there hasn't been any direct bullying, just plenty of subtoots.
@chris_martin GNU Social has been historically kind of crusty, and has only really started picking up locomotion within the last few years.
One bonus here, at the very least, is that a Ruby implementation of GNU Social now exists. I don't know much about the people maintaining the OStatus stuff, but the fact is that it actually works really well, and is being maintained actively.
Since #Diaspora also is built on #Rails, it may be possible to build a bridge at some point.
@HedgeMage I'm one of these people who weren't aware, and I think I still don't really get it... Does this mean that people using an older Gnusocial-based service can follow me here, now that I'm on Mastodon?
@bdenh Yes, apart from the couple of services that have specifically chosen not to federate with Mastodon instances.
I'm told that some of the older OStatus-based services are having interoperability problems with Mastodon, and have turned off federation until this is resolved. However, I've followed several GNUSocial users, so that's unlikely to be one of the platforms having issues.
@bdenh Yes, and you can follow them too
This federation has gathered users as identi.ca, StatusNet, GNU social, Free Social, and mastodon.
There's no end to how many different ways we can market the same product :)
But I think the broader view is this: GNU social isn't so much a social network as a framework for building compatible, federated social networks. It 'has to' win because ultimately people will just write all their new social networks with GNU social!
@light_rook If they're compatible, how is that not a network?
@chris_martin
I'm just saying that the protcol spec isn't the network. And sure, they're one big network, but it also makes sense to think of them of subnetworks of the larger network
@chris_martin finally someone who get it. it's not evil that people aren't mentioning GNU social with every breath
@chris_martin ...as long as a considerable number of users who join each time stay. But yes.
@chris_martin Yes, one small step. We gained new users (and many stayed too) when "Twitter/Facebook competitor" was used for #Laconica then #StatusNet then #GNUsocial even in #Diaspora #Friendica and #Hubzilla We will get there. We just have to refrain from alienating people or make the community appear "exclusive".
@chris_martin GNUSocial and Mastodon are implementations of a protocol called OStatus, and so are ineroperable, but do not share any code.
@chris_martin Well, assuming people stay, but yeah
@chris_martin then later on you'll tell people, you know what, all those social networks you've been joining and leaving for past few years? they're all the same network.
@chris_martin Just a bit worried that Mastodon doesn't seem to have a data export/import feature yet (if I'm not mistaken); which means if you need to migrate your profile at one point, you'll lose all your followers and toots.
@sciss @chris_martin
You can import everyone you follow and your block list. See 'settings'
@celesteh @sciss @chris_martin That's just not enough, though. There needs to be a way to export all data.
@chris_martin Speaking for myself: when I looked at GNUSocial it was promising, but performed quite badly. Now it works.
@chris_martin This is exactly why federation, not just decentralization, is so important!
@chris_martin I was just waiting for one that had documentation for deployment. One of these days I'll write mine...
Or at least, that's what I tell myself before I get back to my regular work.
@chris_martin
Wait, how, exactly, is the network effect cumulative? You're not talking about instances/servers, but actual services like Mastodon, right? How does that create network effect? Improvements to the underlying code?
@gideonro The network I'm referring to is the set of people who can talk to each other using their social thing of choice. A Facebook user and a Twitter user aren't on the same network because you can't send a message from a FB account to a Twitter account or vice versa. But a GNU Social user and a Mastodon user can talk.
@gideonro And if you hate Mastodon and build your own thing that also speaks Ostatus then you can build onto the network and your users can talk to Mastodon users.
@chris_martin Wow, I did not realize that, Chris. That is really awesome. I'm still climbing the learning curve. Can you import contacts between platforms, like if you had followers on GNU Social and wanted to bring them in here (assuming the UI was implemented), could you do it?
@gideonro You can export and import your data (some, and if not all I imagine that's on the todo list). Bringing your followers with you is something you cannot do. There is much discussion on that topic.
@chris_martin
That's cool. No lock-in. The content stays with the user. That is a *HUGE* deal. Wow.
I would imagine that the user issue has some complexities to it...
So... when everyone notices it is Twitter, twisted... that doesn't count?
