Stephanie Tait ♿️I was grateful for the chance to chat with Time Magazine last week about some the unique ways the collapse of Twitter is impacting its #disabled users. You can read the piece here:
https://time.com/6230469/disability-users-twitter-elon-musk/
haven4books@StephTait quoted in the article above:
'“Even if you could somehow magically get all of disability Twitter to move to the same alternative social media platform, we would be siloed in a way where the rest of the world wouldn’t have to see us anymore,” Tait says. “If you push us to a site where we can find each other, but other people don’t have to see us anymore, it’s very dangerous for us because it becomes so much easier to marginalize us and to leave us behind.”'
SUCH an important point in all of this!
#NEISvoid #disabled #disability @mecfs @longcovid @chronicillness
g@haven4books @StephTait @longcovid @chronicillness @mecfs i think it’s possible to use the way mastodon works to promote this visibility - with the way federation works it’s possible the mechanics will just be different
@haven4books @StephTait @longcovid @chronicillness @mecfs I think part of it is ensuring that there are links between communities where it's natural. Eg. between covid conscious communities and disabled communities. That can leverage federation to make sure both are heard. Cooperation!
The possibilities are certainly there, but there are also inherent issues with the way things already work/don't work, and it's helpful to state them for those who don't see the problems bc things work for them.
Ex: Some servers are explicitly hostile to disability advocacy, or try to push people of color to instances specifically for BIPOC through the use of "helpful" comments and microaggressions, etc.
Federation can lead to segregation when misapplied, and those not impacted by it are missing what's already happening. The more people that are aware and step up as allies, the more it's possible to make the best possibilities of the fediverse realities instead of yet another failure.
@haven4books @StephTait I think it's important to let the new collective understanding drive new norms, and we have the advantage in our communities of knowing pretty clearly what the goals should be around that. I'd hope that hostile servers would get drowned out or made irrelevant.
noa-witheringly@haven4books @graeme_0 @StephTait
Hi.
This discussion is so important...
I am currently torn between staying where I am (an instance for scientists &'science enthusiasts' -I'm the latter) &moving to a progressive, disability-focussed one that would feel more like home.
But where am I more useful as an activist?
On 🐦 I enjoyed belonging to different communities & 'cross-pollinating' them, just as I did in pre-online activist life.
Is this possible/advisable here?
And if yes,how?
Hi.
This discussion is so important...
I am currently torn between staying where I am (an instance for scientists &'science enthusiasts' -I'm the latter) &moving to a progressive, disability-focussed one that would feel more like home.
But where am I more useful as an activist?
On 🐦 I enjoyed belonging to different communities & 'cross-pollinating' them, just as I did in pre-online activist life.
Is this possible/advisable here?
And if yes,how?
The messy solution I'm trying is more than one account, allowing me to spend time in each local feed, connecting and building a base of who I want to follow. I use the Tusky app on Android to flip between.
That way if/when I combine accounts at some point on one server or other, I have access to range I've built up. Those I follow will help me continue to discover new connections by who they boost and engage with.
Other solutions may emerge or time and experience may teach me better ways. It can be overwhelming, so I have to make a point of pacing myself.
As a disabled person, I really need that specific community home/protected space, bc the world is not kind to us. But I also need to be in the world, engaging my disabled strengths, insights, and vulnerabilities. So this is my both.
@haven4books @StephTait
Thank you so much, @haven4books.
This recount of your personal experience is a gift I really appreciate, and it also is (or anyway I take it as) precious advice.
Thank you.
Thank you so much, @haven4books.
This recount of your personal experience is a gift I really appreciate, and it also is (or anyway I take it as) precious advice.
Thank you.
BJ Muntain@haven4books @StephTait @mecfs @longcovid @chronicillness
I think that the disabled instance is important for people who need a safe space. But not all disabled people need that space. For me, following @mecfs and other groups gives me the content I need without being siloed.
I've been trying to contribute to the groups for that very reason. I don't know what its limits are yet, but it seems to be a way to go broader.
Simon Keily, M.Ed 🏳️🌈@haven4books @StephTait @mecfs @longcovid @chronicillness
A very important point. There is no need for any of us to congregate in silo's, even I'd argue, for professional reasons. If we want an inclusive world (for all) then I'd suggest we avoid personal and professional silos. Sure, build an space that supports a cause but leave it open for anyone to join. 🤔 #inclusion #equity #diversity #ByDesign
A very important point. There is no need for any of us to congregate in silo's, even I'd argue, for professional reasons. If we want an inclusive world (for all) then I'd suggest we avoid personal and professional silos. Sure, build an space that supports a cause but leave it open for anyone to join. 🤔 #inclusion #equity #diversity #ByDesign
I think it's a both-and situation.
