Today, it was announced that one of Japan's large Mastodon servers, friends.nico, will be shut down after a month.
There have been changes to operators on large servers so far, but it is the first time for large servers to be shut down, and attention is being paid to what effect this may have.
Japan's mastodon user's timeline is temporarily bustling with this topic.
Official announcement
https://blog.nicovideo.jp/niconews/105071.html
News Site Articles
https://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/1903/28/news112.html
#mastodon
@noellabo soo sad
@astheroth friends.nico is the third largest server in Japan, with about 48,000 users.
It was the sixth largest in the world.
A company that operates a video sharing site, etc. operated it, but the profit deteriorated and it ended up providing many services.
Closing the Mastoson server is part of that.
We are very sorry for this.
@noellabo I had a friend that often uses that server. So I understand a bit and I'm feeling sorry and worried at the same time...
When you feel a node as your house... which you had been using for a long time and you lose it due censorship, banning or closing is like having lost a part of you and a part of your history. And you feel homeless for a while...
Hope their users could find a new house in this network.
The best wishes for them :/
@noellabo Guess they didn't find a way to profit from it on the whole Dwango ecosystem, what a shame. Perhaps it's too late, but could it be suggested that the social network be integrated as a way to seamlessly share and comment videos, posts, etc. from NicoNico using ActivityPub?
@espectalll That's right. They were not able to monetize well.
As is the case with friends.nico, which has been discussed this time, their services tend to form closed communities, and ActivityPub's federation has not been used much.
There were many users of local timelines.
There was almost no cooperation between video sharing service and Mastodon.
I think I did not do well in various ways.
It is a pity that closure is not life-long, but I think it will be better if we try again.
@noellabo do they say why?
@arjen Their main business earnings are deteriorating and they have to give up various services. (It was run by a for-profit company)
Mastodon did not generate direct revenue, nor did it generate synergy.
https://dtp-mstdn.jp/@noellabo/101828251533249543
https://dtp-mstdn.jp/@noellabo/101828361908105607
@noellabo @arjen Think they would be open to transferring the service to users as a #platformcoop?
cc: @emi
@mattcropp @arjen @emi
In this case, I think it will be closed without being transferred.
It is a service for fans of video sharing services of operating companies, and many features are derived from the services of operating companies, and it is difficult to process trademarks and rights.
If transferred, I think it is difficult to inherit the culture so far.
@noellabo why is it being shutdown? I can't read japanese and I am curious...
@soapdog friends.nico is provided by a for-profit company that works with video sharing services in Japan.
They have been less profitable than before, and have decided to discontinue many of their services.
The closure of Mastodon is part of it.
@noellabo thanks for helping me understand.
@noellabo :OOO