Maybe, but the thing about Mastodon, is that it works even without “Mastodon”. There are a slew of other platforms that work seamlessly with Mastodon. So if Rochko decides to do something you don’t like, you can move to Misskey or Pleroma or any number of other Mastodon-adjacent platforms while losing zero functionality.
What makes this work is ActivityPub as the backbone, as the protocol is open to anybody. ATProto, which Bluesky uses, is basically only used for Bluesky and nothing else. And Bluesky controls both their platform, and the protocol, whereas Mastodon controls only their own platform; the ActivityPub protocol is not owned or controlled by Mastodon in any way.
Yes. Mastodon is a product of Mastodon gGmbH. He is the BDFL (Benevolent Dictator for Life) of the software. Anyone can fork the software if they so choose and make their own.
What I think @Foni@lemm.ee is trying to get at is that Mastodon is a non-profit and doesn’t have investors looking to make a return like Bluesky does. Mastodon is driven entirely by donations.
Isn’t Eugen Rochko the owner of Mastodon? Isn’t he and his company responsible for what happens to it?
Maybe, but the thing about Mastodon, is that it works even without “Mastodon”. There are a slew of other platforms that work seamlessly with Mastodon. So if Rochko decides to do something you don’t like, you can move to Misskey or Pleroma or any number of other Mastodon-adjacent platforms while losing zero functionality.
What makes this work is ActivityPub as the backbone, as the protocol is open to anybody. ATProto, which Bluesky uses, is basically only used for Bluesky and nothing else. And Bluesky controls both their platform, and the protocol, whereas Mastodon controls only their own platform; the ActivityPub protocol is not owned or controlled by Mastodon in any way.
Yes. Mastodon is a product of Mastodon gGmbH. He is the BDFL (Benevolent Dictator for Life) of the software. Anyone can fork the software if they so choose and make their own.
What I think @Foni@lemm.ee is trying to get at is that Mastodon is a non-profit and doesn’t have investors looking to make a return like Bluesky does. Mastodon is driven entirely by donations.