---
title: "Backyard Pond"
date: 2017-06-01T12:00:00-07:00
url: https://blog.lmorchard.com/2017/06/01/backyard-pond/
author: Les Orchard
tags: [social, socialmedia, gaming, abuse, harassment, mastodon, ostatus]
---
# Backyard Pond
**TL;DR**: I get conflicted about hosting & running a community site
## An Unintentional Community
Last fall, we bought a house with a pond in back. At first, I didn't really
want it. I had a notion to fill it in, maybe replace it with a fire pit. By
spring, we decided to keep it.
It's not a large pond - 6' x 7' x 2' and roughly butterfly-shaped. It's got a
little turtle that spits water pumped up from a filter box on the bottom. The
pond liner is hard plastic, like a kiddie pool, covered in gravel and rocks to
add a more natural look. The whole arrangement is probably 10 years old.
In March, I drained it, cleaned it, refilled it, started the fountain again.
As I got busy over the next weeks, I discovered the liner had leaks - mainly
cracks from the aforementioned rocks over many seasonal cycles of freeze &
thaw. I had to keep adding water to maintain the level: if it dropped below
the fountain's filter box, the pump made horrible noises as it ran dry.
I got tired of wasting water. So, I turned off the pump and let
things go while I researched next steps. It was about a week before I acquired
a new rubber liner - and then another few days of rain before I had a sunny
weekend day to work on it.
As it turns out, that's just enough time in May for a not-quite-empty backyard
pond to transform into a murky swamp teeming with wriggling life. Mostly
mosquito larvae, but there were plenty of other things I didn't quite
recognize. So, I cleaned the whole thing out again, starting over with the new
liner. It's back in business again - the water's stayed put and been clear for
a week so far.
TL;DR, Here's the thing about a pond in your backyard: It's a responsibility.
Water and debris collect. It attracts wildlife - some kinds less desirable
than others. Left unchecked, it becomes a smelly, stagnant soup that can
present hazards to yourself and your neighbors.
## My Mastodon Mania
Thinking about this reminded me of something else: A few weeks ago, I was
tinkering with setting up Mastodon instances. I bought some cheap domain
names, set up some virtual hosts on my hobby server. They're all working - but
I stopped short of opening up account registration.
I was suddenly aware of a feeling of anticipated responsibility. Each of these
Mastodon instances would be backyard ponds. I'd have to keep the pumps
running, make sure to skim debris. I'd have to monitor for wildlife setting up
homes in and around them. I'd have to work to keep these things from becoming
hazards to myself and my neighbors. Hell, I could even be exposing myself to
legal peril through what I might inadvertantly enable through neglect.
And, for what? The pond in our backyard has been a nice feature. I've spent a
few hours by it with my laptop. My wife seems to like it fine. Maybe some
friends & neighbors will enjoy gathering around it this summer. In contrast,
the prospect of hosting social media watering holes for internet randos - let
alone acquaintances and friends - fills me with dread.
So, that's me. I'm not going to stand up a public Mastodon instance unless I
convince myself that taking on the responsibility will pay off. I haven't
imagined a good scenario yet.
## What's My Motivation?
But, what about other folks?
Consider the generous admins who run instances of Mastodon & GNU Social &
PostActiv & everything else that participates in the OStatus federation. Those
folks all have their reasons and I think they've accepted the responsibility
to keep their ponds running clear. At least, with consideration for varied
local definitions of "clear" in codes of conduct and whatnot.
But, what about Twitter and Facebook and Reddit? Hell, what about companies
running servers for multiplayer games?
Do these folks not feel any of the dread & responsibility I felt even
considering setting up my own ponds online? Their ponds smell swampy. Their
filtration pumps are not great. They leave things unchecked, because treating
the water would eat into (or completely wipe out) the value extracted from the
wildlife. The usual excuse is expense and difficulty, with an occasional lazy
handwave at "radical free speech" as a rationalization.
But, could I get away leaving my pond as a Petri dish? I suspect the
neighbors - and maybe the local authorities (including my wife) - would have something
to say about it. That said, I'm not sure who or what could nudge these pond
owners into cleaning up their water. Maybe there'll be some laws - most likely
ineffective or disastrous. Maybe all the valuable wildlife needs to migrate
away - but we all seem not to mind the stinky water enough to leave yet.
Maybe we need more ponds run by people who care - and who get rewarded for the
effort. More cooperatives and more volunteer efforts. Maybe some actually for
pay! Each on smaller scales, because people can only take care of so much
water & wildlife. But, I don't have great ideas on how to make this happen. I
guess that's what inspired me to tinker with Mastodon instances - I'd like to
see cleaner ponds. I just fall short of actually wanting to take on the
responsibilty. Or feeling like I'm the right guy to do it.
Anyway, I guess that's a fuzzy realization I've had: In more traditional
social gatherings - like house parties or conventions - there's so much
emotional labor and organizational effort that chews up value. In trying to
mechanize things, the whole ad-supported social media industry seems powered
by as little care as possible to extract as much value as possible. In a
sense, the value is skimmed from monetized neglect - not monetized eyeballs.
Feels to me like the whole structure will fall over if we ever really figure
that out or decide this sort of thing is no longer acceptable in a society.
Is that a good conclusion? Not sure. Still thinking.