@Kevin Davidson @LabSpokane @Chris Trottier It's the very same thing as people demanding the #Linux ecosystem be reduced to ONE distribution with no variants, ONE graphics toolkit, ONE display manager with ONE desktop environment. Because Linux is "too complicated" otherwise. Because it makes people choose where Windows and Mac users don't even have a choice.

But this would leave many dissatisfied because that unified Linux will not cater to their individual tastes. If it sucks, Linux sucks altogether.

Of course, in the #Fediverse case, the one unified project which the Fediverse must be reduced to is always #Mastodon. Preferably always with the same set of features. No other projects, not even forks.

First of all, this would mean that the Fediverse would lose a great deal of its features. Mastodon can't do podcasts; #Funkwhale and #Castopod can. Mastodon can't do blogs; #WriteFreely and #Plume can. Mastodon can't do YouTube; #PeerTube can. Not to mention the many things that #Hubzilla can do that Mastodon can't.

Now, someone could suggest to cram all features of all these projects into Mastodon. But not only is this very likely impossible without re-designing great deals of Mastodon which, for example, doesn't offer the multiple-channels-per-account model and doesn't even differentiate between posts and comments. It would also irritate those who stick with Mastodon because it's the most simple of all Fediverse projects.

And indeed, there are many who wish for Mastodon to be frozen on the feature level of late 2022 when they joined. They're even opposed to the introduction of text formatting or quotes to Mastodon, features which would thereby vanish from the Fediverse altogether if the Fediverse was reduced to late-2022 Mastodon.

Besides, you won't be able to get everyone to cooperate on Mastodon, much less on Mastodon staying at the level of late 2022. Literally every project leader who isn't Eugen Rochko will demand more features than Mastodon had half a year ago, actually, even more features than Mastodon has right now.

So you've got two possibilies.

One, Mastodon ends up an even heavier feature monster than Hubzilla because everyone can add to it what they deem necessary or useful.

Two, Eugen Rochko becomes the supreme ruler over the Fediverse, and only he decides which features the Fediverse is allowed to have. And he bases his decision on the wishes of those who want Mastodon to stay simple. Everyone else is reduced to a code monkey with no free will, including Mike Macgirvin, inventor of the #DFRN protocol, #Friendica (both 6 years before Mastodon), the #Zot protocol, #NomadicIdentity (both 5 years before Mastodon), Red Matrix/Hubzilla (4 years before Mastodon), Osada, Zap, Roadhouse, #Streams etc.