Diligence Jones

I really want to lift up the mods of the SFBA instance: @cd24, @Ingurido, @jeffkibuule

I, a Black woman, have had a marvelous experience on Mastodon because these mods don't play. For being a place-specific instance, SFBA has a very clearly expressed value system and it's reflected in the mods. They are proactive, even-handed, and respectful.

I wish others on #BlackMastodon and through the #BlackFediverse could say the same of their instance mods.

Apr 30, 2023 at 2:28amWeb
Show threadDiligence JonesApr 30, 2023

Does the Fediverse have a very NIMBY-like feel for newcomers of color? Absolutely. I noted that early.

Are some of Fedi conventions a bit...stuffy? You betcha.

Are there some problematic as hell users/instances on here? YEP.

This is why instance admins/mods are so important for newcomers.

I think the Fediverse can be a good place for community-building. But apathetic admins/mods and janky as hell instances that are the Fediverse equivalent of *Reavers from Firefly, raiding users and poisoning every interaction, don't exactly make the experience easy for us.

Too bad there isn't a Fediverse Green Book, if you know what I mean.

Show threadJürgen HubertApr 30, 2023
@DeliaChristina I do. It's sad that one is apparently necessary.
Show threadMichael Miller  🦆Apr 30, 2023

@DeliaChristina I don't know the best way to contribute. I built an instance that is welcome to all (advertisers/spammers excepted), but there's not a great way to "advertise". It took 5 months to even get listed in the joinmastodon directory.

Before the great twitter migration, all instances were small and you knew what the "bad ones" were and defederated them. It was actually a lot easier to avoid the hate than it was on twitter - but it definitely takes an admin interested in doing so.

Now it's harder with *so many users* on .social and .online, a lot of instances just defed the big servers entirely.

Show threadDiligence JonesApr 30, 2023

@raineer Yeah, my solutions toolbelt is also sparse. I have *no* idea how any of this works on the admin end of things.

(Which is why I'm glad I'm not an admin or mod. Oof.)

Show threadCenobyte Apr 30, 2023
@DeliaChristina If it helps I’m committed to making this a warm welcoming place for everyone. I’m also on the mastodon administrators matrix chat. If there’s any way I can help/boost etc that will work towards that end, I’ll definitely do it.
Show threadDiligence JonesApr 30, 2023

@cenobyte If you don't mind, I'm gonna boost that so more ideas than mine can come your way.

(Cuz again - I know nothing.)

Show thread🌸🌹2ck 🌱🐇Apr 30, 2023

@DeliaChristina (🤨 "Rovers"? are you trying to bait me?😆 )
What's the "stuffiness" you mention? I get the racist stuff: I cut my teeth on 4chan in the late '00s and early 2010s, and what I've seen on the fedi is similar. It's teen/tween edgelords who think being racist demonstrates their freedom of thought and intellect (it does, but the lack thereof), and bigots who... typically have something else going on.

Although I'm black, my being black has never been a prominent feature of any of my online personas. My face is on my Github profile, but that's about it. Probably because of that, I don't really get what most other black folks are talking about when they talk about not feeling welcome. I've thought about somehow being more intentionally, legibly black so I can understand what y'all are talking about, but I don't put my face everywhere for other reasons.

Show threadGrandpa Don RIP WorldApr 30, 2023
@DeliaChristina
I do know what you mean and wish I could help. The problem is, just like life in general, we white dudes are largely oblivious to what you are experiencing. Here I am in my 7th decade and still learning about the shit anyone who is not a white dude puts up with from (mostly) white dudes. It is getting more publicity than before in the real world, but still mostly under the radar in cyberspace.
Show threadhuman_poweredApr 30, 2023
@DeliaChristina proposing a hashtag family
#difficultconversations
#difficultconvsetup
#difficultconvetiquette
or just
#dif_cnv
Show threadblausand 🐟May 1, 2023
@DeliaChristina Why enter your bubble deliberately when the people who need to learn from you are exactly outside?
Show threadpgcdMay 11, 2023

@DeliaChristina so, Mastodon is... Germany?
NIMBY? Check.
Stuffy? Check.
Problematic users? You betcha.

I love (and live in) Germany, and to say that Mastodon doesn't take after its first users would be a lie (remember Hans From Stuttgart who rides a bike?).

Maybe, somebody who managed to upgrade their German neighbors IRL can point to strategies that could work here as well?

