We had them, still have them as valid protocols, and to some extent they still exist and get used today: NNTP/USENET, IRC, Archie, Gophernet...
Seriously, all were decentralized (especially USENET), didn't rely on any one vendor or network (any routable protocol could use it), and nobody owned it. Slap a web interface on any of those, and * poof *, there's yer decentralized social tech.
We need decentralized technologies that are resistant to takeover and censorship.
We had them, still have them as valid protocols, and to some extent they still exist and get used today: NNTP/USENET, IRC, Archie, Gophernet...
Seriously, all were decentralized (especially USENET), didn't rely on any one vendor or network (any routable protocol could use it), and nobody owned it. Slap a web interface on any of those, and * poof *, there's yer decentralized social tech.
Everyone chases the new shiny, after all.
Didn't Discord just basically offer voice on top of IRC?
Yep. Though Usenet and IRC are semi-decentralized and usenet could really use a version 2.0. It's a shame that Diaspora never made a dent.
We need to move solutions more akin to Bittorrent and Cryptocurrencies. Permissionless is the way to go.