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.
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.
Diligence Jones
human_powered