Unpopular opinion: while I don't oppose the existence of non-moderated social networks in the sense that I'd want them extinguished overtly, I'm not deeply convinced they're good, especially in this decade.
gab.ai gave breathing room for a man to be so radicalized by surrounding himself with anti-Jewish conspiracy that he murdered people at a synagogue. 4chan is a notorious breeding ground of terrible memetic hazards (including, notably, QAnon).
I don't guarantee Fediverse will end up the same, but the alternative services seem to collect mostly fringers who got kicked off of mainstream services with cause, and that's not a group I intend to support with my time and engineering labor. When I see a new social media site pop up, the first question I have is "What stops it from being the next gab.ai?"
gab.ai gave breathing room for a man to be so radicalized by surrounding himself with anti-Jewish conspiracy that he murdered people at a synagogue. 4chan is a notorious breeding ground of terrible memetic hazards (including, notably, QAnon).
I don't guarantee Fediverse will end up the same, but the alternative services seem to collect mostly fringers who got kicked off of mainstream services with cause, and that's not a group I intend to support with my time and engineering labor. When I see a new social media site pop up, the first question I have is "What stops it from being the next gab.ai?"