Cameron MacLeodSep 7, 2023

This is an important thing to understand on Mastodon: you don't see all the replies to a post.

It's possible for evil people to propagate terrible hatred that only shows up for the person being attacked, but isn't visible to you.

See explanation from @mekkaokereke here: https://hachyderm.io/@mekkaokereke/111012743709881062

When Black users tell you there's racism, it doesn't matter that you didn't see it happen.

#Mastodon #MastoTips #Fediverse #Racism #Sexism #Misogyny #Homophobia #Transphobia #Hatred #Safety #Allyship

mekka okereke :verified: (@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io)

@zachnfine@mastodon.social @JamesWidman@mastodon.social @Sablebadger@dice.camp @staidwinnow@mastodon.social @Jorsh@beige.party From your screenshot above, and the scenario I listed below, imagine if: 1) the racist user is on "Nazis dot social." They have 5000 followers. 2) the Black user is on "Good people dot social" 3) the nazi replies "Followers only." The scenario: https://hachyderm.io/@mekkaokereke/111010421955145872 None of the good people would see the gore images, or the subsequent pile-on.

Hachyderm.io
Show threaddavid turgeon

@c_9 @mekkaokereke sorry to jump in, but it seems like this is the flipside of mastodon promising something it can't really deliver, i.e. privacy.

we've collectively been (kind of) lured by the prospect of “confidential” posts & replies which are inherently not (anybody who has played with activitypub knows this for a fact).

basically, “confidentiality” settings gives us the worst of both worlds: a false sense of privacy & (as we privileged folk collectively discover) a vector for abuse.

Sep 8, 2023 at 3:34amWeb
Show threaddavid turgeonSep 8, 2023

@c_9 @mekkaokereke one way to fix this might be to ditch any pretense of confidentiality & instead present these settings as “prefferred audience”. meaning these are the people whose timeline you're aiming for, but there's no guarantee beyond that & anybody who clicks the original post can read all the replies because nothing can be private on this network, period.

at any rate, we need to work harder to stop harassment on the fediverse.