talldavekMar 11
Aral Balkan
When you post things on Instagram, Facebook, and X, this is what they look like to people who don’t use those platforms.
Mar 11 at 10:05amWeb
Show threadStanislaus Grumman 🇵🇸 Mar 11
@aral @vicfroh is that image in the tweet AI?
Show threadAral BalkanMar 11
@xiroux @vicfroh I truly don’t know.
Show threadStanislaus Grumman 🇵🇸 Mar 11
@aral @vicfroh it is AI indeed. An article in Spanish from a fact checker site: https://maldita.es/malditobulo/20260304/una-imagen-muestra-el-funeral-de-las-ninas-que-han-muerto-en-el-ataque-de-estados-unidos-e-israel-a-iran/
No, esta imagen no muestra el funeral de las niñas que han muerto en la escuela destruida en el sur de Irán: fue hecha con IA

Indicios de IA.

Maldita.es - Periodismo para que no te la cuelen
Show threadAral BalkanMar 11
@xiroux @vicfroh Thanks, undoing my boost.
Show threadElena Rossini ⁂Mar 11

@aral I'm actually writing a blog post arguing that public institutions should start seeing the Fediverse as the ideal publishing platform for sharing communications with their constituents.

May I quote your post, this is super relevant?

Show threadAral BalkanMar 11
@_elena Of course :)
Show threadzipkid - Breaker of SystemsMar 11
@_elena
Will you be present at https://www.fedivariety.org/unconference ?
@aral
UnConference - Fedivariety

NOAW unconference info

Fedivariety
Show threadAral BalkanMar 11
@zipkid @_elena I hadn’t heard of it but likely not, no. Funds are tight at the moment and I have to deliver on the Small Web this year (self imposed deadline).
Show threadWhasdah Mar 11
@_elena @aral in europe, public organisations are taking care of much of the necessary infrastructure like railroads and roads. To make it possible for citizens to have easy and free access to decentralized digital platforms, european governments could host those servers themselves professionally. That would also take the burden off private volunteers working their buts off to keep servers in the air with all expenses connected. And so, decentralized services could also become more sustainable.
Show threadDiogo ConstantinoMar 11

@_elena this may also interest you:
https://fsfe.org/news/2023/news-20230109-01.en.html

@aral

FediGov seeks to promote sovereign communication in the public sector - FSFE

The FSFE Swiss local group launches an initiative with GNU/Linux.ch to encourage public institutions to use federated free software solutions to communicat...

FSFE - Free Software Foundation Europe
Show threadBart KnubbenMar 11
@_elena @aral 👍👍👍 See also: https://mastodon.nl/@bartknubben/116141780059397071
Show threadjakerMar 12
@_elena
Count me in. I work for local govt and with national govt, so very keen to promote this. Using Fediverse ad hoc for specific projects at moment
@aral
Show threadFrederik ElwertMar 11
@aral This also seems to be a thing on Bsky, although there it’s opt-in. Which means that people actively decide to exclude people not on the same platform. Seems to be considered a feature, not a bug. 🤷
Show threadKrazovMar 11

@felwert @aral On Mastodon, you can make a post "only for followers," and we're fine with it. I can imagine that a user can decide on his personal level not to share their post with the open web. That's their choice.

(Though, the funny part is that it's more like a flag, and respecting it depends completely on the app, so if there is more traction for Bluesky, apps going around that might start popping up. Same for blocks.)

Show threadFrederik ElwertMar 11
@Krazov @aral Sure, it’s their choice. I still find “has a Bluesky account” a weird scope for privacy.
Show threadKrazovMar 11
@felwert @aral Seen alone, perhaps. The scenario I can see is this: they block people on Bluesky and by making their posts BS-only, they make sure that blockers cannot simply open a private tab and read them. A lot of visibility aspects on Mastodon were driven by these situations, too. That Bluesky allows only such a solution is not their fault.
Show threadmathewMar 12
@felwert @Krazov @aral Particularly since Bluesky only has access control client side in their app, and you can read anything if you have the URL. https://skyview.social
Skyview

Share BlueSky posts and threads externally

Show threadPaul MartinMar 12
@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] It can get a little frustrating if you follow only one person in the thread of replies. You only see one side of the conversation.
Show threadKrazovMar 13
@nowster @felwert @aral Alas, that's unavoidable. And Fedi is sometimes worse; if you happen to be on an instance defederated from some of the discussants, you have those empty spots. What Twitter got nice at some point, was showing placeholders for messages that you cannot see, either due to being blocked, blocking, muting, the message being behind the lock, or simply deleted. At least there was a visual cue.
Show threadYenn dc ☂️Mar 12

@felwert

Just to make it explicit — there really is a huge difference between the POSTER deciding to require an account to view their posts, and the PLATFORM deciding people need an account to view "public" posts…

Show threadDuckbilled Plattypus.Mar 11
@aral It's like paywalls only less honestly - meta takes your money less obviously by selling your life info, x makes you enable Nazis.
Show threadnathanielMar 11
@aral That’s why I post to micro.blog and then share a link to my post instead
Show threadJay Baker on GoToSocial!Mar 11
@aral This is what I've been trying to emphasise to friends who remain in walled-off corporate sites. It's also got to the point where Google's purchase of YouTube (which some of us have memory of) developed a monopoly on video, and now when I visit websites still using that to embed videos, I can't play any of them because I have to be signed in. (And I can't always be bothered to use front-ends etc and hey why should I)
Show threadLukefromDCMar 11
@jaybaker @aral Which is why I ignore youtube shares by default
Show threadzedMar 11

@aral
Pro tip:
Swap x.com for xcancel.com (including the rest of the URL) and it’ll load the tweet and replies without being logged in.

