@Chris Trottier No one is stopping someone from having an opt-in server. In fact, if you truly want privacy, you might want to check out Streams, where users can use the opt-in method themselves. Only stuff you allow in will be let in, and you can even make your posts private and visible to only people you select. So opt-in servers are already available. It's just not widely known at the moment.
@noondlyt@mastodon.social @fediversenews@venera.social Yes, opt-in is consent. What exactly have you consented to? When have you specifically ever consented to a malicious server receiving your content? When have you explicitly consented to people, many of them bad actors, following you and sending you messages?
Regarding why the Fediverse-at-large prefers opt-out by default, it's pretty apparent to me: software engineers and server admins prize visibility and discoverability over safety and consent.
scott@authorship.studio 9 months ago
noondlyt@mastodon.social 9 months ago
@atomicpoet @fediversenews I agree with you on your last point. I have not here yet. Meta and Bluesky are known entities. They are concerned with one thing - $. How these federations are handled should address the fact that many people now here found corporations making terrible decisions at the expense of the people that use their product. I understand that any and all can join the Fediverse, but corporations are not people and we should remain skeptical.
atomicpoet@firefish.city 9 months ago
@noondlyt@mastodon.social @fediversenews@venera.social Two thoughts for you:
For legal liability reasons, I hope whatever server you join is run by a corporation, not a private individual. Lawsuits happen on the Internet, and without protection, they can inflict a lot of damage. Since the Fediverse assumes “opt out”, this is a particular concern.
Second, if I were to join a server, I would be concerned about how they’re paying the bills. Running a server can be costly, especially if that server allows open registrations. If a server can’t sustain itself financially, be very worried.
There’s a reason why my own server is closed. I spend $10/month to run it.
noondlyt@mastodon.social 9 months ago
@atomicpoet @fediversenews I donate voluntarily to my server and 3 others regularly. Not quite sure why you would think I would sign up on a corporate server. It is the antithesis of what I am looking for. The Corporations are the problem, not the solution. #Myanmar
atomicpoet@firefish.city 9 months ago
@noondlyt@mastodon.social @fediversenews@venera.social Corporations come in many forms. Currently, the one you use is run through a non-profit corporation. Others like cosocial.ca and social.coop run as co-operative corporations. And yet others like twit.social and me.dm run as for-profit corporations.
The reason I avoid servers run by private individuals has nothing to do with profit and more to do with legal liability and financial sustainability. Put simply, I don't want my admin to wreck their life due to some asshole who does something untoward or even illegal. I also want to ensure that the funds I spend are well-managed.
I speak from experience. Last year, I spent over $2,000 on various Fediverse services, keeping certain servers afloat.