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1. Embed this notice
   carl marks (tillshadeisgone@blackqueer.life)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 04:44:21 JST carl marks

   Every once in awhile, I see a white person ask the question of why there aren't more Black folks on the fediverse. I don't see this that often, as I go out of my way to follow white folks who are a little more clued in, but occasionally it comes up.

   There are a lot of reasons, which any Black person who has been here for more than 5 minutes could easily explain to you, but for the moment let me take you on a short journey to examine one of the primary reasons.

   Imagine, if you will, that I am a random Black person interested in joining the fediverse. Now assuming I don't just go straight for mastodon.social (different scenario, but similar outcome for the most part) I'm curious to see what server I should join.

   If I'm coming from any other major social network I've probably heard something, accurate or not, about the fediverse and choosing a server. Maybe that idea has turned me off before, but the Muskrat or Zuck or whoever has just done another egregious thing and I'm getting fed up with their shit. I'm stubborn, too, so I look into an option that's going to take some work.

   So I do some poking around Mastodon since that's the service I've heard about. joinmastodon.org has an easy to peruse list of hundreds of servers (419 last I checked). This seems overwhelming, but they are sorted by language and region and topic, which helps.

   Now keep in mind, I'm coming from another social network, so very likely I've heard how white the fediverse is. So, I start browsing through the servers on joinmastodon.org to find other Black folks because if I'm gonna try this new thing, I'm not looking to deal with users who may just be hostile by default for no good reason.

   If I am especially thorough, I will find two servers for South Africans, a server for folks from Madagascar, and/or a server for Nigerians. If I am not from one of those three countries, guess what happens? I don't find anyone like me. I leave and I don't come back again.

   Okay, story over. And here comes the moral of the tale: It's not that non-regional Black-centered servers don't exist. They're simply not included in the directory. And for the record, it's not as if none of us have asked.

   Therefore, the next time you see someone asking the question of why there aren't more Black folks on the fedi, you can now feel free to tell them: we aren't wanted here.

   Go look for yourself if you don't believe me.

   :boost_requested:

   #BlackMastodon #BlackFedi #BlackFediverse #WhiteSupremacy

   • NaClKnight repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     carl marks (tillshadeisgone@blackqueer.life)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 05:06:24 JST carl marks

     in reply to

     Oh, and probably the only reason I personally made it past that hurdle: two different prominent Black users on twitter that I looked up to changed their display names on twitter to their handles on the fedi, giving me two different servers I could start from. Without their endorsements, like most of the Black folks I used to be connected to on twitter, I had heard about racism on Mastodon and would have stayed away.

   • Embed this notice
     carl marks (tillshadeisgone@blackqueer.life)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 05:17:42 JST carl marks

     in reply to

     • Drew 🐘

     @dvogel sure, there was no response so I assume they either ignored it or decided it was disqualified for some reason (despite us publicly agreeing to the server covenant) that they chose not to share.

   • Embed this notice
     Drew 🐘 (dvogel@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 05:17:43 JST Drew 🐘

     in reply to

     @tillshadeisgone

     Mind sharing joinmastodon.org's response when you asked to list blackqueer.life there?

   • Embed this notice
     carl marks (tillshadeisgone@blackqueer.life)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 06:09:59 JST carl marks

     in reply to

     • soaproot

     @soaproot another secondary gripe I have..... Yes, I know you can simply go and plug in the instance into your browser and it will load up. But WHY oh why don't the server names link to the server's about page? And open in another tab? I have to wonder how many folks would have clicked through who just gave up there...

   • Embed this notice
     soaproot (soaproot@sfba.social)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 06:10:00 JST soaproot

     in reply to

     @tillshadeisgone I don't have anything to add about what the procedures for maintaining that list are, or should be. What I find eye opening about this post is that there's a widespread assumption that people drop off at that list because there are too many choices. You point to another issue: people dropping off at that list because none of the choices appear to fit well enough.

   • Embed this notice
     carl marks (tillshadeisgone@blackqueer.life)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 06:28:08 JST carl marks

     in reply to

     • K
     • eatyourglory

     @eatyourglory @k_purpose
     Spotted the italian

   • Embed this notice
     eatyourglory (eatyourglory@mastodon.uno)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 06:28:09 JST eatyourglory

     in reply to

     • K

     @k_purpose @tillshadeisgone I am white and I care about racism. Heck, I’ve experienced it first-hand.

   • Embed this notice
     K (k_purpose@post.lurk.org)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 06:28:10 JST K

     in reply to

     • eatyourglory

     @eatyourglory
     no, it's due to the fact that you don't care (likely because you're white)
     @tillshadeisgone

   • Embed this notice
     eatyourglory (eatyourglory@mastodon.uno)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 06:28:11 JST eatyourglory

     in reply to

     @tillshadeisgone Is it strange that I’ve never seen racism on Mastodon?

   • Embed this notice
     carl marks (tillshadeisgone@blackqueer.life)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 06:39:54 JST carl marks

     in reply to

     • dilletante

     @dilettante look no further than our about page to find two others listed as sibling instances! And then there's blacktwitter.io and terror.black, and that's just off the top of my head.

     It's not like we don't exist, or even that we are all minuscule servers. Blacktwitter.io has 100+ active users, which ain't huge but it ain't tiny either.

     Now, I'm going to answer your question with another question:

     What has Mastodon (or hell, any of the other fedi platforms out there or shit even ActivityPub itself) done to make the fediverse safer for Black folks? What actions have they taken to court Black users for decentralized social media or protect us from the white supremacy they know is common on the internet?

