JackbyDev

Psst, OP included Signal in this post which isn’t federated at all, so the argument of Bluesky not being “federated as much as they pretend to” is a bit irrelevant.

You think email’s UI is only “slightly” different than the UI of chats? I disagree very strongly. The two are extremely different. Email is this weird amalgamation of messages and forums depending on how your client displays it and everyone in the email thread is using it. You can have arbitrarily styling in messages. You can send messages to whoever whenever. Chats are much more focused and linear by comparison.

Could the software selection be more diverse?

Not if you want people to actually consider switching instead of feeling overwhelmed and confused.

The post is really about abandoning the tech oligarchy more than specifically using federated technology.

This is a “not the onion” level headline, holy shit

I find it sort of shocking that you didn’t think people who use different types of social media would be swayed by non-micro blogging specific platforms. Nobody wants to join the fediverse because it’s the fediverse. They want to join something that’s fun and similar to what they’re used to.

Micro blogging sucks. I hate it. I’ve always hated Twitter and none of that hate has come from anything related to who has owned it or their policies. I’ve just genuinely never felt a desire to communicate with 280 characters (historically 140). The discussion threads are also garbage and all over the place. Why would someone who is used to platforms like Reddit or Instagram want to use Mastodon?

Has PixelFed done something different that Mastodon hasn’t?

Yes, it’s done “not be a micro blogging platform”.

I’m aware Mastodon doesn’t always have the same character limits that Twitter does, but that’s apart from the point.

let alone being required to use them for schoolwork.

I was born in 1991. In elementary school I had assignments that required a computer. This is not new.