An Audacious Plan to Halt the Internet's Ensh*ttification ...

Fearing enshittification is one reason I want to keep my company private. If I have to answer to stockholders, then I’m not answering to customers, and that’s shitty.

I get it. His most recent post talks about how enshittification isn't just limited to digital platforms, it's inevitable whenever monopolies are allowed to form.

Avoid private equity as well. PE is equally shitty.

I've noted over the past few years, how any company that invests in R&D rather than pays dividends is labelled as "loss making" by the press.

100%. I never wanna work for public company again. I left a huge one after constant thrashing of canceling projects and trips so the accountants could move money around for the quarterly earnings reports only to revive after. Went to a couple small private ones then yr ago employer went public. Been so downhill so fast. Company isn’t recognizable to the one I accepted offer from. I’m leaving when I find a private fit.

I would consult a lawyer, basically iirc you can add to the bylaws that you are not just about making money and then you are only obligated to share dividends if you keep the majority of the voting rights.

I'd do it.

That's the neoliberal secret -- you have to play the game, no matter how immoral the rules.

At least in feddit (main German instance) there were a lot of posts offering up financial support, but it was declined because it was not needed.

I think especially the smaller communities wouldn't have a problem coming with funds for hosting. Donations for lemmy developers have also increased significantly since the main exodus.

I get your scepticism, but I think the lemmy community for the most part wants this thing to "succeed" and is willing to chip in a reasonable amount.

Kind of surprised (and a bit disappointed) you didn't get more replies saying "I already pay". Which does admittedly support your point!

p.s. I already pay.

If they are 100% transparent in regard to where the money goes, I'm in. The problem with something like youtube premium is not that it's unaffordable to the majority of users. It's that at this point you have to assume that they don't need the subscription fee to cover their costs, but to shove that money up some CEOs or shareholders asses. Yeah that's not gonna happen unless they force me to and even then I'd think twice about if I really need that service.

Depends honestly but there’s a fee I’d be willing to pay to support if there was ongoing development and efforts for things user privacy and responsible moderation.

I used to donate to BBSes, and my BBS ran on donations, so that's how I'd approach the issue.

A few but nowhere near enough. I do pay a few “optional” subscriptions to support good services but not many

I run my own Lemmy instance, I already pay $23.00 a month just to be here.

I'd pay if the price was reasonable.

We should hear about these costs more often, see emcouragement posts towards donating and stuff. I've seen some admins did these.

Who will pay a subscription

Dunno if for other people, but that's the main issue for me. When you pay a subscription, at least in my mind trained in the 90s and early 00s, plus now with Enshittification, you are not only basically paying rent to a landlord, but you are basically paying a "ransom" – a bet that the service won't be rug-pulled from under your feet at any moment's notice.

Instead I'd prefer something like a one-time lifetime payment, like what SDF does, or a long-period subscription eg.: 5-yearly or 10-yearly instead of monthly / yearly. That way, even if it's going to eventually be Enshittified, you have better reason to trust that you're going to get some useful lifespan out of it.

The last two words of my username will official disappear by that point. And it's not like someone other than me is already referring to themself as "Resol" without a suffix anyway.

That's capitalism - it'll gladly sell you even its own criticism

True but it is unfortunately still the place where people will most likely watch your video.

That may have been true in the past, but in the last 30 years I've watched a lot of companies that should have outright failed because they were terribly managed get a few dumptruck loads of taxpayer money to keep them afloat.
We're well past the stage of "if they fuck themselves, let them fail" and deep into "If you're not going to buy their shit, we'll just take them money straight out of your paycheck"

Let the normies use enshittified services.

My prediction is that those with know how will make their own web ... like back in the days of usenet.

Good Bot!

It's perfect. It enshittifies itself. It's like the shitty rule of capitalist economics in the 21st century.

It doesn't necessarily roll off the tongue, but that's a good thing. It seems to be catching on, and frankly those large companies and orgs that are enshittifying and get labeled thusly might actually not love being called out with it, and hopefully slow their roll.

Doubtful, but a man can dream.

I used to work at S***ify... which is currently enshittifying at top-speed. It fits.

So stupid I saw it used a lot of times and I used it myself before I even knew the guy.. it conveys the meaning so well

Not only that, but they're acting like they're the first to figure this shit out.

This is just rent-seeking. It's as old as capitalism itself. No need for dumb new terms.

Well, what do you suggest?

i.e. where it all began

Man, people think they want laws to regulate the internet but seem to forget who owns the lobbyists.

The fediverse will be at risk as soon as they start legislating.

Man, people think they want laws to regulate the internet but seem to forget who owns the lobbyists.

The fediverse will be at risk as soon as they start legislating.

Bidets are the best thing ever though. Installing a bidet changed my life.

But in xkcd lore, Cory Doctorow does in fact wear a cape, and has a hot air balloon.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/i-dont-care-about-cookies/

Yes that's right, the suction of one's poo right back into one's asshole.