David Revoy
Yesterday, users of mstdn.social instance lost their connections to artists at mastodon.art instance ( src: https://framapiaf.org/@Curator@mastodon.art/110570978375947500 ). I hope giving visibility to this issue will help them to restore the broken bridges.
Mastodon•ART 🎨 Curator (@[email protected])

We're no longer blocked by mstdn.social, but I don't know if that's subject to change. Unfortunately, when an instance suspends another instance, all follow/follower relationships are immediately broken and aren't recovered by un-suspending, so you will have to find and re-follow your connections there.

Mastodon.ART
Jun 20, 2023 at 8:53amWeb
Show threadCalligrafaeJun 20, 2023
@davidrevoy awwwwwwwww  😭
Show threadJun 20, 2023
not sure that bridge is up to spec
@davidrevoy
Show threadDavid RevoyJun 20, 2023
@p Hehe, it's a sketch from 2019 and it's fun because I made my first real work of masonry last week, and if I had to redraw it, I would do it differently. Mortar paste can't be that sticky and solid. I was shocked to see how it was more like mud with sand in it, gluing nothing, and requiring casing for any volumes. So, I totally agree with your observations. 😺
Show threadMadayarJun 20, 2023
@davidrevoy That is SUCH a cute picture!!! It should be a murial!
Show threadPietervdvn Jun 20, 2023
@davidrevoy Really nice artwork - I love it :)
Show threadManicDeeJun 20, 2023

@davidrevoy pardon my ignorance, is "mstdn.social" the same as "mastodon.social" or a different instance?

Is there any kind of documentation on how to keep track of who I'm following so that I can restore broken follows the next time mastodon.social breaks the fediverse or is otherwise excommunicated by other instances?

Show threadManicDeeJun 20, 2023

@davidrevoy the short dumb answer is Preferences > Import/Export > Export, which will produce a dump of everything. Or just collect the CSV for "follows".

Is there any mechanism to be notified that one of my "follows" is no longer accessible? Do I just have to re-follow everyone every other week?

Show threadDavid RevoyJun 20, 2023

@manicdee They are different, but I also mixed up the two instances at first so I think many will have the same feeling. Their naming really overlaps too much; it just sounds like one is the URL shortening of the second... I could disambiguate the two by their number of active users mainly:

- https://mstdn.social/explore (31K active users)

- https://mastodon.social/explore (220K active users)

Mastodon 🐘

A general-purpose Mastodon server with a 500 character limit. All languages are welcome.

Mastodon hosted on mstdn.social
Show threadManicDeeJun 20, 2023
@davidrevoy thank you for the clarification. Now I can try to understand my options for the rest of my questions at a more relaxing pace :D Although I'm sure it's only a matter of time before mastodon.social gets in trouble for what the people that use it are saying or doing.
Show threadVint ProxJun 20, 2023

@manicdee @davidrevoy

These are completely different instances hosted by different owners.

You can export your followers via settings in Mastodon web application. #MastodonSocial's impact on the Fediverse is overstated - as long as there is a relay server that your instance can depend on, mastodon.social is but one of the noisy figures that can be safely removed. Not without caveats, but, if people you follow don't sit there, it's fine.

Show threadkarin SorenbyJun 20, 2023
@davidrevoy I so hope we all will stay connected.🥰🙏Have an awesome day..
Show threadExperiencer (Mastodon)Jun 20, 2023
@davidrevoy it was resolved at 3pm BST yesterday right? As far as I know, curator and one other account is blocked, that's it.
Show threadEniko (moved ➡ gamedev.place)Jun 20, 2023
@experiencersinternational @davidrevoy the follows between the two servers don't come back when an admin unblocks another server. They stay gone unless people manually refollow
Show threadJack Yan (甄爵恩)Jun 20, 2023
@eniko @experiencersinternational @davidrevoy Yep, lost 400 connections when Mastodon.nz suspended Mastodon.social last month.
Show threadMirre Jun 20, 2023
@experiencersinternational @davidrevoy yes but the unblock doesnt fix all the users who followed each other between the two instances. Imagine suddenly no longer following your friends from another server overnight. That happened to 20000 users. The damage is done.
Show threadExperiencer (Mastodon)Jun 20, 2023
@foervraengd @davidrevoy yeah I know, it's an unfortunate situation
Show threadHelgi CrookehorneJun 20, 2023
@davidrevoy the art really lacks those men... maybe add some Tu-95 bummer with propellers, that launched propeller bombs (made in Aliexpress) at those ladies
Show threadCEbbinghausJun 20, 2023
@davidrevoy It was a matter of time. This is my one problem with mastodon. They can't take over the platform but that doesn't mean us users have the power. It's the instance admins instead of a big company...
Show threadTonya CanningJun 20, 2023
@davidrevoy I'm on mstdn.social and my follow list is still full of people from mastodon.art. Their profiles wouldn't display during the brief period the server was blocked, but there wasn't a permanent severed connection that I can see.
Show threadHeather Drake (she/her)Jun 20, 2023
@TonyaCanning This was my experience, too. I'm still getting posts and boosts from at least a few mastodon.art folks that I followed before the suspension, although it doesn't look like they are following me any longer...
Show threadfedi Jun 20, 2023