Show threadJeri DanskyApr 30, 2023
@DeliaChristina I’m so glad to hear you say this. I’ve been very pleased with our mods, too, but I had no insight to the experience of Black folks.
Show threadDiligence JonesApr 30, 2023

@jeridansky Well, I think anyone *surprised* by the experience folks have been having on here can and should look to the recorded experiences marginalized groups have had in other (largely white) spaces/institutions.

There are a lot of parallels.

Show threadJeri DanskyApr 30, 2023
@DeliaChristina I meant I didn't know how sfba.social had been for Black folks. I'm sadly aware of the horrid experiences people have had on other instances (and other social media sites).
Show threadDiligence JonesApr 30, 2023
@jeridansky ah, got it. well, for this one Black person, SFBA has been the bee's knees!
Show threadGrassroots JoeApr 30, 2023

@jeridansky @DeliaChristina
I'd be interested to know which instances you've heard of as being problematic.

I'm on mstdn.social and have neither seen nor heard of issues here. Of course that may mean exactly bupkis given my aging white (Jewish) male profile.

I (of course) do have my antenna up for white Christian nationalist vibes as they often lead with antisemitic tropes. Fortunately I've yet to run into anything of significant concern.

Show threadIngrid O Apr 30, 2023

@DeliaChristina @cd24 @jeffkibuule

Wow! Thank you so much.

We are committed and you’re right, we do not pussy-foot around our responsibilities to keep this awesome instance safe. Speaking for myself, I feel so appreciated!

And sfba.social is a special place even in the fediverse… lobbing my thanks to thanks @seb @cd24 @Moritz @jeffkibuule @neuralgraffiti !

Show threadjz.tuskApr 30, 2023

@DeliaChristina @cd24 @Ingurido @jeffkibuule

Thanks for publicizing. I'm a white dude, but want to make sure I build my Mastodon social "graph" on places that have good, strong modding, and no tolerance for typical social net harassment.

Show thread👁️🫧⤴️Apr 30, 2023
@DeliaChristina this is awesome! I am going to switch servers. I'm from the bay but joined social as a noob.
Show threadMatthewApr 30, 2023
@DeliaChristina @cd24 @Ingurido @jeffkibuule good to hear you have a positive experience there!
Show threadDee ToherApr 30, 2023
@DeliaChristina that's one thing that I wish I could make easier for others joining.
Which instance to join isn't really a technical choice - it is a choice about what type of moderation you want. Being able to have a databases of instances such as https://instances.social/ but that would also allow you to filter for instances with interests and values (reflected by the mods) that make your experience better.
Mastodon instances

Show threadjoel bApr 30, 2023
@DeliaChristina @cd24 moderation is such a tough, often thankless job. it's so nice to hear someone tell their praises.
Show threadTim BrayApr 30, 2023
@DeliaChristina
Wondering if we need a #WeakModeration tag to call out instances where the experience is less great.
@cd24 @Ingurido @jeffkibuule
Show threadJohn (he/him) Apr 30, 2023
@timbray @DeliaChristina @Ingurido @jeffkibuule IMO it’s be better to have something like a #GreatMods tag where people can catalog good experiences and praise. we already have fediblock for the negative and it can be used inappropriately… I think it’s much harder to misuse praise!
Show threadIngrid O Apr 30, 2023
@cd24 @timbray @DeliaChristina @jeffkibuule
@cd24 @timbray @DeliaChristina @jeffkibuule I was just going to say something very similar: better to point out the good examples...
#greatmods think alike?
Show threadJohn (he/him) Apr 30, 2023

@DeliaChristina Thank you. Sometimes the job gets stressful - crafting fair rules and implementing them even-handedly is hard work and requires a lot of reflection.

I can't really find a way to write in words how wonderful this whole thread is to read. Thank you for being here, and I hope we continue to live up to your praise.

Show threadJeri DanskyApr 30, 2023
@cd24 The fact that you recognize it's hard work and requires a lot of reflection is a big part of why you're so good at it. You take moderation as seriously as it needs to be taken.
Show threadsoaprootApr 30, 2023
@DeliaChristina @cd24 @Ingurido @jeffkibuule So glad to hear it. I chose SFBA (when my first server shut down) because I perceived them to be on top of moderation (and handling money and other admin stuff). But I also realize that to know whether there is a problem with moderation, I need to listen to people who are, or would be likely to be, on the receiving end of nasty behavior.