Re: Can the SocialWeb save Google Groups? (or, at least do what it should do?)

> On Mar 9, 2023, at 13:32, Bob Wyman <bob@wyman.us> wrote:
> 
> ..., it appears that one could construct a useful analog to [ group sw likeGoogle Groups etc ]  using ActivityStreams and ActivityPub -- but not the way they are implemented in Mastodon or most other existing AS/AP systems. It is also quite clear that using a Federated approach to maintain this kind of discussion might protect them from the catastrophic loss that arises when a proprietary system decides to change its priorities.

Some random thoughts:

* It appears to me that there’s nothing in Activity* that prevents those standards to be used for groups. Better to reuse them than to invent something new IMHO.

* However, there is also nothing that explains how to do it.

* People are already using reposting accounts but that’s more like mailing list exploder than a proper group.

* UX needs may be larger than protocol needs. 

> Is a future for USENET/Google Groups-like social interactions appropriately discussed here? Can or should the SocialWeb provide a new, more persistent, home for Helwer's Format Methods Community?

The scope discussion:

If we were to draw a map of the features of released software being used today, and the various parts that are standardized and are not, we get something very spotty. Lots of white areas, and ill-defined borders. This group sort-of-owns some of the colored parts, but far from all.

If we were to draw a map of the features of that kind of software we can reasonably expect to exist 12-36 months down the road, we get something even spottier. Chances are interoperable software with an extended-compared-to-today feature set — and not dominated by a single market leader — is not possible because the appropriate standards aren’t being worked on.

I would find this regrettable. We should be taking the initiative in building out a brave new decentralized social world that goes far beyond what qualifies as “social” today. If we don’t, somebody else will.

Cheers,




Johannes Ernst
Blog: https://reb00ted.org/
FediForum: https://fediforum.org/
Dazzle: https://dazzle.town/