     How many Black folks do you see on the mod teams of the biggest instances out there?

     And before you answer, keep in mind that pledging to actively moderate racism doesn't mean shit when the chips are down. I can tell you that from experience. I need tangible actions.

   • Embed this notice
     dilletante (dilettante@mastodonbooks.net)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 06:39:55 JST dilletante

     in reply to

     @tillshadeisgone

     What other black centered servers exist?

   • Embed this notice
     carl marks (tillshadeisgone@blackqueer.life)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 09:16:54 JST carl marks

     in reply to

     • mybarkingdogs

     @mybarkingdogs I get that but this thread is about racism so if what you're talking about isn't racism make your own thread

   • Embed this notice
     mybarkingdogs (mybarkingdogs@freeradical.zone)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 09:16:56 JST mybarkingdogs

     in reply to

     @tillshadeisgone I think it would be much better for everyone if the very structure of mastodon/the fedi was changed to *not require home instances.*

     As in, yes, home instances can be wonderful for many reasons, but a truly frictionless joining process *would not require* a home instance at all

     2/2

   • Embed this notice
     mybarkingdogs (mybarkingdogs@freeradical.zone)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 09:16:57 JST mybarkingdogs

     in reply to

     @tillshadeisgone Even as a white person, "what server do I join" is... a mess. Even if one comes well-recommended, it can be a bad fit for any given individual.

     It's definitely a racism problem, AND it's also a problem of fragmentation over centralization, and what centralization does exist being centralized around large instances

     1/2

   • Embed this notice
     carl marks (tillshadeisgone@blackqueer.life)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 10:45:01 JST carl marks

     in reply to

     • David Scott Moyer

     @farbel https://blackqueer.life/@tillshadeisgone/112173392599656734

     https://blackqueer.life/@tillshadeisgone/112173397550464114

     https://blackqueer.life/@tillshadeisgone/112173467162865278

   • Embed this notice
     David Scott Moyer (farbel@mas.to)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 10:45:02 JST David Scott Moyer

     in reply to

     @tillshadeisgone When I came over here (full disclosure, White), I picked a server at random because I liked its logo. It feels to me that the fediverse isn't so much searchable by server as by hashtag, such as the ones you used. I would think that following #BlackMastodon, #BlackFedi and "BlackFediverse would be an effective way to find community.

   • Embed this notice
     carl marks (tillshadeisgone@blackqueer.life)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Apr-2024 10:45:52 JST carl marks

     in reply to

     • David Scott Moyer

     @farbel this is you right now

   • Embed this notice
     carl marks (tillshadeisgone@blackqueer.life)'s status on Sunday, 07-Apr-2024 09:52:14 JST carl marks

     in reply to

     • Sam Dorsey

     @Jamezytee there's been some good work done to get the most racist servers defederated from the rest of us, but there's still a ways as far as that work goes imo. But, great progress being made and I agree, it's really refreshing how queer the fediverse is.

     I will say there are a few Black servers, just not a ton. And it makes me chuckle to hear you bring up black subreddits cuz back in the day I used to mod a couple of the black subs! Fond memories, although the brigading from like stormfront and 4chan wasn't super fun lol.

   • Embed this notice
     Sam Dorsey (jamezytee@musicians.today)'s status on Sunday, 07-Apr-2024 09:52:15 JST Sam Dorsey

     in reply to

     @tillshadeisgone Where it lacks in ethnic diversity, it makes up in other ways though. For example, I am happy to see many open LGBTQ+ people on here, and im happy lgbtq+ people can have a safe space here. I also haven't ran across racist posts or comments, which has been the norm on other social networks since I started using the internet.

     Also, Mastodon by default seems to the left, which is cool, there just aren't any black servers right now.

   • Embed this notice
     carl marks (tillshadeisgone@blackqueer.life)'s status on Sunday, 07-Apr-2024 19:04:11 JST carl marks

     in reply to

     • econads

     @econads I don't think that's necessarily a bad idea, although I don't touch anything wikipedia because I've heard too much about the crowd that maintains it

   • Embed this notice
     econads (econads@chaos.social)'s status on Sunday, 07-Apr-2024 19:04:12 JST econads

     in reply to

     @tillshadeisgone
     How about a Wikipedia page as a starting point to list available instances that are currently being ignored at joinmastodon? Something anyone can edit, it could include instructions to sign up.
     Sorry if this unsolicited white advice, I thought it might be useful.

   • Embed this notice
     Sam Dorsey (jamezytee@musicians.today)'s status on Monday, 08-Apr-2024 03:37:26 JST Sam Dorsey

     in reply to

     @tillshadeisgone Agreed, the main reason is because there aren't servers that cover interests that black Americans usually like.

     there isn't a server that covers black american culture - like worldstar, black twitter, or NYSOM (on reddit). recently, I asked people on a black subreddit why theyre not on Mastodon. The answer was: "because there isn't any server they'd join, because none really cover the interests or share memes that would cater to our demographic".
     (Contd')

   • Embed this notice
     Sam Dorsey (jamezytee@musicians.today)'s status on Monday, 08-Apr-2024 03:38:20 JST Sam Dorsey

     in reply to

     @tillshadeisgone Hopefully I can change that, seeing as to how I'm black, apart of black communities online, and enjoy covering news in black culture and the black community.

     I just have to convince all of my friends to make the swap, and the technical requirements to run a server is a gift and curse with selling the Fediverse to people in my friendgroup/community.