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Use-open-platforms-or-else.md (3621B)

---
title: Use open platforms — or else
date: 2021-01-28
outputs: [html, gemtext]
---
The ongoing events around [/r/wallstreetbets][0] teaches us, once again, about
the value of open platforms, and the tremendous *risk* involved in using
proprietary platforms. The economic elites who control those proprietary
platforms, backed by their venture capital interests, *will* shut us down if we
threaten them. We're taking serious risk by casting our lot with them.
[0]: https://old.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets
[Discord][1], a proprietary instant messaging and VoIP platform, kicked out the
/r/WSB community yesterday. They claimed it was due to spam and abuse from bots.
These are convenient excuses when considered in the broader context of Discord's
conflict of interest, between its retail investor users and its wall-street
investor backers. However, even if we take their explanation at face value, we
can easily question Discord's draconian policies about its proprietary chat
protocol. They have a history of cracking down on third-party bots and clients
with the same excuses of preventing spam and abuse. If Discord accepts
responsibility for preventing spam and abuse, then why are they deplatforming
users when they, Discord, failed to prevent it?
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discord_(software)
It's all a lie. They use a proprietary protocol and crack down on third-party
implementations because they demand total control over their users. They
deplatformed /r/WSB because they were financially threatened by them. Discord
acts in their own interests, including when they are against the interests of
their users. In the words of Rohan Kumar, they're trying to [domesticate their
users][2]. It's the same with every corporate-operated platform. Betting that
Reddit will ultimately shut down /r/WSB is probably a stronger bet than buying
GME!
[2]: https://seirdy.one/2021/01/27/whatsapp-and-the-domestication-of-users.html
But there is another way: free and open platforms, protocols, and standards.
Instead of Discord, I could recommend [Matrix](https://matrix.org),
[IRC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Relay_Chat), or
[Mumble](https://www.mumble.info). These are not based on central corporate
ownership, but instead on publicly available standards that anyone can build
on top of. The ownership of these platforms is distributed between its users,
and thus aligned with their incentives.
Federation is also a really compelling solution. Unlike Discord and Reddit,
which are centrally owned and operated, federated software calls for many
independent server operators to run instances which are responsible for tens or
hundreds of users each. Each of these servers then use standardized protocols to
communicate with each other, forming one cohesive, distributed social network.
Matrix and IRC are both federated protocols, for example. Others include
[Mastodon](https://joinmastodon.org/), which is similar to Twitter in function;
[PeerTube](https://joinpeertube.org/en), for hosting videos and live streams;
and [Lemmy](https://join.lemmy.ml/), which is a federated equivalent of Reddit.
These are the alternatives. These platforms lack that crucial conflict of
interest which is getting us kicked off of the corporate owned platforms. These
are the facts: open platforms are the only ones align with the interests of
their users, and closed platforms exploit their users. Once you recognize this,
you should jump ship *before* you're deplatformed, or else you're risking your
ability to organize yourselves to move to another platform. Use open platforms —
or else. Do it today.