(mbin) mechanism needed for users to block whole instances, not just magazines
(mbin) mechanism needed for users to block whole instances, not just magazines
Those who condemn centralised social media naturally block these nodes:
- #LemmyWorld
- #shItjustWorks
- #LemmyCA
- #programmingDev
- #LemmyOne
- #LemmEE
- #LemmyZip
The global timeline is the landing page on Mbin nodes. It’s swamped with posts from communities hosted in the above shitty centralised nodes, which break interoperability for all demographics that Cloudflare Inc. marginalises.
Mbin gives a way for users to block specific magazines (Lemmy communities), but no way to block a whole node. So users face this this very tedious task of blocking hundreds of magazines which is effectively like a game of whack-a-mole. Whenever someone else on the Mbin node subscribes to a CF/centralised node, the global timeline gets polluted with exclusive content and potentially many other users have to find the block button.
Secondary problem: (unblocking)
My blocked list now contains hundreds of magazines spanning several pages. What if LemmEE decides one day to join the decentralised free world? I would likely want to stop blocking all communities on that node. But unblocking is also very tedious because you have to visit every blocked magazine and click “unblock”.
the fix
① Nix the global timeline. Lemmy also lacks whole-node blocking at the user level, but Lemmy avoids this problem by not even having a global timeline. Logged-in users see a timeline that’s populated only with communities they subscribe to.
«OR»
② Enable users to specify a list of nodes for which they want filtered out of their view of the global timeline.
Let me clarify that Lemmy very much has a global feed of all instances your instance hasn't defederated, and at least one user of your instance has come in contact with.
Also, ???
This is the fediverse, why would those non commercial instances be a problem for you? Because they have too many users? Is decentralization for you not having any real traffic?
Let me clarify that Lemmy very much has a global feed of all instances
Oh, indeed. I just noticed Lemmy’s choice between subscribed, local, all, and moderated views. Subscribed is the default and that’s what I’ve always used. If I choose the global view, it’s indeed the same problem as mbin (users can only block on a per-community basis).
Mbin offers only the global view on the non-community-specific timeline.(edit: actually it’s like Lemmy; there are different views to choose from, but global is the default)This is the fediverse,
Exactly. It’s a platform designed for decentralisation. It attracts users who advocate more balance of power and more control by users.
why would those non commercial instances be a problem for you?
The fediverse was constructed with a broader vision. It’s not simply a narrow effort to avoid commercialization. Facebook Threads proves that if the fedi’s sole goal were to avoid commercialization, it would have been a failure.
Because they have too many users? Is decentralization for you not having any real traffic?
Perversely disportionate
trafficconcentration of control is obviously what the federated design was motivated to avoid. Otherwise, Twitter’s premium service is for you. Many inbound refugees came from Reddit, which suffers from the sharpest abuses of power I’ve ever experienced. They aren’t running from ads. They are fleeing from disempowerment. Of course the ones who have fled into another centralised node have naïvely just swapped one power imbalance for another, pawning themselves to a different master, while making themselves part of the same social problem.I like the idea of blocking or unblocking whole instances.
That said, I agree with commenter above you: I don't see an issue with large instances. I value having a bunch of different options, and we do have a bunch of different options. Running an instance yourself requires a fair amount of work, so I'm glad to have others willing to take it on.
If anything, on the subject of control, I like the model of social.coop over on mastodon where users can vote on direction and volunteer. It's also more formally funded by user donation (you have to set up a contribution to create an account) vs instances which are funded by donation but it's kind of whoever decides to chip in.