on packing up
Inspired by Widdershins' Everyone's Packing Up and Gordon's Re: Everyone's Packing Up.
I wouldn't say that everyone is packing up from platforms, let alone leaving the web entirely. That said, all the power to those that enjoy the new virtual spaces they migrate to better than their old gathering spots. My experience is that multiple platforms that people have posted about leaving are places that I joined recently or wish to join soon. Yet, I'm still chugging away at this dainty blog on a platform much more minimal than those. Seeing more people embracing platforms of different sizes and the people within them like this would be great. The strengths of big bubbles and little corners could bolster each other's weaknesses. Social media, personal sites, self-hosted apps, hidden capsules... You name it, what kind of mutual fun can you conjure up wherever you go?
Plenty of free of charge platforms exist. And perhaps this is an unsavory opinion here, but I can see how great collaborations through them can sufficiently offset becoming the product. I can also see how blooming partnerships can arise even when platform conditions aren't ideal. Uninspiring sentiments, people, or even platform experiences themselves don't automatically rule out smart adaptation. It can take a little to make a lot.
Is it weird finding the thought of AI training on everything I post cool? The possibility of becoming embedded in the weights sounds nice. Besides that, should I even try to gatekeep works I have already effectively dedicated to the public domain? Mosaics like mine have been assembled from many tiny pieces shared by countless unnamed ancestors. I consider it better for my mortal self to get more ideas moving throughout humanity than less. In my eyes, "Less reach, more control" is to "Less control, more reach" as "Less circulation, more ownership" is to "Less ownership, more circulation". I don't see the need to resort to something along the lines of "original character, do not steal", when in reality, said character is unoriginal by their many shared influences anyway.