EVHasteJul 14, 2023

The #Bluesky community is on strike, in protest of “free speech” moderation policies and refusal to prevent or remove #racism.

The inciting incident this time: users signing up with the n-word in their usernames. Using the word “cracker”, however, was a bannable offense.

Bluesky has not responded for over 36 hours as of writing. Devs are blocking protestors. Timelines are filled with variations of:

“No more normal posting until my Black friends and family are safe.”

#social #tech

Show threadEVHasteJul 14, 2023

It is beautiful to watch folks organize spontaneously around this. There are some really novel techniques being used that I have not seen before.

Shitposters and sex workers blurring their posts and withholding lewds, if only there was a safe platform to post them. Quote chains of people asking the devs to block them too in solidarity. Users building custom, public mute lists to block out fascists and protect marginalized communities.

The devs are liking nazi callout posts & posting on Twitter

Show threadEVHasteJul 14, 2023

But I would also like to take a second, before you enjoy too much schadenfreude, to point out that by and large PoC communities also are not safe on Mastodon.

A huge amount of the feedback being levied on Bluesky’s lasseiz faire moderation policies also apply to us here.

I have very little faith Bluesky will improve, but we still could.

Show threadElizabeth Tai | 戴秀铃 🇲🇾Jul 15, 2023
@Haste about what you said about POCs not feeling safe here. I have to say you are right. I get anti-China sentiments sent my way at times. And people not understanding that my values are not typically Western, even if I may sound and behave Western.
Show threadMasterEmitJul 16, 2023
@liztai @Haste I really would love to understand, why PoC and other groups preferred BlueSky over Fediverse and why Twitter in the past was better for these groups. In my view, what of course has a completly different reality, the Fediverse is the better place to build safe spaces. Of course not the whole Fediverse itself would be a safe space, but parts of it can be. Was Twitter in the past a safe space? Was BlueSky in the beginning one? If there is or was a discussion - I would love to read.
Show threadElizabeth Tai | 戴秀铃 🇲🇾Jul 16, 2023
@masteremit @Haste Basically, it had more diversity and less groupthink. Mastodon is lovely, and being more North American and European has its downsides for folks like me. For eg, Americans and Europeans have a particular way of thinking of China. As a South-East Asian smushed between both China and the West, we understand China And the West. For one, I am alarmed at the ignorance being displayed and try to educate ppl.
This often results in them accusing me of being pro-China when I am not.
Show threadElizabeth Tai | 戴秀铃 🇲🇾
@masteremit @Haste imagine having to always defend your Pov, and having your opinions dismissed just because your ideas or opinions do not conform to a Global North pov.
It gets extremely tiresome.
And we end up retreating to our spaces to talk to people who don't challenge everything we say.
I don't know if other #TootSea folks feel the same way, but I do because I actually bother to engage.
I really shouldn't tho. 😂 It is a pointless exercise.
#SouthEastAsia
Jul 16, 2023 at 7:06amWeb
Show threadMasterEmitJul 16, 2023
@liztai @Haste I can not feel but absolutely understand your trouble. Maybe Twitter was better because it had more time with growing and getting the diversity it has had for a time. Hopefully this will be the same one day with the Fediverse if we all work on that. But I also understand, that this is exhausting. I just do not believe, that BlueSky is really an alternative, or nowadays Threads. But I may be wrong. Would be so much easier if people would be different and just accept difference.
Show threadElizabeth Tai | 戴秀铃 🇲🇾Jul 16, 2023
@masteremit @Haste I believe the same. But I know Malaysians. Facebook and Instagram - they already have it, so if Twitter falls, they would go to Threads first. Tho I don't think BlueSky is a really popular choice.