chris martens

Our research team at Northeastern University is conducting a survey to better understand how Mastodon administrators craft, select, modify, and maintain privacy policies and codes of conduct. If you administer an instance and are 18 or older, we'd love to hear from you! We expect it to take under 20 minutes to complete.

Survey link: https://neu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_elLw6HR35WCvKjc

(more info to follow)

#MastodonAdmin
#MastoAdmin
#FediAdmin

Mastodon Administrator Survey

The goal of this research survey is to better understand how Mastodon administrators select, craft, and/or maintain privacy policies and codes of conduct.

Aug 15, 2023 at 1:58pmWeb
Show threadchris martensAug 15, 2023

This survey does not collect IP addresses, all questions are optional, and all identifying information will be removed prior to publication. More details on how we will report survey responses and protect your privacy are provided in the start page for the survey, before you consent to begin.

There’s no compensation for this part of the study, but we may contact you (if you opt in) at a later point for a paid follow-up interview.

(cont'd)

Show threadchris martensAug 15, 2023
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the team:
Luis Garcia ([email protected])
Dr. Emma Tosch ([email protected])
Dr. Chris Martens ([email protected])
Show threadchris martensAug 15, 2023

Boosts of the top post in this thread are very appreciated! This is a Mastodon-specific study, so we're only recruiting on here (and from a specific pool of administrators we identified).

(hey is there a good hashtag for study recruitment posts like this? #study #research #survey ???)

Show threadPJ "Vote Green" CoffeyAug 15, 2023

@chrisamaphone

Had you thought about using some # to help make this findable? I could make some suggestions if you'd like?

Show threadchris martensAug 15, 2023
@Homebrewandhacking please do!
Show threadGunChleocAug 16, 2023
@chrisamaphone When removing identifying information, please make sure to include the server address in the removal, because that will make most admins 100% identifiable
Show threadchris martensAug 16, 2023
@gunchleoc Yes of course!
Show threadNik | Klampfradler 🎸🚲Aug 15, 2023
@chrisamaphone If you think my input matters, don't put the survey on a hostile anti-privacy website.
Show threadchris martensAug 15, 2023
@nik do you mean Qualtrics? it's widely considered the industry standard for collecting privacy-sensitive data for rigorous studies. is there an alternative you'd recommend instead?
Show threadcaos (moved to Sharkey) 🚀Aug 15, 2023

@chrisamaphone Here is a current overview of privacy-compliant tools for online surveys (article in german):
https://social.anoxinon.de/@gnulinux/110887425281048357
Among others, #SosciSurvey and #LimeSurvey are recommended:
https://www.soscisurvey.de/en/index
https://www.limesurvey.org/

@LimeSurvey
@datendetektivin @nik

GNU/Linux.ch (@[email protected])

Es muss nicht Google Forms sein - Online-Befragungen DSGVO-konform und Open Source Es gibt viele Tools, um Online-Befragungen durchzuführen, sowohl für kleine einfache Umfragen, als auch für komplexere Befragungen im wissenschaftlichen Rahmen. Einige davon wie Cryptpad Forms und LimeSurvey sind auch Open Source - Ein Überblick. #Onlinebefragung #Daten #DSGVO #Nextcloud #CryptPad #Linux https://gnulinux.ch/es-muss-nicht-google-forms-sein-online-befragungen-dsgvo-konform-und-open-source

social.anoxinon.de - Mastodon
Show threadchris martensAug 15, 2023
@datendetektivin @LimeSurvey @caos @nik thanks! I unfortunately can’t read German but I’ll see what I can get out of this - i’m interested in seeing the case against Qualtrics laid out explicitly since this is the first i’m hearing of folks being unhappy with their practices.
Show threadPJ "Vote Green" CoffeyAug 15, 2023

@chrisamaphone well the one's I'd use to let people know about this are:

#MastodonAdmin
#MastoAdmin
#MastodonServer
#MastodonInstance
#FediAdmin
#FediServer
#FediInstance
#MastoServer
#MastoInstance

I'm assuming that you mean MicroBlogFedi and not solely admins for the Mastodon software, in which case its good to use the right terms to avoid irritating those admins. Could be wrong!

Show threadchris martensAug 15, 2023
@Homebrewandhacking yes your assumption is correct - looking for admins of instances. thanks!
Show threadchris martensAug 15, 2023
@Homebrewandhacking oh, but, rereading your post, i guess you are wondering if admins of servers running forks like Hometown are ok too? i'd say yes but also agree that the language doesn't make that clear. will think about it.
Show threadDavid - Forking MadAug 15, 2023
@chrisamaphone Why Mastodon only? 🤔 Other Fediverse server types also curate privacy policies! Are you really only interested in one corner ?
Show threadchris martensAug 15, 2023
@daj this is true! We are keeping the scope narrow for now so that our results are more comparable to one another, but we hope to do some followup work on fediverse services more broadly
Show threadDeborah PickettAug 15, 2023
@chrisamaphone A couple of remarks about how I addressed questions that I found ambiguity in:
• I took “Mastodon” to mean any Fediverse software. I run a Takahē server and a Bookwyrm server as well as a Mastodon one.
• Where questions referred to the “Privacy Policy”, and my server has other documents such as a Terms of Use, Code of Conduct, Server Rules, etc., I considered only the literal Privacy Policy of the site and not the other documents.
Show threadTheCityDweller Aug 16, 2023
@chrisamaphone you're asking for the server name and therefore your survey isn't anonymous anymore. You can trace every answer to a server administrator...
Show threadchris martensAug 16, 2023
@toor That is correct; the survey itself is not anonymized. The research team will have access to identifying data. However, we will not publish any identifying details given in responses.
Show threadmiaAug 20, 2023
@chrisamaphone why only mastodon, you just wanna ignore a massive subsection of the fediverse?
Show threadDr. Tim Schatto-EckrodtAug 20, 2023
@chrisamaphone I’ll just tag my home instance’s admin here: @milan :)
Show threadHazelnootAug 20, 2023
@chrisamaphone Cool research! I've got a few questions though:
1. Are you interested in single-user or "friends and family" mini instances?
2. Do unofficial forks of the Mastodon software count as "Mastodon" for this purpose?
3. What about different Microblogging software that's compatible and part of the same network?
Show threadsatan Aug 20, 2023
@chrisamaphone

I was about to fill it out but then I realized it is just for mastodon admins!
Show thread*_jߍyropeAug 21, 2023
@chris martens Restricted to Mastodon admins? Stupid. #FediAdmin s aren't #Mastodon.
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