Our latest blogpost is "Blacksky: Exemplary Alternative Social Media":

https://www.socialmediaalternatives.org/2026/03/08/blacksky.html

A short note about #Blacksky as a social and technical achievement -- a fascinating form of alternative social media.

#alternativeSocialMedia

For #fungifriday here's a little collage I put together for my cubicle when I was bored in a meeting last week. They're some of my favourite fungi photos I took in 2025. I saw some pretty cool ones last year!

For funsies, see if you can spot the one with the hidden heart shape in it 🤍

#mushroom #fungi #mushtodon #nature #hiking

Welcome new student members of the CDSC!

Most years, the CDSC is lucky enough to recruit some amazing new Ph.D. students to the lab. This fall is no exception and we are thrilled to welcome an extraordinary group across several of our group's campuses. The students join us from a wide variety of places, backgrounds, and prior affiliations (which should be encouraging for any prospective students looking to join the group in the future!).

http://blog.communitydata.science/welcome-new-student-members-of-the-cdsc/

Community Dialogue – AI Boundaries: Refusal and Privacy

Join the Community Data Science Collective (CDSC) for our 12th Science of Community Dialogue! This Community Dialogue will take place on October 17th, 2025 at 12:00 pm CT. This dialogue explores how companion chatbots invite deep emotional disclosure while raising concerns about data privacy—and how some communities are pushing back through AI refusal. Professor Jasmine McNealy (University of Florida) will join 

http://blog.communitydata.science/community-dialogue-ai-boundaries-refusal-and-privacy/

@iftas is conducting its annual needs assessment survey, inviting Fediverse moderators, administrators, and community managers to provide input on how IFTAS can help them.

In the past, this has led to the development of critical tools for CSAM detection and reporting, regulatory compliance guidance, and so much more.

If you're a mod, admin, or community manager, fill out this survey so IFTAS can put its resources in the right place: https://about.iftas.org/moderator-needs-assessment/

I am recruiting PhD students this year!

If you are interested in studying the organizing and self-organizing processes of online communities, the role of AI in online communities, and/or how communities influence their members (and vice versa), then you should come to our research group's info session.

Details are at https://blog.communitydata.science/prospective-phd-student-qa-september-26th/ , including a sign-up link.

You should also reach out to me - contact info is on my website - https://jeremydfoote.com/

Prospective PhD Student Q&A – September 26th

Thinking about applying to graduate school? Wonder what it’s like to pursue a PhD or M.S.? Interested in understanding relationships between technology and society? Curious about how to do research on online communities like Reddit, Wikipedia, or GNU/Linux? The Community Data Science Collective is hosting a virtual Q&A session on Friday, September 26th at 10am PT / 12pm CT / 1pm ET…

http://blog.communitydata.science/prospective-phd-student-qa-september-26th/

I'm co-organizing #CSCW NE, an in-person regional gathering for people in Northeast America, alongside some folks from Stevens, Rutgers, and Princeton. If you want to come hang out (especially if you can't make it out to the full conference in Bergen this year), RSVP at https://cscw-ne.hci.social

Please boost and help share 😊🔁