@hamishcampbell@mastodon.social recently made a statement that got me thinking about our place in the open social web, and the direction it's going.

He says to @deadsuperhero@social.wedistribute.org and @evan@cosocial.ca re: SXSW

#FediverseHouse this feels like an irrelevant echo chamber, I really miss the grassroots #DIY that built this space in the first place. This #maistreaming is too much noise vs signal... currently the grassroots #DIY space is a hollow shell

(two posts combined)

That immediately got me on edge as someone new to ActivityPub in 2024. Does this mean I'm "mainstream", and somehow "bad"?

Mainstream adoption is good and a step in the right direction. I personally think ActivityPub isn't ready for general mainstream consumption, but we as a group are rapidly closing the gap and I'd much rather continue building momentum instead of waiting for the opportune moment.

Here's the hot take that I was going to originally write, but thought came off as too combative:

It sounds like you feel like ActivityPub development only counts when you're toiling away in obscurity.

As someone who's hacking away on a platform that hasn't been "mainstream" for over a decade (forum/BBS software), I bristle at the notion that what I do doesn't count as grassroots or DIY. You don't have to be the perpetual underdog to do good in the world.

I might be wrong, but it sounds like Hamish feels like big players are coming in and taking the ball away... that big players' clout and presence takes away from the attention that smaller DIY projects receive.

Maybe... but if the fediverse is 100x larger with a big player, and they take 99% of the eyeballs, have they really taken anything away from you?

The touch display of my #VW's radio/navigation system stopped working. The authorized workshop told me it would cost approximately €1000 because they would need to replace the whole unit. However, I found the digitizer on #AliExpress for €9.53, including shipping, and the repair took me about half an hour. So, in a way, I just saved €990.47. 😜 😎

My first self-designed PCBs arrived today from @aislerhq
They look great, and I immediately spotted an error in my #KiCad settings: the copper fill doesn't have any clearance at the edge.
Will fix this for my next ones.
These are a minified version of my mixer and are already obsolete. I will still solder one, regardless.

This DIY PDA has an E Ink display, ESP32 processor, and a thumb keyboard

Smartphones may be pocket-sized computers that can do thousands of different things… but sometimes that’s as much a weakness as it is a strength. I can’t count the number of times I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check my calendar or look up the weather forecast, only to end up get distraction by a notification, switching apps, and forgetting what I grabbed my phone for in the first […]

#ashtf #diy #eInk #einkPda #esp32 #pda

Read more:

It looks soooooo good

This evening I got to apply one of my rules for DIY repair...
If you're looking for a replacement part, and a bunch of sites, some of whom are reputable and known to you, have it for around the same price, and you also see it listed on eBay, Amazon, and/or sites you don't recognize for like a half or a third of that price... pay the higher price. Trust me, do not buy the cheap knock-offs, you will regret it.
(Tonight it was about a laptop battery, but this rule applies in general.)

@Jimrosenthal4 wife's response to their #HarrisWalz2024 lawn sign being stolen.

Priceless.

#Democracy

I dont have the patience to buy an ergonomic grip online, so I made one myself.