wow my article was so misleading to focus on the no-nazis rule when that's only a rule on the FLAGSHIP INSTANCE that is controlled by the CORE DEVELOPER of the software
But, @sarahjeong:
Β· a core developer that *chose* to develop code to be freely run in a federated ecosystem β€” not a new walled garden or a new Mastodon-only federation, not even with some license carrying ToS/CoC restrictions for deployment;
Β· a flagship instance that is not supposed to have the privilege of being THE primary site in such a federation, not even a primary privileged node in the Mastodon subset of the federation, except as a sample/reference running instance of the Mastodon code
Actually, @sarahjeong , it wouldn't be surprising for any such "flagship" site β€” in its role as a core example of deployment of a piece of software β€” to opt for particularly restrictive ToS, avoiding risks for itself/the author in relevant jurisdictions.
But the ToS/CoC bait in your title, @sarahjeong (and beyond) is not of the essence in the federation.And the nature of this as a federation IS of the essence for an email-like open adulthood of micro-blogging (no longer Twitter-the-company).
I can understand how some view the restrictions in the flagship site as a virtue, @sarahjeong, and I'm not against pointing that out. This federation affords such bubbles, not just one but many diverse ones, with much more agility than Twitter-the-company, without having to impose the restrictive wishes of some on everyone.
Having said that, and living in Portugal: Europe sorely lacks an equivalent of the US First Amendment ("American free speech fundamentalism", in the words of many lawmakers, judges and alleged journalists, this side of the pond): sad to read yet another article somehow cheerleading our European borked "freedom of expression", @sarahjeong β€” maybe not your intention; maybe not just my perception.
"may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society". Freedom-but, broken by design.