Interestingly, I just witnessed one example of a Federated instance being set up, received more than enough donations (basically, balance is now sufficient for 1 year with some extra to cover expenses) to continue.

We are entering a phase now where we must realise our internet isn't Free. It's sad, but true... we pay for our connections and that money doesn't get passed down to our activities.

Reddit is perfectly within it's rights - the 'community' are not the customer at all. They are there to be used... This 'FUCK YOU' pricing debacle is going along with the Twitter format - either make it profitable or let it die.

If it dies, then it's going to be up to 'us' (not me, I'm too dumb to set this stuff up) take over... However, if I found a nicely federated alternative which allowed me to access other federated sites, I don't see why every decent Reddit sub couldn't be created and linked in.

I don't even follow my subreddits on Reddit - I follow them on RSS, so they just appear as another feed - and only half my feeds are in Reddit - two of those have closed down, but (like c/dadjokes) some are appearing elsewhere.

I think something interesting to consider is that a lot of people didn't even know about this federated (un)social media - like me - and now we do know about it. They may have opened Pandoras box with this move.

We’ll continue to be profit-driven until profits arrive.

The beatings will continue until morale improves.

My attitude at this point is let them go public and let them eat their own tail. It doesn't matter. There are alternatives. As Tetra pointed out, this whole debacle opened up a pandora's box on to them now. Sips Tea

I (tediously) deleted my posts and comments - wow that was a book! I am not deleting my account however - there is no useful data in the account existence, imho.

But speaking of trust, and such meta-issues. I wonder where I will INVEST such effort again. Kbin and Lemmy and fediverse in general have a lot of potential, but it is VERY DIFFICULT to assess engagement. I know they want people to not chase "likes", but on the other hand, a person wants to put their effort in a place where it seems to provide the most social value. Reddit upvotes gave that in some degree - though a brilliant reply that was misplaced could still be downvoted. I don't see how the fediverse can prosper and be a repository of accumulated wisdom, if there is no way for the community to call out wisdom when they encounter it.