More on the Automattic mess from my pals at 404 Media:

We still do not know the answers to all of these questions, because Automattic has repeatedly ignored our detailed questions, will not get on the phone with us, and has instead chosen to frame a new opt-out feature as “protecting user choice.” We are at the point where individual Automattic employees are posting clarifications on their personal Mastodon accounts about what data is and is not included.  The truth is that Automattic has been selling access to this “firehose” of posts for years, for a variety of purposes. This includes selling access to self-hosted blogs and websites that use a popular plugin called Jetpack; Automattic edited its original “protecting user choice” statement this week to say it will exclude Jetpack from its deals with “select AI companies.” These posts have been directly available via a data partner called SocialGist, which markets its services to “social listening” companies, marketing insights firms, and, increasingly, AI companies. Tumblr has its own Firehose, and Tumblr posts are available via SocialGist as well.  Almost every platform has some sort of post “firehose,” API, or way of accessing huge amounts of user posts. Famously, Twitter and Reddit used to give these away for free. Now they do not, and charging access for these posts has become big business for those companies. This is just to say that the existence of Automattic’s firehose is not anomalous in an internet ecosystem that trades on data. But this firehose also means that the average user doesn’t and can’t know what companies are getting direct access to their posts, and what they’re being used for.

This story goes deeper than the current situation.

This article punched me in the gut. If we create a world where our creativity will just be siphoned off by some jerk with access to the cloud, what’s the point anymore?

Not happy today. If they break WordPress and Tumblr in an effort to make a little scratch, it is going to be such a shame for the open internet.

A quick point on the regwall here: As they noted here, 404’s regwall is in direct response to concerns about AI siphoning their content—the very concern the article raises for this site.

Please understand that this is not a big company you’re trying to work around. This is four people in a worker-owned co-op. (I used to contribute to Vice, these folks are my pals.)

I guess it's real:

archive.is failing to get around the paywall, sorry. You can either register to read it for free, or read the pdf here. Feel free to reblog with a more permanent link: https://www.swisstransfer.com/d/e0b6eaf6-07d5-4a1e-a90c-50efd4f07157

Biggest takeaways are:

It's happening

There will be a switch to opt out

Ten years ago today, I made the internet mad by pointing out that there seemed to be a lot of commentary about Flappy Bird, often of significant depth and thinking, and often beyond what the developer of the game actually put into what he made.

Of the single-serving Tumblrs I made over the years, this was my most successful—and controversial. It went viral and drew a lot of attention—some of it quite snarky. People were upset that I pointed this basic fact out.

Within a year, the joke would be on me, because I would become known for being the guy who writes long-winded commentaries about everything. The irony is rich, I know.

Pray.

In case you’re annoyed that you have to share all your thought nuggets on six different platforms, you should know that we solved this problem in the ’90s.

“‘From my perspective, Twitter is done as a platform for serious tech conversations,’ Stamos said, who previously was the chief security officer at Facebook.”

TFW the attribution says more than the quote. (via CNN)

Since every jerk on the internet has to have an opinion about Threads, here’s mine.

TLDR: The slick UX of a platform worth billions of dollars is definitely in danger of getting weaponized.

taking

If only you knew.

There was once a time that people put pull-off metal soda can tabs into the can, then drank it. Guess what happened next.

I know this sounds absurd to say, but I think this video kind of shaped my worldview.

Dan Deacon, performing live on Savannah’s WSAV, circa 2006.

Finally, the name for my IDM project has shown itself

Fast Friends

At this rate Elon Musk is gonna have to join Tumblr to get any reach