if someone chooses to be on a platform and they don’t get any benefit from it then they shouldn’t be on it.

The platform owner(s) definitely have motivations and/or an agenda. Safe to assume the owner is a stakeholder and therefore is not guaranteed to be hands off forever.

Both of these are besides the point. The question is, why do people stay on a platform?

Centralised social media did, and is, doing extremely well by most metrics.

Such as censorship (everywhere). shadowbanning (X), ownership by an egomaniac slyster (X), blue badges (X), and being ganged up on (reddit). i’m ignoring platforms for addicts such as tiktok, youtube, and instagram.

Which matrix are we ignoring in order come to the conclusion legacy social media is doing well? Be specific.

we’re not missed

You are right.

At the same time, those platforms are not providing enough value for users to stick around.

i’m a milk tea addict. Carry around cinnamon and nutmeg. And hang out on github.

These are horrible vices. But no excuse for having divergent opinions.

Telegram is fine.

Signal will be gone tomorrow and you’ll lose your network. Moving networks from one platform to another is impossible. So we end up creating new networks.

Currently i’m making a network of Python coders i’ve collaborated with. The communication medium is not consistent nor ideal.

Hate email with a passion. So of course most the communication is going over plain text email. Tried pushing for communication on plain text mastodon.

Your welcome. Use it in good health. And please excuse my colorful prose.

There is many many comments on Telegram bleeding the phone number. And only one comment saying that doesn’t have to be the case.

This 1 + 1 = 2 logic is boring. It’s trying to escape out of a wet paper bag over and over again. Whatever your 1 + 1 = 2 logic is their is another guy who can drive a bus staight thru it. Every single time.

In a year from now you will find out you are completely mistaken and just repeating nonsense. Every freak’n time.

Just for once, do the wrong thing. Make the wrong choice on purpose.

Instead of seeing never ending red flags. Today see purple flags. And tomorrow orange. Cuz why do flags always have to be red?

You can be right or you can have fun.

Do the wrong thing sometimes. Live a little.

In Telegram, you never have to expose your phone number. If you like walking into traps then of course you can.

But can make minimal efforts to not be a degenerate avoiding this obvious easily avoidable trap.

How to avoid exposing your phone number

Make a group called i'm not a complete utter idiot. Whenever you have a friend wanting to connect, make a group link, send it to them, have them join. After joining have them send a message in the group. Just, “Hi”. Nothing more. Less is more.

Look for that message and click on the person’s name. You are now connected. Send them a personal message, “Hi!”.

You can also add them as a contact without sharing your phone number.

Your friend will probably be a degenerate and expose their phone number. Teach them how to go into settings to always hide it.

Try not to call them a degenerate, degenerates hate that.

Also try not to think of them as a degenerate, they will already know that and be proud of it and not understand why you don’t share their enthusiasm.

So control what thoughts you project into the ether. If you have to change the topic in your mind to something involving flowers singing birds and clouds.

recognizing the pattern of owners/mods abusing power and no one really agreeing what exactly that entails, will always find that decentralization is the way that it has to be.

We tried centralization and doesn’t go well. The answer is not to keep trying the same thing.

Regardless if he is a saint or not, it’s super centralized social media and we shouldn’t support it