Marco Rogers
I see a lot of the drama that is happening between people of color on the platform and the mastodon dev team. I feel like I need any to help, but I'm not exactly sure the best way to do that. I'm more wary of making things worse tbh.
But I feel like there are two important things that feel clear to me. I want to say it out loud and have people either correct me or help me understand better.
Rui Seabra
How about starting with code and participating in standards bodies meetings?
It's #FreeSoftware and #OpenStandards!
Even if the mastodon "gods" don't like something, absolutely everything is in your power to get organized and do something about it.
Don't tell me anyone needs an external power to force the whiteys (like me) to do something.
Because you don't!
That's the proprietary mindset.
Please come and join the free world!l, you're welcome!
Marco Rogers
The second thing is well worth more discussion. And I'm gonna take a hard stance on this. If people of color still find ourselves dependent on a small team of white devs to get what we want, that is a failure of the principles of the fediverse.
I understand why it still feels like we have to ask the mastodon team for things. I'm not dismissing the reality of where we are. But our goal should be actively move away from this dynamic. How do we do that?
Marco Rogers
Could we have better moderation today if they had committed to working on it a year or more ago? Sure, maybe. But at this stage, it's going to take a lot of work to get there. And the core team is underfunded. To me that means asking them to engage with this issue isn't actually a good use of energy. Whether they are aligned with our requests or not, they just can't do what is needed.
Marco Rogers
The first thing is really basic. The mastodon dev team is very small. Regardless of whatever decisions they are making about what to focus on or not focus on. They can't do a whole lot. I believe they have been up front about that to anybody who will listen. So I don't think it pays to expect them to be capable of meeting these large issues.
esmevane, sorry
This isn't helpful. Marco knows all of this. He's very experienced with software, open source, Mastodon, the social web, all of it.
He knows what he's talking about and I think if you reread this thread you might notice you've only repeated his own words back at him.
esmevane, sorry
@polotek @RuiSeabra @timbray Oh, I think I see what you mean.
Marco Rogers
@ironchamber @RuiSeabra @timbray this person's bio does a very good job of explaining exactly what to expect from them. They are on brand, and I can respect that.
Marco Rogers
The fediverse is a lot of work. And right now, it doesn't make anybody any money. In fact it costs a lot of money ab free labor.
Investing in the fediverse only makes sense if it *actually* gives us control of our own destiny.
I'm gonna repeat this a lot. Because it's going to take a while for people to unlearn what we usually do and instead create new dynamics.
https://social.polotek.net/@polotek/112480816034536846
Snowshadow 🇨🇦
@RuiSeabra
There's the problem of racism you are not hearing what is being said instead you are defensive and putting the onus on the wrong group of people.
your auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦
"The mastodon dev team is very small."
allegedly this is by design. am not the best person to speak on this, but my impression is that the lead developer loves to have a tight fist on things. that's why supposedly Mastodon Glitch (?) exists. they wouldn't accept the pull requests.
i would pay & raise money in a heartbeat if i knew that as a community member i'd have a say on development of the code base & management of .social. the way they're organized, neither is an option... 🧵
Emelia 👸🏻
@blogdiva @polotek fwiw, Eugen is no longer calling all the shots, @renchap is now making more of the engineering decisions, and having a small team is absolutely not by choice, but instead constrained by funding as noted in the 2022 annual report figures: https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2023/10/annual-report-2022/
Basically you can't hire full-time engineers without money. Each full-time engineer based in Europe costs you about €80k/year on average; folks based in America have much higher salary requirements too.
Marco Rogers
I'm done fighting with white Europeans who are committed to willfully misunderstanding and downplaying racism. I honestly do not want to spend another second trying to get them to care enough to change their priorities.
Instead, I want to know how I can find and support people that are aligned with my values. I want to enable those people to work on a platform that I can use. And we don't need permission from the mastodon team to do so. They're not in charge.
Rui Seabra
@Snowshadow
Well, that's your PoV, but I'm not defensive, I'm reminding people they have power and don't need no stinking racist in a shining white armor to help.
Which seems, to me, to be you PoV, but I might be wrong.
Rui Seabra
@tom_streeter
I don't think anyone needs virtue signaling either.
Tom Streeter
@RuiSeabra The most closed minds are generally found in open-source.
No one wants to be you. No one’s looking for advice on that front.
Snowshadow 🇨🇦
@RuiSeabra no, I am not a knight in shining white armour. I am saying if we don't stand up against racism it will never end. Here's a link that might help you understand.
https://www.ohfweekly.org/ohf-magazine-issue-no-4/
Rui Seabra
I can't but notice you only felt the need to refute the knighthood. Point taken. ;)
Snowshadow 🇨🇦
@RuiSeabra
Please take the time to read some of the articles in the link. I would appreciate it if you did-they are well written and thoughtful. You might like what they have to say.Thanks.😀
Rui Seabra
@Snowshadow
No, not trying that at all. I just believe that you're so desperately trying to over compensate for something, that you're forget how empowered people actually are because you're too used to be under the power of someone to imagine that people can actually not be under that power.
Snowshadow 🇨🇦
@RuiSeabra
Ok. I have tried to be polite with you. I am not the only person who voiced this same opinion. Did you even bother to read any of the linked articles? no.
Go away and leave me alone.
Next time you bother me I will hit the block button because you are acting like a sealion/reply guy and ____ all rolled into one.
Actually I am done with you. Have a great life in your little weird world.
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