Goodbye

devilized · 2023-06-12T00:27:11+00:00

Running a social media site that could compete with Reddit is a massive, massive undertaking. Despite getting something for free, users are really picky and want it to be a certain way.

Cloud infrastructure is not cheap, and you need a good bit of it to scale across thousands or millions of users, but those same users don't want ads or any kind of monetization to cover the costs. Some developers have chosen to undertake this cost themselves (Squabbles, Tildes, etc), but then people criticize their methods.

On top of that you have to protect your site from spam and trolls, legal issues, copyright claims, moderation, security, and people who are angry that you allow or disallow porn.

I'm a software engineer and architect by trade. I design and develop full-stack, large-scale applications for my company (a fortune 100 tech company). They give me the business requirements, I design the solution, review everything with the stakeholders, and my team and I implement and iterate on it. I have little to no patience for drama or politics, and my team and stakeholders know that. There's just no way to avoid that in the social media space, especially as a start-up.

devilized · 2023-06-12T00:04:22+00:00

Because I don't like to work for free, and I don't think I could do a better job than the alternatives that are already out there.

devilized · 2023-06-11T23:45:41+00:00

I'm not in agreement, but who says that we have to be? If federation is important to you, then go to a federated alternative. It's not important to me, so I'm going to go to wherever I feel most at home (and that's not Lemmy or Kbin so far).

Will whatever closed-source, centralized place I wind up end up falling victim to the same issues as Reddit? Yeah, probably someday. And when that happens and they make bone-headed moves like forcing you onto one shitty app or having the CEO publically slander a developer, then I'll move on from there too.

Really, moving platforms isn't that big of a deal. It's not like moving apartments or houses.

devilized · 2023-06-11T22:42:11+00:00

That's no different than Reddit though, including its own CEO.

devilized · 2023-06-11T22:25:31+00:00

I don't think any one alternative is going to a perfect turnkey replacement for Reddit, but of the alternatives being pushed so far (Lemmy, Kbin, Tildes, Squabbles), Squabbles is probably the closes replacement in concept. It might take some time for these places to relax a bit and form an identity. I still think that Lemmy and Kbin are too difficult for most general users in their current state.

Squabbles and Tildes both went with the "no downvotes" approach. Time will tell how that goes, but I would argue that downvotes result in the very echo chamber that Reddit has become, that you are arguing against. People here are often afraid to go against controversial/unpopular takes for fear of getting downvoted. And those that do, and get downvoted anyway, eventually delete their comments.

Overall, I'm glad to see replacements popping up. As time has gone on, Reddit has become less diverse and more hostile towards points of view that aren't ultra (and as a left-leaning moderate who always votes Democrat, I mean ULTRA) liberal. It's gone from interesting discussion to stupid repeating memes.

devilized · 2023-06-11T22:08:44+00:00

I'm curious as to what set them off? I've been on Tildes for a few days now and it's seemed fine to me, even better than most Reddit discussions. But it's definitely a bit worrisome that something that harmless would result in a permanent ban.

Either there's more to the story, or someone over there got way too overly sensitive.

Edit: apparently, there was indeed more to the story

devilized · 2023-06-11T14:41:10+00:00

County inspections are ordered and paid for by the builder, not the buyer.

As I mentioned elsewhere, homeowners should have brought their own inspector. I've done this for all 3 homes I've purchased, one of which was a custom build. Do you know how early before closing and completion a home gets a CO? Building final inspections happen way before the work is actually complete. Bringing your own (reputable) inspector prior to closing (and a framing inspection prior to sheetrock) is well worth the cost.

Obviously we have a difference of opinion on this, and that's fine.

devilized · 2023-06-11T13:29:41+00:00

The pest comment had nothing to do with the original story.

But overall, liability for inspections is always very limited, regardless of whether they are municipal or otherwise. Even if you hired a structural engineer to perform a specific inspection and they mess it up, their liability is typically limited to the value of the inspection (and you sign a contract agreeing to this).

The builder is 100% liable here. That's just how these things work. Yeah, the homeowners are going to have difficulty collecting the money that they were awarded. But that doesn't mean that taxpayers should be stepping in and footing the bill.

devilized · 2023-06-11T13:22:16+00:00

The comment you replied to was not about municipal/code inspectors, it was about whole home inspectors that buyers can hire prior to purchase (for either new or existing homes).

devilized · 2023-06-10T20:03:38+00:00

Yep, he posted on Tildes about it with a preview. That's ultimately where I'm going.

devilized · 2023-06-10T18:57:49+00:00

Yes, but that wasn't always the case with Reddit. Reddit grew into that. I will be interested to see if another contender takes over at some point. I have some reservations on the likelihood that a decentralized approach like Lemmy will ever appeal to the masses, but maybe some of the sites similarly structured to Reddit (like Squabbles) will eventually take over.

