I would certainly check one out. Federated instances are a good start, being able to curate my own feeds and interests (tags being hijacked is a PITA) but I hold concern of the eventual crap creep.
I think I am in my Old Person Yells At Internet era.
I quit Crackbook a decade ago over the algorithm forcing shit at me I had no interest in.
That's when I learned what a dark pattern was. I started seeing it pop up nearly everywhere that used algorithms.
Did the same with Twatter a few years ago. Again, I was over being forced to see shit I had zero interest in. This time I removed my footprint, leaving a handful of posts.
No one noticed either time I'd left. (No one ever does. That's a whole other rant about the state of anti social media.)
Never used Threads. Won't even click on the ones that are shoved at me through Insta.
Kept Insta for patterns and recipes, and over time I've stopped engaging on the platform. It's just as bad as the others for the algorithm and ads. Staying is on me, I know. Sunk cost fallacy or whatever. I didn't want to lose my collection of patterns that exist no where else.
I started the process of removing what little remains of my presence on IG. Discovered I'm not allowed to remove likes 'to protect the community'. Deleting my own content bugs out often. Removing saved bookmarks bugs out often. No way to keep the videos I refer to often to make things.
Damned straight I mean it when I say I will cease using Meta products. I am tired of being told how to use something, or how I should think and what I should believe.
A few of the guys (Americans) I game with called it "A good result." All I could respond with was a heavy sigh.
At least they haven't been spouting the usual mysogynistic BS in my presence, unlike my last group. They were outright partying, and they aren't even American!
There was a place like this in Vancouver, no idea if it is still there.
The Elbow Room. "Food and service is our name, abuse is our game!"
One of our group asked for water, he got told his legs worked and he could get it himself. The food was amazing, although we did get told off for not finishing our plate.
I have so far managed to avoid threads, but Insta is filled with 'Comment forcedengagement to get the pattern/recipie/cureforthecommon cold' or stolen videos with facts about some shitty car.
I block them, but that appears to count as interest, so I end up with more of that shit shoved at me.
I'm only there because the crafters I want to see are there, and none of them want to join anything federated. :(
Can you be my neighbour? The new ones think 8am is the perfect time to stand outside my window and scream at each other. I've just gotten to sleep. Noise at 11 (even a lawnmower outside my room) I could sleep through, but that first two hours of sleep I struggle to stay asleep.
Moving the fireworks to when the sun is high in the sky will be a hard sell, no one can see them and everyone will complain, daysider and nightsider.
Tell the markets to stay open past noon or the shopping centres to stay open later than five. Late night shopping where I live is six pm. Weekend shopping? Four pm, unless the shop randomly decides to close at two. I've lost count how often I have rocked up to a store, and hour before closing, to find out they closed early so they could go enjoy the sun.
Seriously, I hate that if I keep to my normal sleep schedule (and this avoids insomnia and being sick all the time), I have a two hour window on most days to get things done. That two hours is from the moment I wake until shops close, not including the normal wake up stuff like showering, or eating. It also doesn't include travel time, and I live in a sprawl where everything is a half hour away. I'd love to support the farmers markets, or browse the local markets and fairs. They are closing when I arrive, and I've already sacrificed sleep to try and attend.
Our previous ISP kept after us for a few years to return their modem/router. Only problem was we were a BYO account - we never had a need for their device, nor was it ever on our account or any invoices. A few years later, and every few months afterward (typically after I've had to contact them to solve the hell that was constant dropouts - reconnecting 2-4 times a minute) the missing BUDii would pop up again and they'd demand we return or pay for it.
Each time I got snarkier and snarkier, treading the line of being polite and sounding like I wanted to chew their face off. Then I got Betty (fake name) who asked for a moment while she read the correspondence on our account. She commiserated with the troubles we'd been having, clarified notes on our account and then solved what a dozen others couldn't figure out, and we never heard about the BUDii ever again.
I would certainly check one out. Federated instances are a good start, being able to curate my own feeds and interests (tags being hijacked is a PITA) but I hold concern of the eventual crap creep.
I think I am in my Old Person Yells At Internet era.