As more and more social media platforms and their owners outright ally themselves with the fascists, I get really tired with the attitude:
"#Mastodon and the #Fediverse are fine as they are and don't need to grow!"
We need to grow and replace the others as much as possible. Considering how much the fascists now use social media to make the world a worse place, the very future of human civilization might depend on it!
#fascism #antifascism #SocialMedia
1 Comments
Sunshine@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 1y
themeatbridge@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 1y
I think there are two concepts that get confused. In capitalism, if you're not growing, you're dying. Nothing can simply be what it is. There are too many other places to invest your money, so stagnation is worse than loss. Loss at least indicates an attempt, a risk, a bet placed and a lesson learned. Plateaus are the wastelands. This has created the enshittification cycle. The idea is that, once they reach a critical mass, you can begin taking advantage of your inertia and extracting maximum profit. Capitalists are constantly innovating new ways to exploit people for shareholder value.
I suspect, although I'm guessing, that the people you hear saying that "Lemmy|Fediverse|Mastodon doesn't need to grow" are talking about growth for profit's sake. It's a response to watching their favorite apps or services or products or companies insist on growth at the expense of what makes them beloved. Reddit is a recent example of a site that went full shit for profit, but they've actually been pushing growth for years.
It would be great if more decentralized services become popular. There are certainly people who resist change because they enjoy the insulation of a small community. Personally, I like that I keep having conversations with the same 100 or so commenters that are in every thread, and it's something I miss about the early days of Reddit. Popularity brings new people with their own ideas about how things should be. It's like attending the concert of your favorite indie band and then seeing all the frat guys bro-ing it up where the mosh pit is supposed to be. Just a bunch of popped collars and cargo shorts filled with natty ice cans. Going mainstream does tend to kill the community vibe.
But you're correct, growth of decentralized services would be great, especially if it means weakening the chokehold oligarchs have on social media. Even if it means Lemmy becomes blander and less special, it would be worth the exchange. But it doesn't need to grow the way a business does. It doesn't need to become more palatable to the masses by abandoning the core values of the community. And that's what a lot of people hear when you talk about growth.
So they are right, and you're right, and we need to continue to have discussions without arguing passed each other.