@htdrake @TonyaCanning
The account @[email protected] is blocked here on https://masto.ai (which has the same admin as mstdn.social, Stux)

I suspect it is also blocked on your instance?

It has as far as I remember 60,000? followers.

It is one of the best and most influential accounts on the fediverse, imo.

The defederation was a unilateral decision by Stux and has resulted in numerous lost connections.

Mastodon

A general Mastodon server for all languages.

Mastodon hosted on masto.ai
Show threadHeather Drake (she/her)Jun 20, 2023

@fedi @TonyaCanning I wondered if the suspension was so short-lived that perhaps not all the follow connections in whatever database tracks them were removed on our instances' sides.

Aside from this one event, I've found Stux to be a very reasonable admin. He's built up a lot of trust in my "trust bank" and has earned the right to learn from this mistake and do better in future.

Show threadfedi Jun 20, 2023

@htdrake

Just to clarify I'm sure the block on the Curator account after mastodon.art was unblocked is deliberate.

Stux has put a lot of work into his instances and deserves thanks for that definitely. I accept that admins will make mistakes.

I don't know if you are aware that he has said that his instances will federate with a Facebook instance that is believed to be joining mastodon(fediverse) in the next few weeks - this is related to the chaos yesterday.

Show threadTonya CanningJun 20, 2023
@htdrake @fedi
I've felt the same way. Even with the Meta thing. I think Facebook are appalling, but I can understand feeling it's more in line with consistent moderation to not pre-emptively block ab instance for things you assume they'll do.
Show threadHughsterJun 20, 2023
@davidrevoy This does rather overlook the slight detail that mastodon.art have themselves suspended multiple popular instances for entirely arbitrary and bizarre reasons.
mastodon.art/about
Show threadShephallmassiveJun 20, 2023
@davidrevoy like when the mechanical team meet up with the software team..
Show threadLoukas (They/Them) 🏳️‍⚧️Jun 20, 2023
@davidrevoy for me the particulars of this incident aren't the most important thing. My takeaway is that no instance that wants to be taken seriously should be able to take action like this based on just one person's feelings. Collective decision making helps us be better than we would be alone.
Show threadhenryJun 20, 2023
@davidrevoy to be honest, I think it is not ok to fully blocked an instance, since this is anti-fediverse. @Mastodon should remove “block a server” function, as this gives the admin the superpower over what the users on their server can see and interact. Simply silence a server from appearing in one server’s public timeline should be the ultimate solution. Every user/ resident in one server should have the freedom to choose what they can see.
Show threadElena ``of Valhalla''Jun 20, 2023

@Henry there are instances that really everybody wants to block at a server level, because they aren't sending any kind of useful message but just plain, uncontroversially, spam.

Our instance only has less than 10 active users and no open registration, so we can afford do be very permissive, and we still have a blocklist that is mostly filled with those.

Then there are instances that have been created with the explicit intent to host people accounts dedicated to harass other people: one may prefer a place where these are blocked in advance or one where blocks only happen after the fact, but while under active attack you don't really want every user on a server to suffer from them either.

And then there is simply the fact that some user will want to manage their own block list, but others are much more happy knowing that an admin *they trust* has done most of the work.

The point is that the fediverse gives you the choice to be on a server where you trust the admin and like their policies, removing instance blocks from everybody (or enforcing them for everybody, if it was technically possible) would make it worse, not better.

Show threadGen X-WingJun 20, 2023

@davidrevoy That is a lovely piece of art!

(Aah, can’t keep it in. Viking helmets didn’t have horns:) That looks like a Wagner opera:) But I don’t think it takes away from the image. It kinda makes me think of some management type game. Like a Settlers of the World type game.)

Show threadArneBabJun 20, 2023
@davidrevoy awww, this is beautiful! Thank you for helping to reconnect!
Show threadCarlos SolísJun 20, 2023
@davidrevoy And that’s precisely why I self-host. If I didn’t, at any given moment I could lose a big chunk of my feed out of the decision of a single moderator!
Show threadBadriJun 23, 2023
@davidrevoy well, it certainly brought that issue to *my* attention!