Re:Parler drops offline after Amazon pulls support
by SiliconMage on Monday January 11, 2021 @02:28PM
(#25734893)
The end result will probably be two separate frameworks distanced from each other where each side is free to babble away in their echo chambers as much as they want.
Re:Parler drops offline after Amazon pulls support
by gnicholas on Monday January 11, 2021 @02:34PM
(#25734997)
We are certainly moving in that direction, unfortunately.
Re:Parler drops offline after Amazon pulls support
by jlkuester7 on Monday January 11, 2021 @02:32PM
(#25734969)
The two big issues that come to mind with this are DNS and SSL certs. AFIK both are really hard spaces to become a "provider", so you end up being reliant on the existing providers to do business with you. Sure there are decentralized solutions to these problems, but none of them really let you operate in the "normal" internet space...
Re:Parler drops offline after Amazon pulls support
by flukus on Monday January 11, 2021 @05:19PM
(#25738278)
If we're going to talk about universal access obligations then this should be where we start, this is real unavoidable infrastructure.
Yet we don't often see calls for this from anyone worried about deplatforming, they're more worried about having an audience than a right.
Re:Parler drops offline after Amazon pulls support
by caseysoftware on Monday January 11, 2021 @03:03PM
(#25735599)
I've been kicking around how to do something like that because you need to consider all the layers.
On the app side, you need neutral phones/devices and the app distribution to get apps out there.
On the hosting side, you need the hosting itself (cloud or colo), the DNS and registrars, the SSL to secure it, SMS or emails for verification & resets, and probably a few others.
On the financial side, you need payment processing and the banking system behind it. That's one of the hardest because even if you can handle it, your customers have to be able to send you money from their bank.
All of those (and other components) have been cut off/disrupted for various organizations in the last year or two.
Re:Parler drops offline after Amazon pulls support
by grogenaut on Monday January 11, 2021 @02:54PM
(#25735421)
I'm sure that alternate platforms will pop up. Parler is an alternate platform. However, how good will those platforms be? There are already many clouds, and a lot of them have trouble competing. Stripe also has many competitors, but few of them are that good.
Re:Parler drops offline after Amazon pulls support
by gnicholas on Monday January 11, 2021 @04:48PM
(#25737776)
I’m wondering — this has been downvoted, but the replies all seem to agree that the comment is true/reasonable. Am I misunderstanding the comments, or are there other thoughts on why this is an objectionable observation?
I'm sure such a platform would be despised by many in the mainstream, and most mainstream companies would not consider using them because customers would boycott them if they did. But for companies whose customers are primarily on the right, the cost/benefit could be favorable. If there are enough such companies, someone could build a business that caters to them.
I don't know anything about how complex it would be to set up companies to replace AWS, Stripe, etc., but I imagine that at least some of these services will be offered (probably at higher cost, due to lower scale/efficiencies) within the next year or two.
Even my liberal friends think that the de-platforming has gone too far — and the Trump presidency hasn't even officially ended yet. Most thought that the companies would wait until after Trump was no longer President and then ban him on the grounds that his behavior was only previously allowed because he was a political figure.