Greg BumgardnerDec 18, 2022
digby56
I hope everyone is prepared for the fact that this place will soon be overrun with assholes once they figure out it's where people are going. It always happens and it will be a very serious challenge for the moderators. Gird yourself.
Dec 18, 2022 at 7:59pmWeb
Show threadSebastian PeitschDec 18, 2022

@digby the server where all the artists went to I followed on Twitter has my instance blocked so it’s already a bunch of fun not to see any drawings anymore on here…

Because mastondon.social supposedly is full of Nazis already… :shrug:

Show threadhuxley(fur) / Laelia 🔜 Furcationland DeadDogDec 18, 2022
@speitsch @digby yeah I would recommend going to a smaller instance. For site performance as much as getting away from jerks
Show threadThat Darn Saucy Moose 🔞Dec 18, 2022
@huxley @speitsch @digby Second this. dotSocial is an okay first landing pad, but it's not a great way to actually enjoy Mastodon for what it is.
Show threadSebastian PeitschDec 18, 2022
@ThatDarnMoose @huxley @digby we‘ll see what happens some of those artists loved instances and lost all their followers so I am going to wait and see
Show threadThat Darn Saucy Moose 🔞Dec 18, 2022
@speitsch @huxley @digby Moving instances doesn't mean you lose your followers, that comes a long with you (provided its done correctly). What doesn't come along is the posts you made on the old account. Those stay there along with a "this account has moved to X" message. A
Show threadSebastian PeitschDec 18, 2022
@ThatDarnMoose like I said their followers didn’t move with them. So they moved back. I can only describe what I saw.
Show threadRobert A. HillDec 18, 2022
@digby I have my defederation hammer at the ready
Show threadKBSez ✅Dec 18, 2022

@robert @digby

But the bad actors will join all sorts of servers maybe even yours. Are you ready to defederate servers because of a couple of idiots?

I just don't see easy to use tools for reporting users who are abusive and are violating good behavior.

Show threadRobert A. HillDec 18, 2022
@kbsez @digby I don’t allow signups. My instance is for me only.
Show threadbit101Dec 18, 2022
@kbsez Maybe I'm missing what you are saying, but there's a report tool in the "..." menu of every single post, as well as on every profile.
Show threadkarinagw (((🖖🏼🫂💞)))Dec 19, 2022
@kbsez @robert @digby
For the posts, click the 3 dots at the bottom of the post. I assume there's something similar on a profile page.
Show threadSHell4747Dec 18, 2022

@digby

I have been thinking about changing from a large intake instance to something more boutique, but tbh I am seeing a lot of potential benefit to being on an instance based in Germany

Show threadMasto♾️Don •• (BigBoppa)Dec 18, 2022

@digby

On Mastodon, we are all moderators in a way. Click the 3 dots below the toot and you'll see the options to mute, block and report the user. I think if you click report yo see an option to report to your instance admin or to the admin of their instance. But I don't want to try it because I haven't run against anyone I want to report yet.

There's also an option to block the entire instance if you find it's full of assholes.

Show threadtikistitch⁷ has movedDec 18, 2022

@digby

Good advice! I was trolled literally the second day I was here. Some people can't wait to mess up a good thing.

Show threadRaven OnthillDec 18, 2022

@digby I remember permanent September.

Not just assholes, criminals, though I'm pretty sure there are already many here.

Show threadSam ZieglerDec 18, 2022
@digby Let's enjoy it while it lasts. IMHO, it will take them at least 6-9 months to figure it out.
Show threadRussell SavoryDec 18, 2022
@digby Blocking and not engaging works better here. The other place makes it easy to troll. It is engineered to elicit rage and encourage conflict.
Show threadSam ZieglerDec 18, 2022
@Rwsavory @digby Yeah... once "Latest Tweets" was no longer the default, what the majority of users saw were the Tweets that Twitter thought would promote the most engagement.
Show threadMilennialZeroDec 18, 2022
@Rwsavory @digby "rage and conflict" = "engagement" on Twitter. The more there is, the more $ they make.
Show threadKBSez ✅Dec 18, 2022

@Rwsavory @digby

There needs to be a method of moderation and consequences for people who are bad actors. You can't just ignore them.

Sure, you ban them from one instance and they can join another but effective community self and organized moderation is critical to the health of the community.

Show threadJoy DenebeimDec 19, 2022

@kbsez @Rwsavory @digby That's the only control we've got. All we can do is not pay attention to crap. It does not stop the crap. And I'm okay with that. Especially if they don't realize their crap is being ignored.

