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   Sco :progress: :flag_mm: (scofisticated@socel.net)'s status on Friday, 06-Dec-2024 21:25:54 JST Sco :progress: :flag_mm:

   • We Distribute

   @hello So, does anyone know if a Threads person following &/or engadging with me means they can or will datamine me?

   Trying to decide if i want to blanket ban Threads accouts.

   • Embed this notice
     Yohan Yukiya Sese Cuneta 사요한🦣 (youronlyone@c.im)'s status on Friday, 06-Dec-2024 21:25:53 JST Yohan Yukiya Sese Cuneta 사요한🦣

     in reply to

     • We Distribute

     @Scofisticated You mean, if a random user will do it? My personal take on that is, there will always be individuals and groups who'll do things someone doesn't like, but all they can do is access what is already public.

     They can do it using any software or platform. If they're serious about it, they can develop from scratch, connect to a few ActivityPub relays, and data mine public posts. They don't exactly need to use existing platforms like Threads or Bluesky or Mastodon or GoToSocial, to mention a few.

     There were incidents in the past (almost) 17 years of the Fediverse where tools/services were made to do something similar, most especially in searching/discovery of _public_ posts. So, yes, it doesn't have to be Threads. People who wants to data mine public content without the consent of the creator can do it without using existing platforms and software.

     That brings us to, is it worth it to blanket ban users from Threads because of some random individuals who "might" data mine your content from that platform when they can do it with any other software or create their own?

     I'm not defending Threads, just putting things into perspective. 🙂

     A good example. If you're bridging to Bluesky, all posts created in the ATmosphere network is public. Last week, there was already an issue of someone who posted/collected a million or so record of posts. The user who did it was banned, and someone else did the same, with an even larger sample.

     I'm not definding them but I think it's a good example of two things: public is public; and there will always be people who'll do things we don't like, like not asking us for permission. I'm not saying we should be passive, but within the frame of "should Threads be blocked because of this possibility", is it really worth doing a blanket ban / instance block, when the reason we have in mind can be done outside of that platform? 🙂

     Again, I'm not defending anyone nor dismissing anyone's concern. 🖖🏽

     @hello

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     Yohan Yukiya Sese Cuneta 사요한🦣 (youronlyone@c.im)'s status on Saturday, 07-Dec-2024 09:04:27 JST Yohan Yukiya Sese Cuneta 사요한🦣

     in reply to

     • We Distribute

     @Scofisticated Ahh! Well, the way I understand it is, if your post is duplicated there and they run a generic/all-public-posts to data mine, then yes. Since the way AP works is to create a pseudo-profile in each instance your account was seen/followed, and thus your posts/replies from that point on, then you exist in that instance.

     However, if they'll only run such for local accounts (if ever they do data mining), then all we have is trust. In the same way that we trust the other instances our followers are on.

     For example, I now have a pseudo-profile in your instance with some of my posts/replies recorded there. I can only trust your instance admin and host from hereon. In the same way that you do for our instance. It's similar with Threads, they're technically an "instance", who happens to have more funds and is a corporation.

     But, if we think about it, it's the same with others like Wordpress, Flipboard, Ghost, and other big companies. Like any other instances, we can only trust that they won't do something or are not doing something for federatid content (since we're technically not their users/customers). (I'm not saying they are or they will, just examples.)

     At least that's how I see it. 🙂

     @hello

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     Sco :progress: :flag_mm: (scofisticated@socel.net)'s status on Saturday, 07-Dec-2024 09:04:28 JST Sco :progress: :flag_mm:

     in reply to

     • Yohan Yukiya Sese Cuneta 사요한🦣
     • We Distribute

     @youronlyone @hello I should have worded that better.

     I meant would Threads/Meta the company be able to data mine me if a Threads account follows or engadges with my posts.

     Of course the company has the resources & motivation to make an apperatus to do that. There is also the question if legally they can do that (not that that nessicarily stops them). There are GDPR considerations. But also, I'm guessing the Threads user has an agreement w/ them, but I dont, and it's my data.

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     Yohan Yukiya Sese Cuneta 사요한🦣 (youronlyone@c.im)'s status on Saturday, 07-Dec-2024 20:22:08 JST Yohan Yukiya Sese Cuneta 사요한🦣

     in reply to

     @Scofisticated Yep. It's really hard to balance especially if the group/corp behind a platform already have a history, which in the case of Meta, no one can deny. 😅

     And in the past years, there are more and more companies who say one thing to the public but is doing another secretly (for whatever reasons, like maybe their investors demanded them to). Then we just get surprised once it leaks. *sigh*

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     Sco :progress: :flag_mm: (scofisticated@socel.net)'s status on Saturday, 07-Dec-2024 20:22:09 JST Sco :progress: :flag_mm:

     in reply to

     • Yohan Yukiya Sese Cuneta 사요한🦣

     @youronlyone I dont want to shun the ppl on Threads. But I also dont want to play the game of "either you give us a way to you, or you're a bad person for being rude to our users."