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Want to join Email? First you have to choose a server ... No wonder email failed to thrive as an open protocol, distributed communication system. It's just too

Want to join Email? First you have to choose a server ... No wonder email failed to thrive as an open protocol, distributed communication system. It's just too darned hard and unfamiliar to figure out how to join.

bryanrasmussen 3y ago
want to join email and it's difficult? - you are evidently a tech person living some time before 1997.
msm_ 3y ago
That's why Email is basically centralised now, with most of traffic to/from gmail (and microsoft).
- gcthomas 3y ago
  It's more centralised now after several decades because monopolistic companies saw commercial value in squeezing out the competition. Plenty of technical folk have given up their own servers because the dominant providers ruined the system by blocking their emails.
rvz 3y ago
> No wonder email failed to thrive as an open protocol, distributed communication system. Do you see normal users setting up their own email servers? I don't. It seems the are all joining centralized providers called Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail and the like. [0] [0] https://mailchimp.com/resources/most-used-email-service-providers/ https://mailchimp.com/resources/most-used-email-service-prov...
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
em-bee 3y ago
before gmail and the like people didn't choose a server. the majority of email addresses people got from the institutions they were affiliated with. their university, their job, their isp. and when they switched their isp or their job, they also had to switch email addresses. it wasn't until gmail and other independent email services that people actually got to choose. the only exception were those people who got their own domain who either set up their own server or used the email service offered by their registrar. email was already ubiquitous before people even had a choice, and when those choices came available there were only very few because the majority of servers were and still re restriced to the members of the institutions they belong to. so for email paralysis of choice never was a concern
skissane 3y ago
In the early days of email, most people got an email account automatically from their work or school. When it went mainstream in the 1990s, most people got an email automatically from their ISP-and a lot of older people (like my parents age, who are in their early-to-mid 70s) still rely on that for their personal email. Then along came independent free email services such as Yahoo/Hotmail/Gmail, which either started out being owned by famous mega-corporations, or were taken over by them not long after they got started. Mastodon isn’t really comparable-how many people get a Mastodon account from their work or school? From their ISP? From a major well-known corporation (whether paid or for free)? Unless the answer to any of those questions becomes “yes” (on average, not obscure exceptions)-onboarding Mastodon is going to remain a lot more difficult for the average non-technical person than onboarding email ever was
- stonogo 3y ago
  In the early days of social media, most people got an account on the nearest BBS. When it went mainstream in the 1990s, most people automatically got a Facebook account and a lot of older people still rely on that for social media. Then along came independent free social media services such as Twitter/Discord/TikTok... It's exactly comparable, just a few years down the timeline from email.
  - t-writescode 3y ago
    There is a meaningful difference. Right now, we have Twitter. This is more like using a bulletin board now that Reddit exists. Sure some people do; but it’s far more niche than just having a Reddit account. The friction that prospective Mastadon users have experience is the knowledge that an easier option exists.
  - skissane 3y ago
    > In the early days of social media, most people got an account on the nearest BBS. The majority of people never used “the nearest BBS”, only a relatively small percentage of the population ever did. Even in their heyday, they were mainly popular with computer enthusiasts, who have always been a minority of the population. Many computer enthusiasts find technical complexity intriguing, the average person finds it off-putting > When it went mainstream in the 1990s, most people automatically got a Facebook account and a lot of older people still rely on that for social media. Who “automatically” got a Facebook account? The vast majority of users had to go to Facebook.com and sign up. People got an email given to them by their work/school/ISP, I’ve never heard of someone being given a Facebook account by any of those (Workplace doesn’t really count.) And unlike Mastodon, Facebook never asked its users to “choose an instance” > Then along came independent free social media services such as Twitter/Discord/TikTok... All of which are big commercial services, and none make you “choose an instance” in the way that Mastodon does when you sign up for them > It's exactly comparable, just a few years down the timeline from email. It’s completely different; it’s only “exactly comparable” if you ignore many key details

bryanrasmussen 3y ago

want to join email and it's difficult? - you are evidently a tech person living some time before 1997.

msm_ 3y ago

That's why Email is basically centralised now, with most of traffic to/from gmail (and microsoft).

gcthomas 3y ago
It's more centralised now after several decades because monopolistic companies saw commercial value in squeezing out the competition. Plenty of technical folk have given up their own servers because the dominant providers ruined the system by blocking their emails.

rvz 3y ago

> No wonder email failed to thrive as an open protocol, distributed communication system. Do you see normal users setting up their own email servers? I don't. It seems the are all joining centralized providers called Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail and the like. [0] [0] https://mailchimp.com/resources/most-used-email-service-providers/ https://mailchimp.com/resources/most-used-email-service-prov...

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

em-bee 3y ago

before gmail and the like people didn't choose a server. the majority of email addresses people got from the institutions they were affiliated with. their university, their job, their isp. and when they switched their isp or their job, they also had to switch email addresses. it wasn't until gmail and other independent email services that people actually got to choose. the only exception were those people who got their own domain who either set up their own server or used the email service offered by their registrar. email was already ubiquitous before people even had a choice, and when those choices came available there were only very few because the majority of servers were and still re restriced to the members of the institutions they belong to. so for email paralysis of choice never was a concern

skissane 3y ago

In the early days of email, most people got an email account automatically from their work or school. When it went mainstream in the 1990s, most people got an email automatically from their ISP-and a lot of older people (like my parents age, who are in their early-to-mid 70s) still rely on that for their personal email. Then along came independent free email services such as Yahoo/Hotmail/Gmail, which either started out being owned by famous mega-corporations, or were taken over by them not long after they got started. Mastodon isn’t really comparable-how many people get a Mastodon account from their work or school? From their ISP? From a major well-known corporation (whether paid or for free)? Unless the answer to any of those questions becomes “yes” (on average, not obscure exceptions)-onboarding Mastodon is going to remain a lot more difficult for the average non-technical person than onboarding email ever was

stonogo 3y ago
In the early days of social media, most people got an account on the nearest BBS. When it went mainstream in the 1990s, most people automatically got a Facebook account and a lot of older people still rely on that for social media. Then along came independent free social media services such as Twitter/Discord/TikTok... It's exactly comparable, just a few years down the timeline from email.
- t-writescode 3y ago
  There is a meaningful difference. Right now, we have Twitter. This is more like using a bulletin board now that Reddit exists. Sure some people do; but it’s far more niche than just having a Reddit account. The friction that prospective Mastadon users have experience is the knowledge that an easier option exists.
- skissane 3y ago
  > In the early days of social media, most people got an account on the nearest BBS. The majority of people never used “the nearest BBS”, only a relatively small percentage of the population ever did. Even in their heyday, they were mainly popular with computer enthusiasts, who have always been a minority of the population. Many computer enthusiasts find technical complexity intriguing, the average person finds it off-putting > When it went mainstream in the 1990s, most people automatically got a Facebook account and a lot of older people still rely on that for social media. Who “automatically” got a Facebook account? The vast majority of users had to go to Facebook.com and sign up. People got an email given to them by their work/school/ISP, I’ve never heard of someone being given a Facebook account by any of those (Workplace doesn’t really count.) And unlike Mastodon, Facebook never asked its users to “choose an instance” > Then along came independent free social media services such as Twitter/Discord/TikTok... All of which are big commercial services, and none make you “choose an instance” in the way that Mastodon does when you sign up for them > It's exactly comparable, just a few years down the timeline from email. It’s completely different; it’s only “exactly comparable” if you ignore many key details