Apocalypticanow

Feeling rather discouraged by reports from Twitter friends and follows of being suspended or censored on various instances. I don't think it's a coincidence that they've all been GSM and other minorities and bad actors + poor/careless moderation have been the culprits.

I downloaded CoHost last night and am awaiting a Hive registration, but I'm in a holding pattern as far as a longterm place to park my thoughts.

Nov 22, 2022 at 5:13pmWeb
Show threadApocalypticanowNov 22, 2022

"You can just move" isn't a good response to such problems. It burdens members of marginalized groups to protect themselves, spend time and energy looking for better instances (how?), and leaves mods unaccountable for bad decisions.

Imagine saying, "just move!" to someone who's being harassed in their new neighborhood.

Show threadApocalypticanowNov 22, 2022
The dissatisfaction I'm seeing from Twitter users with Mastodon is that they're being asked to do a lot of work to enjoy themselves online. It's not just figuring out a new app, but adjusting to a new culture without the many of the support networks and tools they built on the bird site.
Show threadApocalypticanowNov 22, 2022

I had a thread about this earlier that concluded that (in the absence of a democratic moderation system with elections and regular communal review of the rules) maybe the best thing a member of a marginalized group can hope for on a social media platform is benign neglect.

Something small and bespoke might be safer, but you lose reach and influence. Something big and less regulated makes it possible to blow up in good ways as well as put a target on your back.

Show threadApocalypticanowNov 22, 2022

Benign neglect: robust tools to block bad actors and flag posts, automated removal of certain content, moderation that isn't ideal but mostly works to keep the truly heinous stuff down/out

Benign neglect is *kinda* what Twitter could be with the right tools. Individuals had the ability to fly under the radar but could still be part of influential networks they could use to boost themselves or their work when they want to.

Show threadApocalypticanowNov 22, 2022
Of course, once your follower count crosses a certain threshold (5000? 10k?) flying under the radar is nearly impossible. In that case, you might prefer much stricter and more active moderation
Show threadApocalypticanowNov 22, 2022
I am just thinking aloud and have no solutions I'm confident about. People have been struggling with these problems since internet message boards came into existence and I've personally watched them play out in so many online places I've frequented. The moderation problem of balancing safety, freedom, and community norms is fundamental to politics in general, which is probably why it interests me.
Show threadDouglas Phillips BooksNov 22, 2022
@apocalypticanow
I think #twitterrefugees are leaving for one more reason: we want social media but we don't wish to support a billionaire megalomaniac. In that regard, Mastodon seems perfect since it can't be bought. Tribel and Counter are iffy. Instagram and Facebook are already on the dark side. Is it too much to ask to have a Twitter experience but without the MuskMonster in charge? If we can find that, we may also help to defeat misinformation.
Show threadApocalypticanowNov 23, 2022
@dpscifi yeah the fact that Mastodon is nonprofit is a huge plus! There are too few people controlling the internet these days.
Show threadKenny  Nov 22, 2022
@apocalypticanow Yeah that's odd, I haven't had to do much work at all. Exploring a new app has been fun for me.
Show threadnulltipotentialiteNov 22, 2022
@apocalypticanow why not make your own instance then?
Show thread0xC0DEC0DE07EANov 22, 2022
@nulltipotentialite @apocalypticanow isn’t that just “You can move” but with more steps and added maintenance work?
Show threadnulltipotentialiteDec 26, 2022
@c0dec0dec0de @apocalypticanow You can complain to me all day about this, but fact remains that you can't tame the internet. Only be the master of a self-hosted domain.
Show thread0xC0DEC0DE07EADec 26, 2022
@apocalypticanow @nulltipotentialite ultimately, sure, but you can find and foster community.
Show threadApocalypticanowNov 22, 2022
@nulltipotentialite I am not interested in giving myself another project. And even if I did, that doesn't resolve the larger problem of moderation on social media platforms, which is what I'm interested in thinking through.
Show threadnulltipotentialiteDec 26, 2022
@apocalypticanow The problem is anonymity. That, and you not being in control of the site. All these words of yours mean nothing if you don't take these into consideration.
Show threadnulltipotentialiteDec 26, 2022
@apocalypticanow You can't be serious in comparing self-hosting an online instance with physically moving from your home. Are you rich? Lol.