Marginalized people need safe spaces to not have to constantly fend off trolls and microaggressions. Where they can take a deep breath and be with others who "get it." It can help with mental health.
By the same token, it's vital to be a part of public spaces and conversations. Lives depend on visibility at times, and silos are dangerous in this way. And in the context of the disabled community, accessible shared spaces are far too limited, and far too many are happy with our deaths.
Robotistry@aus_teach @haven4books Yes - there's been this whole discussion about mastodon having a design flaw that I didn't understand until the OP pointed out the dichotomy, because I've been using Twitter for information gathering rather than signal boosting, and Mastodon's safe space aspects are a relief. I'm also doing the two account thing, but for me it's to balance the technical/professional aspects of my life with the personal need for safety.
@haven4books @aus_teach
3 things were brought up:
1. lack of quote tweets (linked to US Black cultural norms)
2. content warnings (enabling people to avoid facing uncomfortable speech, thus preventing activists from reaching their audience)
3. server blocks (preventing creation of viral speech, see 2)
The entire argument was odd to me b/c it was framed as "🦣 was engineered so white people don't have to get their feelings hurt" instead of "🦣's design hurts minorities".
@longcovid @haven4books @aus_teach @StephTait @mecfs @chronicillness
I see three threads: professional silos (for me, this is my day job, not covid-related), personal silos (for me, this is a relatively private community where I can express myself freely without trolls/abuse/harassment), and semi-pro (for me, this is research into long covid and activism that must be separate from my professional role).
I see three threads: professional silos (for me, this is my day job, not covid-related), personal silos (for me, this is a relatively private community where I can express myself freely without trolls/abuse/harassment), and semi-pro (for me, this is research into long covid and activism that must be separate from my professional role).
@aus_teach @longcovid @haven4books @StephTait @mecfs @chronicillness I've currently created accounts at servers based on similarity of purpose - the professional and semi-pro accounts require the same levels of moderation and access and are therefore (for now) the same account; the personal account requires stricter moderation and more siloing from potentially harmful content, and is therefore on a different server.
Domestic Supply 
@StephTait I hope that Mastodon will prove as useful in the long run, but I know it takes time to build up a community.
k cavaliere@StephTait Just my initial impressions of being on Mastodon for a week: there's a much bigger "reach" here. Global, really. Anyone can set up a Mastodon server and interconnect. The possibilities for support communities...
bgt lover@StephTait You would find that mastodon is by far more welcoming to disabled and or marginalised groups than the birdsite, in fact, it has been made by us after all. From image descriptions, to content warnings, to the absence of the quoting tweets feature for removing toxicity, the community and lore is built around being welcome for a wide margine of marginalised people and making this place as welcome as possible. While the web interface may not be stelar, not from an accessibility, but usability point of view, the mechanisms and community here are great. Also, don't forget, this is a federated universe, which means there isn't just mastodon here, but all of those considered fedi platforms can communicate to one another. We have birdsite clones, facebook clones, youtube clones, reddit, spotify clones and so on. For more information, go to fediverse.party in your browser.
@StephTait before I forget, if you're into blogging and writing articles which are longer than your instance's default character limit(reach out to your admin if that's ridiculously small), there's a federated platform that's like wordpress in functionality. It's called write freely, check it out, it's awesome from what I've heard.
🍓JuiceyWolfie🐺@StephTait As an ex disabled user of Twitter this article is very on point. I both didn't want to lose control of data and didn't want their counts to go down when I left, because I know that a large drop in numbers was going to happen at some point. The Twitter disability groups are huge and interconnected. Oftentimes its the only real social we were getting outside of personal cliques.
Kevan@StephTait Mastodon is great for disabled users. Blind people using screen readers can use any app we want, don't have to worry about accessibility issues because if that happens we have other apps.
Lizbon@StephTait This was such a good piece & I really appreciated your comments in it. 💙
shellfishmeme@StephTait so glad that @ImaniBarbarin is now here!!! Can you give her a boost??!!!
Liora@StephTait thanks so much for sharing this important article.