I’m all for advocating for people to stop using [insert any online platform that is moderated by far-right or a bootlicker to one]. My issue is that it feels for some the alternatives that it feels like someone just search alternatives to... on Google without actually using it.

The worst one is the one who suggest to use Odysee instead of YouTube. My experience from using Odysee is that it has way too many far-right videos and content creators and I can easily watch video that is pro-Nazi. I hate YouTube’s censoring creators where it does effect creators who trying to discuss about Sexual Abuse, domestic violence, suicide and had to say other words like “unalive” which makes it seems less serious than it actually is. If they tried to say the actual word instead of censoring themselves, they will either get demonized or even have their video taken down and had to nag YouTube support team to put the video up again as they are spreading awareness.

PeerTube is closest one where it could be an alternative but not exactly a replacement where main problem is lack of content that I want to watch as sort video I like to watch (video essay, music video usually by mainstream artist etc.) is only available on YouTube. It then also encouraging people I subscribe to to try out PeerTube, even if it as a mirror which they are often active on Twitter which no offense, I can’t be asred to make a Twitter account to try to ask them to join one the PeerTube instance which I doubt they would do.

This is coming for person that tries to advocate people to use Mastodon instead of Twitter which that failed and I’m just tried to try “be the change that [I] want to see”. I know people who say that don’t mean it but it feels like some saying I’m being too lazy for not have convert someone to get off the platform and it’s super easy when it is not.

Sorry if this come off across as ramblebly but I feel like I’m going crazy at times and don’t exactly fit-in despite hating what places like YouTube, Reddit and Twitter has become.

  • canadaduane@lemmy.caEnglish
    3·
    25 days ago

    I love your observations here, and applaud the good work. A few thoughts:

    1. I think the problem is more complex than “switch from platform A to (better) platform B”. The reason for this is that in many ways the reason “platform B” is better (e.g. Mastodon, PeerTube) is that it is creating a forest (ecosystem) rather than a skyscraper (monolith).
    2. People have become used to signing up for services at a single site, and this relationship/architecture teaches us something–that there are only two parties, “me” and “the service”. The service is almost always run by a mega corporation.
    3. But in terms of human society, this is a very, very strange relationship/architecture, historically. Usually, we are part of a community. And our community is connected to and bridged with other communities. And the communities form larger and larger alliances and nations etc. The internet has “cut out” the community layer, and then fed us a topology and service that makes it look like community (e.g. Discord), as long as we follow the monolith’s rules.
    4. Inevitably, like the When We Get Komooted author explains, monolithic corporate apps lose alignment with the needs of their users, and often by design enclose the community and extract value while selling the community out.
    5. To avoid this, we need to re-imagine how we relate to our services–we should be thinking first in terms of picking a community, and supporting that community, and making sure our community supports the services we need, and then in terms of connecting our communities to larger and larger alliances and structures.

    IMO, this is the only way to re-gain the power that we need so that we can align our services with our natural human needs, and avoid the enclosure, drift, and extraction playbooks that for-profit monoliths execute on.

    And BTW I’m not against for-profit companies. I just think we have to sort out what’s best for us and put our “money where our mouth is” in building up strong alternatives.