ChristerMLB

Yeah, I’ll have to work on my explanation there as well.

As I understand it, Matrix is a standard for doing Discord-like things (and other stuff as well, but never mind that), but it’s also an organization that hosts a service that follows that standard - you can make an account there, and use whatever client you like to join servers and do Discord-like things.

But anyone could host such a service, or make such clients, so a big tech firm could never fully own Matrix - in the same way that they can never fully own email.

Sound right?

Not only that, but a lot of constructive thinking goes in to just formulating thoughts so they can be communicated. We’ve all had that sense of “that sounds stupid when I say it out loud”, for example.

Matrix seems pretty mature, and has screen sharing with audio?

Oh, just a ban on the targeting. The companies would still be alllowed to show as many ads, and as many different ads, as they’d want.

That’s interesting, and maybe better than what I had in mind.

When I was 19 I went to a sort of social pedagogy boarding school thing that we have in the Nordics, after that I got drafted and did alternative service, after that my brother had long since moved into my room, so moving back home wasn’t really on the table – at least not as I saw it.

So you’re suggesting just outright banning social media?

It is apparently a movement, but it gets way too little attention: https://www.politico.eu/article/targeted-advertising-tech-privacy/

I dunno, they will still want people to stick around on their site, so they can see their ads.

Some of it can be accomplished by just setting universal demands for how social media works for all users:

• ban targeted advertising
• make it mandatory for companies to ensure algorithms don’t prioritize posts for making users angry, scared or depressed

Stuff like that. These kinds of regulations don’t involve ID checks, and could take care of a big chunk of the problem.

yeah, I switched to Linux on my personal computers once I noticed ads in the start menu, my work computer has win11, though

dude, Notepad even has Copilot now

Pretty sure no type setter or graphic designer would use Word for anything else than making Word templates.

I don’t know that they want to, but as economic inequality increases it will happen. Without a middle class, there’s not much of a market for high-end bleeding edge gaming PCs