thoughts about Facebook and @Mainebot 's article https://medium.com/tootsuite/replacing-the-pillars-of-the-internet-235836580a0e
I don't think Facebook is like the others. And the reason, stupidly and maddeningly, are Real Names.
Before FB, if my aunt wanted to message your uncle, she'd have to get his handle (number, e-mail...) somehow.
Now she types in a name and gets the right person, just like that.
Facebook solves discoverability, at least for existing IRL social networks. I'm not sure a distributed thing can do that.
@matejcik @Mainebot There's nothing stopping people from using their official or assigned-at-birth (I refuse to call them "real") names on decentralized social media. I use mine on Mastodon, and I could use mine on Diaspora if I wanted.
Try typing "Matthew Graybosch" into Mastodon's search field, and you'll see my accounts on various instances.
I think the real "issue" is that there is nothing FORCING people to use their official/assigned-at-birth names on decentralized networks.
Whether or not you want to be discoverable with your real name is a participatory concern, not a problem with a platform.
Diaspora isn't feature-complete to even compare on paper to facebook; it works more like mastodon, or twitter.
Being discoverable should be something you can opt others into, not assume at a base level. A medium of contact should exist, that individuals control as a locus of contact disbursement.
you want my email? Ping a request to my public card
@starbreaker @Mainebot yeah, should've used "legal name" for the searchable field.
Anyway, no, that's not actually *the* issue. The issue is that your coworker's boyfriend whom you've met IRL can't find you on Mastodon, because there's a million instances and very little guarantee that this particular "Matthew" is actually the right "Matthew". Whereas on FB he can.
It's not just the names. It's all the creepiness that goes with it.