The web isn't simply getting worse. It's serving capitalist optimization functions. Every trend towards an objectively worse user experience (more paywalls, more scams, more surveillance, more spammy notifications, etc) is the direct result of someone trying to extract more money from you or from someone else. It will inevitably continue.
The upside is that the contrast with alternatives that aren't driven by that optimization function is increasingly stark and obvious.
@eloquence The question is how do we get this across to the general population ?
I'll echo that. In my view, the best (not only) path toward enlightenment:
0. Experience status quo
1. Experience an exception
2. Ask (for some this also needs prompting) how the exception was made possible
3. Hear out the full answers
4. Consider status quo examples in terms of why they aren't like the exception
The most important step is 1. Paradigms won't shift if people can't *experience* the possibilities.
@zleap
I don't know, but I do appreciate that many fediverse projects emphasize real benefits for users : self-moderation, no ads, no constant surveillance, etc. Mastodon's marketing in particular IMO does a good job with this.
I think it's easy to get lost in the "how" (open source licenses, decentralized architectures, etc.), but at least to get people interested, it's important to emphasize the "what" -- how is this approach different/better for me as a user.