goomba 🇨🇦
Nick“Governments should join the Fediverse!”
IMO, Governments should have websites that work and are regularly updated and should leave social media entirely.
“The Belgian government quit all social media except the Fediverse in 2026, and by early 2027 Belgium was a loose alliance of anarchist catgirl communes, all running Linux”
e@Nickiquote
i wish the @Bundesregierung would do the same instead of posting fascistoid bullshit everywhere.
i wish the @Bundesregierung would do the same instead of posting fascistoid bullshit everywhere.
Alister Bulman@Nickiquote So, you're saying that there are no downsides?
Evelyn Estelle@Nickiquote I want this timeline.
Ozzelot 
Ryek DarkenerCould be much worse in other places.
Solar🌄Garden@Nickiquote I could see this was where they could be heading back in the 20-teens, when I was visiting an anarchist cat-girl commune there, before anyone had heard of the fediverse. Then brexshit got in the way.
Diane 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈@Nickiquote I'M MOVING TO BELGIUM
Landa 
On the one hand I'm surprised that they managed to root out all the BSD enclaves, on the other hand cats can be pretty ruthless…
Alex@Nickiquote by 2030 they'd be running a genocide on catgirls running linux.
Max Almonte@Nickiquote sounds good to me.
Clueless by Sam@Nickiquote Belgium has always been a loose alliance of anarchist catgirl communes
Twobiscuits🚴♂️ @Nickiquote That actually sounds like something the Belgians would do 🤗
Matt Sqwrl@Nickiquote BRB moving to Belgium
jack@mattsqu @Nickiquote Bayerische RegioBahn does what??
Adam@Nickiquote Brussels-Capital Region is ahead of the game on anarchy. We've had no government for 18 months or so, and no obvious prospect of one this side of the next elections in er 2028 I think.
matthewcroughanI would instantly emigrate to Belgium
StoneBear 
@Nickiquote I'm boosting this in the hopes it will spread to France...
Glowing Cat of the Nuclear Wastelands@Nickiquote I almost spit my drink on my mechanical keyboard. How dare you threaten us with a good time.
Gavin@Nickiquote …coupled with the beer and chocolate, if that was true Belgium would be standing room only. 🤣
wall-e@Nickiquote ✨ RSS ✨
ʙᴇɴ ᴄᴏᴛᴛᴇяɪʟʟ@Nickiquote Gov.uk is a fantastic website. Whoever designed that deserves a medal.
@BenCotterill The problem is they keep moving stuff. I have to write lots of reports that link to it and every time I have to check which links are dead and update them.
@Nickiquote Oh damn do they? I thought all the links were permanent.
@BenCotterill Yeah, especially detailed legal guidance stuff.
@Nickiquote I’ve got a video call with the DWP coming up in about half an hour. Been put in a test group. Has a thing in the corner saying “this is in alpha”. Yes alpha, I cant opt out of the thing, and according to the ToS if anything goes wrong, it’s my fault.
@Nickiquote Holy shit. Person on the video call gave me a number to ring. Person on the end of the call put the phone down on me.
@BenCotterill Ugh, bloody hell.
@Nickiquote I’m having a nightmare. But logging that I did what I was told to do.
Kim Spence-Jones 🇬🇧😷@Nickiquote @BenCotterill
Government Digital Services did a brilliant job of building gov.uk, but they stepped on too many toes (and encroached on too many fiefdoms), so they found their wings clipped. ‘Digital first’ required many sacred cows to be sacrificed.
If the team was still intact, I’m sure there would be procedures to ensure that redirects were automatic when stuff moved.
Government Digital Services did a brilliant job of building gov.uk, but they stepped on too many toes (and encroached on too many fiefdoms), so they found their wings clipped. ‘Digital first’ required many sacred cows to be sacrificed.
If the team was still intact, I’m sure there would be procedures to ensure that redirects were automatic when stuff moved.
MJ Ray@BenCotterill @Nickiquote yes, that with more RSS and maybe a splash of ActivityPub would help. And then get them off the foreign-run anti-social media. Mirror there if they must, but redirect all interactions to public services.
Colin HaynesI do appreciate gov.uk. Most bits of it work very well.
