mairin
I got an email warning from this server - after posting in Irish a number of times over the lifetime of my account here and other folks telling me that it is welcome - that my posts in Irish are *NOT* welcome on Fosstodon.
Irish is a minority language not heard often, it is extremely important to me, and so this decision means this server is not a place for me. Sadly, despite my long career in FOSS.
I might abandon this account and use mastodon.ie. TBD
Kev Quirk
@victorvicpal @mairin It’s nothing to do with a lack of perspective. It’s far more mundane than that. It’s actually to do with moderation, it’s explained here - https://hub.fosstodon.org/why-fosstodon-is-english-only/
Víctor Vicente-Palacios
@mairin
When I was considering which instance to join, being able to write messages in different languages was a priority. English-centrism seems to me to be a lack of perspective towards the multilingual society in which we live.
mairin
@kev @victorvicpal So you choose to selectively enforce it? Allow someone to become comfortable over 11 months, then stab the knife?
This is *not* in the spirit of FOSS at all. You need to improve your language and messaging at a bare minimum. My current position as-is w the status quo is that this is a colonialistic server. You need to do better.
Kev Quirk
@mairin the rules are clearly stated when you sign up. There’s a pop up that you have to acknowledge that you agree to the rules. It’s also mentioned on our instance description, so would have been prevalent in apps too. 🤷♂️
We wish you the best on your next instance.
mairin
@kev @victorvicpal Hey Kev,
would have been nice to get a "warning" or heads up about this some months ago when I started posting in Irish, look at my timeline, there is plenty of it.
I have never caused any moderation issues on this server, I am a good citizen. Too bad that won't be considered.
You need to rethink the phrasing of this email and policy. English is an ugly language w a cruel history.
Kev Quirk
@victorvicpal @mairin absolutely, we totally get that, and no need to apologise. I just wanted to let you guys know that we did put a lot of thought into this decision.
Mairin, if you do decide to move away, we will still love you, and Fedora. 🙃
Sorry about the “warning”. 99% of the time it’s more of a”reminder”, but there’s no mechanism for that in Masto when it comes to managing reports.
Víctor Vicente-Palacios
@kev Thank you for the explanation. I can see that it was a difficult decision and my comment had no perspective on the specific situation of this instance. My sincere apologies.
On the other hand, I understand that people might want to migrate their accounts if for them writing in other languages is important.
@mairin
mairin
@kev @victorvicpal I cannot in good conscience recommend anyone involved in FOSS (the vast majority of whom are not native English speakers) use this server with this handling of the issue.
Fionn
@Gina it's worth noting that Fosstodon *became* an English only server; it didn't start as one. When it changed, there was significant backlash.
Translation services are good enough for moderation, plus there's always the option of starting dialogue with a person to better understand context. I spoke to that somewhere in the thread, but other admins have come out and said the same.
The only limitation is in willingness. Telling someone to GTFO as Kev has done, only shows hostility.
Gina
@mairin I don't understand why this is such an issue. Fosstodon is an English speaking server, for moderation purposes. When signing up to this server you agree to this. There are plenty of multilingual servers, but you chose to join Fosstodon.
The reason that it's so pleasant here is because of the moderation. That moderation requires English, a) because translation services apparently aren't that great yet and more importantly b) the mods are only a small team of volunteers. I stand with @kev
your new favourite fungus
Inaya Shujaat عنايه شجاعت 🇳🇿🇵🇸
@kev @mairin @Gina You don’t see it as an issue because it doesn’t negatively impact you, Gina.
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