dracilDec 23, 2022
Eva

If you're thinking of running your own Mastodon instance, EFF's Legal Director Corynne McSherry breaks down some of the common legal issues and practical considerations here:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/12/user-generated-content-and-fediverse-legal-primer

User Generated Content and the Fediverse: A Legal Primer

A growing number of people are experimenting with federated alternatives to social media like Mastodon, either by joining an “instance” hosted by someone else or creating their own instance by running the free, open-source software on a server they control. (See more about this movement and joining...

Electronic Frontier Foundation
Dec 22, 2022 at 12:39amWeb
Show threadGuiDec 22, 2022
@evacide Are the differences significant if the instance is Canadian-hosted? Was debating starting as a bit of a holiday project.
Show threadEverybody loves GordoDec 22, 2022
@exurgency @evacide I believe Bill C61 is our closest DMCA analog
Show thread∞ Monkeys on a MastodonDec 22, 2022
@evacide Seems like what most instances need is funding & then admin help. I could maybe spin up an instance, but I have enough work.
Show threadKemptonDec 22, 2022
@evacide Thanks Eva for sharing an article that talks about legal risks of running our own Mastodon instance (based on US laws). I'm sure there are probably equally legitimate Canadian laws related questions to think about.
Show threadOdiseoDec 22, 2022
@evacide TL;DR Don't
Show threadKevin Karhan Dec 22, 2022
@evacide this sadly is very U.S. - Centric and doesn't account for #EU & #German legislation like #NetzDG...
Show threadAboobacker MKDec 22, 2022

@evacide

Cc @sajith

Show threadSajithDec 23, 2022
@tachyons Thank you!
Show threadAlbert SimsDec 22, 2022
@evacide Luckily, I'm not quite THAT "geeky" to set up my own server, so I'll stick with the one run by a browser company for the moment! 🙂
Show threadHyoun ParkDec 22, 2022
@evacide makes sense. Much of this matches up with advice provided on Twitter last month:
https://twitter.com/rahaeli/status/1593819064161665024
Show threadLauraDec 22, 2022
@Hyounpark @evacide She also posted on Dreamwidth and expanded a bit there: https://denise.dreamwidth.org/91757.html
Captcha Check

Show threadTanya Janca | SheHacksPurple  Dec 22, 2022
@evacide Quite helpful, thank you.
Show thread3dcandyDec 22, 2022
@evacide It's US based - not that good for us over here, but yes it does point out some pitfalls
Show threadJohn LuskDec 22, 2022
@evacide
#mastoAdmin
Show threadThomas KeepoutDec 22, 2022
@evacide I started setting up an instance on a spare serverbut it broke and I haven't had time to repair it. Mastodon software is, well I'm not going to say it...
Show threadPeter BronezDec 24, 2022
@evacide yup. I’m running one but have decided to focus on this hosted account. I plan to look into self-hosting again, but will focus on ActivityPub software optimized for small/single user instances.
Show threadmatbennettDec 22, 2022
@evacide Also worth considering the legal implications in other jurisdiction. If any users are in the EEA then European law also applies, which would include the upcoming Digital Services Act (although most instances would be too small to be hardest hit by the latter)
Show threadCodemonkeyDec 22, 2022
@evacide @jerry FYI
Show threadSerena De MaioDec 22, 2022
@evacide thx for sharing - interesting @alasaarela
Show threadGilles GagniardDec 22, 2022
@evacide In case of a personal instance, not open to public registration and only showing its local feed publicly, I would say that legal risks are in practice inexistant ... But did I miss something ?
Show threadKelley GrahamDec 22, 2022
@evacide also, the technical and security issues are non-trivial. Here’s a mini-guide to my DIY approach. https://kelleygraham.com/diy-fediverse-server-odroid-m1-nvme-drive
DIY Fediverse Server - Odroid M1 + NVMe Drive

Thanks to the recent TwitterMigration, Mastodon and Fediverse SelfHosting is a thing. Note: This DIY OpenSource recipe is not for casual users.

imklg
Show threadminus273Dec 22, 2022
@evacide there's a related article on https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/12/mastodon-is-hurtling-toward-a-tipping-point/ (h/t Wired)
Mastodon is hurtling toward a tipping point

With rising popularity comes rising costs, culture shifts—and potential legal risks.

Ars Technica
Show threadZxDec 22, 2022

@evacide

When do you think eff runs its own instance?

Show threadEvaDec 22, 2022
@zx As soon as you can convince @starchy to add more work for techops to do.
Show threadClaudestrophobicDec 22, 2022
@evacide @zx Ha! I’m curious, what do you think the added benefit would be? Are you picturing an open instance or one just for our use?
Show threadZxDec 23, 2022

@starchy @evacide

I just find it weird to have EFF giving people advice on how to use Mastodon and how to run their instances without even having one.

I don't think it needs to be a big public instance.

Show threadClaudestrophobicDec 23, 2022

@zx @evacide Well, it's not technical advice for admins. You won't catch me giving any of that until I've been through it firsthand.

On the legal end, we often try to keep ourselves in a position to be the lawyer and not the client, if that makes sense. We generally don't run "platforms" but we've worked with tons of them over the years.

Show threadZxDec 23, 2022

@starchy

That's very fair. Another argument for having an instance, even if one that only exists for sharing articles, is many instances block the big instances since they are poorly moderated. Having a dedicated instance would increase reach.

Show threadGreengordonDec 22, 2022

@evacide

Apparently WordPress sites can be directly linked to Mastodon, possibly as their own instance? I am looking into doing that with my WP site. Anyone else looked into that?

Show threadPJ "Vote Green" CoffeyDec 22, 2022

@evacide

Thank you for the article. I would curate as:

#MastodonServer
#MastodonInstance

Show threadDavid PollakDec 22, 2022
@evacide sadly the EFF has such a horrid track record on the law. And I say this as one of the first financial supporters of the EFF and as a lawyer who has been trying to help the EFF not do insanely stupid things from 1991 to the Oracle v Google case
Show threadDaniel FreysingerDec 23, 2022
@evacide I run a private instance, but the one user I have is a real pain.
Show threadHonest CharlieDec 23, 2022
@evacide This is good to read, and the eff has been helpful for decades. (Electric Frontier Foundation)
Show threadBradford BennDec 23, 2022
@evacide probably should have read that before spinning this instance up.
Show threadRoelf Renkema  Dec 23, 2022

@evacide

The world does not revolve around the US.

Show threadslampDec 25, 2022
@evacide @dma interesting to read for the issue we discussed before Christmas.