Verifying my identity to Companies House as an owner or part owner of a company however is a complete bloody nightmare.
Swift (will be at EMF)@BenCotterill @Nickiquote it's got some very solid design guidelines that imo any public service should be taking inspiration from.
Top notch accessibility and clarity.
Can't account for what's put on it, but it's a strong foundation.
Damon L. Wakes@BenCotterill @Nickiquote I gather that sci-fi author Geoff Ryman had a hand in that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoff_Ryman
Eloy.@Nickiquote Mostly yes unless they are good at shitposting
(looking at you, Rijkswaterstaat)
Rachel@eloy @Nickiquote problem I have been wrapping my head around these days is this:
What happens when the good at shitposting govt accounts get taken over by fascists when the government flips?
We end up with the stuff the USA DHS is posting. Uggh.
More broadly this is my internal conflict with governments as a whole. I like the idea of governments doing things instead of corpos, but yikes both can be bad if things go fascist
What happens when the good at shitposting govt accounts get taken over by fascists when the government flips?
We end up with the stuff the USA DHS is posting. Uggh.
More broadly this is my internal conflict with governments as a whole. I like the idea of governments doing things instead of corpos, but yikes both can be bad if things go fascist
@rachel @Nickiquote individual humans can also do that
on the fediverse moderation is distributed too and we can block those governments if they are not posting on behalf of the people.
as long as the gov is just one server and not The Entire Network, it's fine
Fuchsiii~~~@Nickiquote @astra_underscore Governments:
Hans van Zijst@Nick Governments should not depend on foreign commercial enterprises for important things, including their communication with the people.
I think they should use social media, but the big commercial, sensation-driven platforms that people call "social media" aren't social: they're anti-social moneymakers.
I think they should use social media, but the big commercial, sensation-driven platforms that people call "social media" aren't social: they're anti-social moneymakers.
Miles Offit... 🇨🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦@hans I agree, but I'd add that the corporate platforms have shown themselves to be willing partners in the undermining and/or destruction of democracies as well. I'll never understand how our governments have not prioritized an alternative.
四
Petr Menšík 
@Nickiquote I would add governments should allow anonymous fetching of changes. RSS or atom feeds. No need to require accounts to receive information from official sources. From towns to national governments, the same should apply
「 ✦ Tristan ✦ 」@Nickiquote I don't really mind them having something within the fediverse, but just because they can selfhost it and it is open to everyone. But except from "not minding" it, I totally agree with every single word!
the elder sea
Michal Špondr@Nickiquote I think goverments should better communicate with citizens and social media is one way to do it. Goverments should adapt to citizens needs, not the opposite way.
Another topic is how much should goverments participate in social media discussions.
Cogito ergo mecagoendios@Nickiquote - but what if I want a stream of notifications when those websites update?
My brother in W3Christ, that's what RSS is for
bovaz@Nickiquote true for every level of government, and public service.
Also, for any other association or business that wants people to keep up with their stuff. I'm always angry at people thinking that doing a story on instagram counts as "official communication".
Also, for any other association or business that wants people to keep up with their stuff. I'm always angry at people thinking that doing a story on instagram counts as "official communication".
LiquidParasyteI personally do not want a federal administration powered by Posters of any faction after living under one staffed by terminally online Twitter groypers
Nate 🌕
ENIGMATICO 
@Nickiquote They should join so that we can roast them.
Sadly the best we can get is some automated bot account.
Sadly the best we can get is some automated bot account.
Kevin Karhan 
@enigmatico @Nickiquote not entirely.
@Zoll is pretty responsive and not just posting their press announcements.
Der Zoll@kkarhan @enigmatico @Nickiquote
Please don‘t roast us, though! 🙈
JCM
Victoria🏳️⚧️@Nickiquote sadly in the age of social media, govs need to have a way to promote themselves in the Internet :(
@Nickiquote also to be clear: on principles alone, i really agree with you
Tzimisce Flesh@Nickiquote And please make it actually readable instead of hiding the information I actually want like three submenus deep.
Magnus Ahltorp@Nickiquote How about having websites that are regularly updated and distribute those updates on the Fediverse?
Eldeberen@Nickiquote And restore RSS/Atom subscriptions…