I came across a Romanian Reddit thread today that left me confused and feeling mixed feelings.
Someone asked if anyone uses Mastodon, and most responses were neutral or mildly curious. One commenter dismissed it immediately: “much too left-wing”. They complained about decentralization, the fediverse concept, calling it too complex for average users, with declining engagement.
The OP asked a simple question: “in what sense too left-wing?” And got no response, just several downvotes.
I sat with that for a bit.
Yes, federation does mean anyone can run a server. Users control their data. No single corporation owns the network. If you think about it through the lens of “seize the means of production” - and I am kinda joking but also not - it IS seizing the means of production for social media. The opposite of corporate control.
But this person rejected it as “too left” while presumably continuing to use platforms owned by billionaires who can read sell their data, train AI and o manipulate their feed. The irony would be almost funny if it wasn’t sad.