Every instance is responsible for the traffic it generates. Or rather their responsible for their users. If their users a problem, you kick them off, if they don't kick them off, you kick off the instance. It works very well

Show threadJoy DenebeimDec 19, 2022
@kbsez @Rwsavory @digby oh and this was the point I was going to make. What were you going to propose? As far as a moderation thing goes. There is no central authority at all. None. Now that said, there is and probably will be more groups that keep a list of instances to block. For instance, I'm using https://rapidblock.org it's just getting organized at the moment. They're open. Looking for moderators right now.
The RapidBlock Project — Home

Home of the RapidBlock Project for sharing blocklists of bad actors on the Fediverse.

The RapidBlock Project
Show threadDesert Dweller 🌵Dec 18, 2022
@Rwsavory @digby Exactly. Rage was the primary product.
Show threadauthor_is_ShrikeTron🔠💉x5Dec 18, 2022

@digby @GottaLaff At least moderators are more empowered and motivated here, as well as more EU-wizened about "free-speech".

Then the Fediverse also empowers with instance blocking…

Show threadLed By Gilded FoolsDec 18, 2022
@digby Can someone make a Honeypot instance for the assholes? Seems practical in many ways.
Show threadMilennialZeroDec 18, 2022
@digby "Gresham's Law" - anything good will be immediately abused for the most deplorable purposes.
Show threadKBSez ✅Dec 18, 2022

@digby

This is one of the reasons we MUST have a robust, easy to use and effective set of reporting tools and effective moderation response.

Mastodon is totally unprepared for the mass influx of bad actors and people blatantly going against the social norms we all expect of fellow users.

Show threadJoy DenebeimDec 19, 2022
@kbsez @digby well there's one button. You can block a person, block a site, report to the site, report to your site. Your moderation team can block a site for your site. The tech is there. It's easy to use. We're still building the infrastructure
Show threadScottDec 18, 2022
@digby already blocked a couple Elmo fans
Show threadsamDec 18, 2022
@digby ach will be okay..cause the arseholes don't interact..they are interested only in their own promotion
Show threadWiselyQuietDec 18, 2022

@digby

I ended up blocking one the second I finished reading this post. The giveaway was having Gab and Telegram in his bio.

Show threadtom4okstateDec 18, 2022

@digby It will be a challenge but the thing Mastodon mods have going for them, they can't be shamed from the right the way corporate owned, centralized media does which allows them a lot of latitude to continue their behavior.

Mastodon instance hosts will do what they want, to include nuking accounts and whole instances whenever they deem it necessary.

Show threadbit101Dec 18, 2022

@digby I'm also concerned about this, but one thing to keep in mind is that there is no algorithm here pushing all of this stuff into your face. I think that's going to make a huge difference.

Yes, it's going to be more work for moderators, so please support them in any way you can.

Show threadACAB for Cutie Dec 18, 2022
@digby
I'll report all those mfs
Show threadKristinaDec 18, 2022
@digby Glad to have found you here.
Show threadCaseyLDec 18, 2022

@digby

I've already seen a couple, and unfortunately just blocked rather than report them. (Also, they were being assholes in a non-specific way; hard to report someone for "general assholishness.")

Show threadNonilexDec 18, 2022
@digby the trolls showed up about 2 weeks ago
Show threadRobin from Colorado 🇺🇸🇺🇦Dec 18, 2022
@digby it’s ok. The block function really works here. No way to see them again no quote tweet pushing at you.
Show threadKevin B 🇺🇸🇺🇦Dec 18, 2022
@digby I blocked there, I’ll block here. So far I haven’t had to block anyone in a month on here. But if I had the time to post more…
Show threadWesDymDec 19, 2022

@digby Maybe. But Mastodon is not Twitter, and doesn't work the same way. Being a jerk on Twitter can get you boosted, due to engagement algorithms which drive suggestions. That doesn't exist here. Any user can block any other user, any time they want. And any of the tens of thousands of instances can ban any user they want, any time. And instances can also block each other.

What happened to Raspberry Pi here is a good example of how it works here, compared to how it works at Twitter.

Show threadhammerDec 19, 2022
@digby iPhone., that this place requires a bit of user effort is going to filter out a lot, neutralize more who won't be able to figure out how to find, follow etc. Thats the real people. The paid trolls will be a potential problem but they will be forced to deploy across multiple platforms with most of the others probably close to Twitter functionality and they will probably default there first.
Show threadKevin DalleyDec 21, 2022
@digby
Handling assholes at scale is challenging
Mastodon development probably needs more funding