Mastodon and today's fediverse are unsafe by design and unsafe by default – and instance blocking is a blunt but powerful safety tool
Parts 1, 2, and 3 of "Golden opportunities for the fediverse – and whatever comes next"
https://privacy.thenexus.today/unsafe-by-design-and-unsafe-by-default/
Over the course of this multi-part series, I'll discuss Mastodon and the fediverse's long-standing problems with abuse and harassment; the strengths and weaknesses of current tools like instance blocking and blocklists; the approaches emerging tools like #TheBadSpace and #Fediseer take, along with potential problems; paths to improving the situation; and how the fediverse as a whole can seize the moment and build on the progress that's being made; . At the end I'll collect it all into a single post, with a revised introduction.
This first installment has three sections:
- Today's fediverse is unsafe by design and unsafe by default
- Instance-level federation choices are a blunt but powerful safety tool
- Instance-level federation decisions reflect norms, policies, and interpretations
Sexy Moon
•Hunter Killer exceptionel
•Also the titles of section 1 and 2 are factually incompatible with each other, stating "there's no safety built into the fedi", followed by a "there is safety built into the fedi". A blunder with words, which indicates some mental mishap. For anyone aquainted, it makes it harder to take your text seriously, if your introductory text alone is low effort and high emotion.
apophis
•i originally typed this as a subpost because i thought i was going to just ramble about "safety" and affordances in the old and modern web, but i'll link it because it ended up wandering back on point at the end https://mycrowd.ca/notice/AbqUwxDozlcT0HFqHw
apophis
2023-11-15 23:22:18
i originally typed this as a subpost because i thought i was going to just ramble about "safety" and affordances in the old and modern web, but i'll link it because it ended up wandering back on point at the end https://mycrowd.ca/notice/AbqUwxDozlcT0HFqHw
apophis
2023-11-15 23:22:18
The Nexus of Privacy
•Thanks for sharing the link here. I agree that the pervasive surveillance of today's online world means that it's a lot less safe than it was back in the day (and the Fediverse has plenty of room for improvement on that front as well -- see [Threat modeling Meta, the fediverse, and privacy](https://privacy.thenexus.today/fediverse-threat-modeling-privacy-and-meta/) ) but that isn't really what I was focusing on here.
In terms of freedom to shitpost , one of the strengths of the fediverse is that different instances can have different policies, so it can indeed provide a home for that. But people (and instances) also have the freedom to deal with shitposts they see as hate speech, including blocking them. It wasn't an authoritarian power grab when most fediverse instances blocked Gab; it's not an authoritarian power grab when most fediverse instances block poa.st..
And @
... show moreThanks for sharing the link here. I agree that the pervasive surveillance of today's online world means that it's a lot less safe than it was back in the day (and the Fediverse has plenty of room for improvement on that front as well -- see [Threat modeling Meta, the fediverse, and privacy](https://privacy.thenexus.today/fediverse-threat-modeling-privacy-and-meta/) ) but that isn't really what I was focusing on here.
In terms of freedom to shitpost , one of the strengths of the fediverse is that different instances can have different policies, so it can indeed provide a home for that. But people (and instances) also have the freedom to deal with shitposts they see as hate speech, including blocking them. It wasn't an authoritarian power grab when most fediverse instances blocked Gab; it's not an authoritarian power grab when most fediverse instances block poa.st..
And @lebronjames75 re [your comment here](https://shitposter.club/objects/caf21674-c495-4ae7-b91e-9c1550419e9d), hate speech has an impact on the psychological and physical health of its targets, so limiting it is very much a matter of safety. Your blunder describing this is a "completely meaningless emotional description" reveals that you don't value Black, Indigenous, or Muslim people's safety. Thank you for this illustration of why shitposter.club is so widely blocked!
Hunter Killer exceptionel
2023-11-15 11:54:49
Hunter Killer exceptionel
•you failed to read what i said SO fucking bad holy SHIT + what the fuck are you SAYING i didnt say half those words
i think you are illiterate