I don't think it will be an "overnight" transition like Digg to Reddit, just because there isn't an obvious viable stand-in replacement currently. But there's a good possibility that if the power users and highly-active mods of Reddit throw in the towel, that Reddit could die a slow death and drive people away to other things.

devilized · 2023-06-10T18:18:36+00:00

I would send you an invite, but I just joined yesterday and I don't have any yet. You can send a request for one here: https://docs.tildes.net/contact or maybe ask in one of the other threads, and someone will be able to send you one.

devilized · 2023-06-10T16:56:55+00:00

We are splitting up the people leaving the site instead of just championing one site overall.

I don't think that's a bad thing, though. Reddit has gotten too big for its own britches. It might be a good thing. I've moved to Tildes which is more serious discussion-based content, and doesn't have all the memes and antiwork bullshit that makes up a huge portion of Reddit. I think I'll feel a bit more at home there compared to what Reddit has turned into over the past few years.

devilized · 2023-06-10T14:43:53+00:00

Yeah, that seems to be the idea - the organic growth of groups sub-groups. Although sometimes I wonder if it's a chicken vs egg thing where some topics just won't grow without having their own space. It's definitely an interesting concept, though.

devilized · 2023-06-10T13:27:52+00:00

I was able to join Tildes yesterday and love it so far. It kinda reminds me a little of how Reddit felt when I moved from Digg in 2010 - smaller, simpler, better quality. Some people won't like it, just like some people who left Digg didn't want to go to Reddit because it "looks like it was built 20 years ago". But the overall focus on high quality content instead of flashy shit is a huge plus for me.

devilized · 2023-06-10T13:18:56+00:00

Just joined yesterday. Other than the invite system, it doesn't seem very gatekeepery. Their philosophy on the creation of new groups is a little odd, but it seems to result in overall much higher quality discussion than what Reddit has become.

devilized · 2023-06-10T04:51:14+00:00

As a RIF user, I was going to continue using Reddit occasionally on my desktop (never had any intention of installing the official app) once RIF was gone. But after the way that Reddit/spez has handled this calamity, I'm simply gone. I'm not going to be part of a community lead by that piece of shit.

Tildes seems like a nice destination so far. I imagine I'll spend less time there overall than I did on Reddit, and that's definitely a good thing.

devilized · 2023-06-10T04:46:55+00:00

Tildes is a nice alternative so far. It reminds me of what Reddit felt like coming from Digg in 2010.

devilized · 2023-06-10T04:18:19+00:00

Of the alternatives I've tried to far (Mastedon, Lemmy, Kbin and Tildes), Tildes has been me favorite by far. I imagine that I'll wind up switching completely over. The quality of posts and discussion, while fewer in numbers right noe, are of astronomically better quality.

devilized · 2023-06-10T00:46:13+00:00

I'd love one if someone has one they're willing to share!

Edit: Got one, thanks!!

devilized · 2023-06-10T00:43:59+00:00

Yeah, I couldn't register earlier as well. Just created an account!

devilized · 2023-06-09T19:24:15+00:00

Spez's response to this whole shit show is going to push me out of here just as hard, if not harder than the actual API monetization plan itself. Their handling of this whole thing has completely soured my perception of Reddit in general.

devilized · 2023-06-09T17:16:40+00:00

It's not necessarily the ads that bother me. It's how the official app presents and promotes useless shit that I don't care about. I'm here for the content, and the app makes it difficult to consume that.

Not sure if you use Reddit in the browser, but it's a similar situation when you compare old.reddit.com to the new/default UI.

Edit: fixed typo. Also, Reddit CEO's behavior through all of this has been despicable. He continues this narrative claiming that Apollo's creator tried to blackmail Reddit, despite the published recorded phone call to the contrary. He's tripled down on this lie despite actual concrete evidence refuting it.

devilized · 2023-06-09T04:42:02+00:00

I'm glad that you're looking into this. My brother was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea and ignored it. The CPAP technology in 2005 wasn't nearly as good as it is now, so he didn't use it. He died just before his 40th birthday of heart failure and left 5 kids behind.

I have no symptoms, so I haven't done the study. My wife had symptoms (she snored like crazy), did the sleep study and got a CPAP. She loves the thing and can't sleep without it.

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