Strypey#TIL #PrivacyTools.io have a #Discourse (forum.privacytools.io) and a #Mastodon instance:
https://social.privacytools.io/public
Great to see the team creating replacements for their use of #DataFarms like Reddit and the birdsite.
cowan@strypey New to #PrivacyTools and I am curious what you mean by Reddit being a data farm. What data are they collecting on users?
@cowan I haven't studied this in detail, but here are some facts:
1) Reddit has ads. Ads = tracking and data collection.
2) Reddit used to release their server code under a #FreeCode license. Not anymore. I suspect because of the move to ads
If you really want to know, read the fine print of the Reddit ToS, Privacy Policy etc. I tend to assume that any internet platform that's heavily VC-funded or owned by corporate shareholders is a #DataFarm unless there's a good reason to think otherwise.
Activist@strypey @cowan #Reddit is centralized on #Amazon #AWS & has a rampant censorship problem w/ #shadowbanning. Sorry to necropost but thought the bigger Reddit issues should be on the record. Since a yr ago, #Lemmy has emerged as a #freesoftware #decentralized replacement for Reddit.
@cowan @strypey BTW, #privacytools has toxic endorsements & it still clings to #Reddit. I suggest avoiding privacytools.io. https://dev.lemmy.ml/post/31434
@aktivismoEstasMiaLuo the PTIO subReddit existed before the Discourse forum was set up. I can't see why it's a reason to avoid PTIO. Which do you think are the
> toxic endorsements
?
@cowan
> toxic endorsements
?
@cowan
@aktivismoEstasMiaLuo
I agree there are some issues with PTIO's current approach to endorsements, but let's not make the perfect the enemy of the good. Although it can take persistence to overcome some core members' confirmation bias at times, PTIO's endorsements do change in response to new information (eg removing Wire endorsement after they set up a US branch company to accept VC). Instead of condemning it, how about continuing to work at improving it?
@cowan
I agree there are some issues with PTIO's current approach to endorsements, but let's not make the perfect the enemy of the good. Although it can take persistence to overcome some core members' confirmation bias at times, PTIO's endorsements do change in response to new information (eg removing Wire endorsement after they set up a US branch company to accept VC). Instead of condemning it, how about continuing to work at improving it?
@cowan
@strypey @cowan We are not talking perfection v. good. We're talking good v. bad. PTIO can't be salvaged. They've demonstrated contempt for facts & poor judgement, which means feeding them facts is just a waste of energy (and in fact it dignifies them to engage them). The way forward is to expose #PrivacyTools's reckless endorsements & steer people away from it.
@cowan @strypey There is a Finnish professor (@jaranta) who is actually recommending #PrivacyTools to students, essentially implying students can trust PTIO endorsements when PTIO is leading ppl straight into #masssurveillance traps. Teachers need to become better informed about #security - and it's a global problem that will manifest extensively during #coronavirus.
@aktivismoEstasMiaLuo
> steer people away from it.
Towards what? Who else is doing the job PTIO is trying to do?
@switchingsoftware is a great project and I'm glad it got rebooted. But their focus is whether something is a replacement for the feature set of the #datafarms, not how well it protects user privacy.
@notclacke @aktivismoEstasMiaLuo @clacke @cowan
@notclacke @aktivismoEstasMiaLuo @clacke @cowan
switching.softwareHi there 👋
let me start by saying that @privacytools is one of my sources and we recommend them:
https://swiso.org/replace/switching.software/
Second, I think we shouldn't scare each other *away from* things. Like @strypey implied: Guiding us *towards* sites/software and improving these seems better 🙂
Third, thanks for the mention @notclacke . Like PTIO, we are far from perfect (probably further). Like "we" being often me, @tobias, doing this as one of multiple hobbies 😅
Let's do our best to improve things :)
@switchingsoftware @tobias @notclacke @strypey @privacytools This article examines some of the privacy tool advice sites & evaluates credibility: https://dev.lemmy.ml/post/31487