The same thing works (with less reliability) by swapping instagram.com with imginn.com (again, keeping the rest of the URL).

I use Apple Shortcuts to do these actions automatically:
Twitter: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/06a82b30a77b4ba8834c85a28093c241
Instagram: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/37da2bbbc7e341d2acb23c8dd73d0f14

Shortcuts

Show threadMaypop the DragonMar 11
@zed @aral can also fix instagram embeds with gockinstagram.com
Show threadYenn dc ☂️Mar 12

@zed

Nitter proxies work decently.
Instagram's many (dubious) viewers less so, but they kinda serve the purpose.
YouTube keeps cracking down on alternatives any way it can (although there are still a couple of active Invidious instances)
I'm not sure I've seek a workable one for Facebook.

None of those actually fix the problem tho; they just keep the work for viewing the "public" posts on the (non-)users. :)

Show threadJustin CrozerMar 11
@aral trash 🚮
Show threadEliza MBMar 11

@aral

Great stuff. If they post on there then I have to assume they don't want me to know what they have to say.
And I really don't like to see mirrors of their posts on Mastodon so they can shout and they don't see any replies.

Show threadEliza MBMar 11

@aral

Bernie Sanders does it too.
He can FRO

Show threadJimmyB (he/him)Mar 11
@aral Thank you for saying this Aral. I often wonder how to point out to folks who post links to exclusive platforms, that this excludes me. And anyone else who takes a stance and refuses to use those platforms...
Show threadQybatMar 11
@aral @vicfroh And this is what posting to Imgur looks like in the UK, because UK privacy law is just strict enough that that it isn't worth Imgur's bandwidth to serve non-targetted ads.
Show threadUpLateGeekMar 11
@aral it’s Schrödinger's content. If you login to view it, the quantum superposition collapses and you discover it either doesn’t exist, or that it wasn’t worth the effort because of the rest of the garbage on those platforms.
Show thread DarrenMar 11
@aral any business "website" that is just a Facebook page is an instant fail and no longer an option for me. Being pestered to create an account just check opening hours, what a great experience that is for new customers.
Show threadHal AetusMar 11
@aral I just pass now. I have ancient accounts but offloaded the apps. Isn’t worth the hassle anymore. I’ll interact with people that have a social conscience instead.
Show threadstux⚡️Mar 11

@aral And this is what public #Mastodon posts look like!

Even viewed from a 3rd instance it's still fully visible without account

Basically on each server with public timelines etc so tens of thousands of places

Show threadKelsonMar 11
@stux @aral Unless you have JavaScript disabled.
Show threadstux⚡️Mar 11
@kelson @aral In that case there is RSS or a client like bloat I believe
Show threadFLOSSbOxINMar 11
@aral
Agreed, but as a workaround use the alternative frontend.
Show threadDJDarrenMar 11
@aral Tbh, I just use it as an excuse to not go any further, which usually ends up helping my blood pressure.
Show threadVessOnSecurityMar 11
@aral At least for Twitter, this is not true. Yeah, the page exhorts you to create an account - but it *does* show the post. At least on desktop; maybe it's different on mobile.
Show threadSorroMar 11
@bontchev @aral it doesn't show the comments though, so you can't see the full post if someone divided it into multiple subposts (the 1/3, 2/3, 3/3 thing in replies)
Show threadCreggMar 11
@bontchev @aral yeah on mobile it doesn't a lot of the time. I get around this by toggling the "view as desktop site" on my mobile browser. This also works with instagram and Facebook sometimes. But sometimes it'll still redirect you to a login page.
Show threadPhilip ShiomiMar 11
@bontchev @aral it seems X will allow certain accounts to be viewed without logging in, but not all.
Show threadSco  Mar 11
@philipshiomi @bontchev @aral
Last I heard, if a post gets a certain amount of engadgement, it becomes fully public. Tho that was a long ago, I heard that.
Show threadAral BalkanMar 11
@bontchev I guess my screenshot tool was lying.
Show threadVessOnSecurityMar 11
@aral Your screenshot is from mobile, mine is from desktop. That's why I supposed that the two may be offering different kinds of access.
Show threadAral BalkanMar 11
@bontchev Yep. And it’s possible they have heuristics for when they show the doorslam and when they don’t.
Show threadbkMar 11
@aral
Thank heavens.
Show threadWuzzyMar 11

@aral Shit like this make me wonder why this alone hasn’t lead to a giant user revolt and exodus years ago. Like, this should be completely disqualifying.
The whole point of "social media" goes out of the window if ALL posts are locked away (usually against the user’s wishes btw).

These terrible private billionaire playgrounds cannot crumble fast enough.