QuokkaJun 25, 2023

Regarding the position of scicomm.xyz on #Meta and in the Fediverse, #FediPact etc.

After discussion between myself and the other mods and considering the views expressed by the people on our instance we have decided that pre-emptive blocking of Meta is warranted.

There is more detail on the background and explanation of this decision in a post on our companion site, here:
https://about.scicomm.xyz/doku.php?id=blog:2023:0625_meta_on_the_fediverse_to_block_or_not_to_block

Thanks to our people for their comments and suggestions to help us reach this decision.

blog:2023:0625_meta_on_the_fediverse_to_block_or_not_to_block [About scicomm.xyz]

Show threadTim Nolte
@quokka so I wonder, are you also planning to block any other instances that don't block #Meta ? I'm seeing what I would consider some pretty hostile comments and posts to that effect.
Jun 25, 2023 at 11:04pmWeb
Show threadTim NolteJun 25, 2023
@quokka btw, thanks for taking the time to share your article on how your instance arrived at it's decision, and how you are managing things going forward. I appreciate how you articulated the potential negative impacts as well as some potential positives, but ultimately you put your instance users first based on what they expected. The way you are handling it, and have communicated it, feels like exactly the way the #Fediverse was intended to be.
Show threadDaniel MlotJun 26, 2023
@tim For an outreach-focused instance, preemptive blocking already involves a nontrivial tradeoff, as thoughtfully discussed in @quokka 's original post. I can only imagine transitive blocking of that kind would be a bitter pill to swallow. Though I suppose there might be a difference between instances that merely federate with Meta and those which actively cooperate with Meta and dance to their tune
Show threadJon (now at neuromatch.social)Jun 26, 2023

My guess is that for many instances, this decision will depend a lot on the implementation, whatever legal agreements Meta puts in place with instances that federate with it, and how the software evolves. If things do result in a schism, oh well, there are already schisms in the fediverse and life goes on -- in fact I think that if it happpens, it'll probably be a good thing.

@duplode @tim @quokka

Show threadDaniel MlotJun 26, 2023
@jdp23 @tim Good point on the agreements -- I had momentarily forgotten about the rumours on Meta choosing which instances they're going to federate with, rather than the other way around
Show threadJon (now at neuromatch.social)Jun 26, 2023
@duplode on the one hand it's evil and sinister ... on the other hand they may well have to for legitimate business considerations -- to comply with privacy laws for example. @tim
Show threadQuokkaJun 26, 2023

@tim we haven't made a decision about federation with Meta-associated instances, for the reasons outlined by @jdp23

This will be a case where wait-and-see is needed as we don't yet know which instances Meta has talked to or signed contracts with. We also don't yet know the conditions that Meta might impose on the connected instances. And as @duplode points out, an association with Meta may came in different flavours.