From My New Zap Stream: What Is A Commons Transition

Barry Solow

New York City, Wed, 10 Nov 2021 07:38:53 -0800

1.1 What is a Commons Transition? - Commons Transition Primer » Growth, as an evolutionary process of natural systems, is understood to be necessary. But past adolescence, organisms must either stabilize (through interfacing with their environments) or die off. In observing our economic systems...

commons

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The Lazy Teddy

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 07:55:32 -0800

Haha, I decided today to do the exact same thing. I fired up a Zap instance for the potential Facebook refugees among our personal friends and family, precisely for that reason. While personally, I'm sticking with Hubzilla, Zap is probably the more practical choice for new (and possibly less tech-savvy) users, and Hubzilla has a lot of features most people wouldn't use anyway, like websites and the shopping cart.

I just started a quick and dirty first steps tutorial:
https://hubzilla.lazyteddy.eu/wiki/lazyteddy/Zap(20)-(20)Getting(20)started/First(20)Steps

It's a work in progress. Most of it is the same as on Hubzilla anyway, but I figured I shouldn't confuse new users too much, so I took new screenshots, as well. I was just going to take a break from this work and saw your post

lotfi

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 08:42:29 -0800 last edited: Wed, 10 Nov 2021 08:43:38 -0800

Zap is great for people who just want to do social networking. The problem (for now) is that there are very few public instances open for registration. And that not everyone is able to self-host. I'm talking about this with full knowledge of the facts, especially since I'm directly concerned. I, who, generally speaking, doesn't have too many problems with computers and the Internet (I've been doing it personally and professionally for at least 25 years), I still have a hard time getting into self-hosting. What about the majority of people, who would be interested in alternatives to FB and so on... but have no idea what a self-hosted instance could be.

citc

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 11:31:40 -0800

Why not register onto a hubzilla server, then use it primarily for "social networking"?

lotfi

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 12:06:11 -0800

Yes but I think Zap better fits the expectations of people who come from mainstream networks, with the habits and reflexes of its networks. Hubzilla requires a lot more settings, which is not the case with Zap. I know a lot of people that Hubzilla scared a bit because of this.

Barry Solow

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 12:21:30 -0800

Zap is a guest house. Hubzilla is a construction site.

I'd rather invite people into the guest house, tell them where they can find extra towels and blankets, and show them a common area where they can meet people for coffee...
than:
direct them onto the construction site, tell them which bathrooms are working and which aren't hooked up yet, warn them about accidentally locking the wrong gates, and assure them that one day this place is going to be so much better than the guest house.

citc

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 12:24:34 -0800

Ultimately, the guest house needs compelling content...

Barry Solow

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 12:37:38 -0800 last edited: Wed, 10 Nov 2021 12:38:38 -0800

No it doesn't. The guests can talk to each other, dine together, use the house as a launching pad for their days.

The guest house needs a working bathroom, a few chairs and tables, decent beds, and a way to reheat the coffee.

Guests who require compelling content are dull, unimaginative people. They're not guests, they're consumers.