Dr. D. Elisabeth GlasscoNov 23, 2022
Black folks hear this all the time in the physical & virtual world. “Maybe, you’re not the right fit.” Decentralization isn’t the panacea for our social media woes if places like #Mastodon can’t incorporate #diversity & #inclusion. It’ll be just another white~dominated space where the far right, white supremos, & other agents of intolerance rule the roost while the good white folks put their heads in the sand and pretend like they’re not the problem.. #BlackTwitter #Inequality #BlackMastodon
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@Deglassco "places like #Mastodon can’t incorporate #diversity & #inclusion." I am sorry but 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐧 is not one place! There's plenty of servers (instances) catering to many preferences. If an instance is becoming hostile to a group and moderators are not cooperating, then just jump ship to a welcoming instance. Mastodon allows people to block people and servers.

In the past when a server embraced discrimination and harassment they were blocked by most other instances.

Nov 23, 2022 at 4:16pmWeb
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@Deglassco #Mastodon is both a big federated community and small communities interconnected in different ways. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵. I think this helps making Controversial topics more civil in favor to discussion & #growth and minimize the dangers of #echo-chamber.
Show threadDoohickie Nov 23, 2022
@sproid From what I've seen, instances that host hateful rhetoric are defederated from Mastodon (i.e., ostracized). I've seen several reports of instances that host and allow racist and/or fascist content and they are cut off from the federation.
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@Doohickie Yes, that's what I was referring to. Thanks.
Show threadOuchie TimesNov 23, 2022
@sproid @Deglassco I'm not convinced there's nothing they can do, but it it will take a different approach than the platforms we're used to. I'm brainstorming here, but maybe #Mastodon could update the #ActivityPub protocol to default to block instances deemed bad by a centralized #moderation team. Servers could opt out or #ban additional servers, but this would put a lot more weight behind bans. I'm sure smarter people with more time could come up something better, but there are options!
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@OuchieTimes @Deglassco We must be careful about the paradox of tolerance. Banning should be a carefully thought decision. Otherwise we may diminish greatly the benefits of decentralization and federation. I don't want to imagine this as a 'Truth Social' but for the left. We should not become the very monster we despise.
I believe that engaging in conversation have a bigger potential for positive change and improvement. This doesn't apply for spammers and reoffending harassers.
Show threadRaptorNov 24, 2022

@OuchieTimes @sproid @Deglassco the default option should be open, with the option to ban if they feel the content of a server doesn't fit.

defaulting to ban just means any new server is automatically blocked. essentially punished just for existing, then having to prove their worth.

how could an admin possibly keep up? and how would they be federated anyway? autoblock means there would be no possibility to connect. would every admin have to apply to the admin of every instance?