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   Lesley Carhart :unverified: (hacks4pancakes@infosec.exchange)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 06:43:12 JST Lesley Carhart :unverified:

   I cross post to everything except x, but I’m still really confused on people preferring Bluesky’s dubious corporate moderation over like volunteer friends and administrators, who we like… know. And who will alter policy to protect users. Especially queer pals. I’m just really confused.

   • Rich Felker repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Lesley Carhart :unverified: (hacks4pancakes@infosec.exchange)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 06:52:08 JST Lesley Carhart :unverified:

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog 2024 has certainly demonstrated

   • Embed this notice
     Mastodon Migration (mastodonmigration@mastodon.online)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 13:58:01 JST Mastodon Migration

     in reply to

     @hacks4pancakes

     Feel like this raises a really interesting issue with moderation. Seems like any community has both top down authority and collective standards.

     Centralized systems primarily rely on top down authority, rules and decisions from whomever is in charge. This works fine so long as most people like the regime, and it is much more efficient. But it falls apart when the interests of the centralized authority deviate from those of segments of the community members.

     1/n

     Rich Felker repeated this.
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     Mastodon Migration (mastodonmigration@mastodon.online)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 13:58:11 JST Mastodon Migration

     in reply to

     @hacks4pancakes

     Decentralized systems are messier. Authority may be balkanized into different fifedoms. So it may seem arbitrary and confusing. Never-the-less it allows for a natural sorting of different constituencies within the larger community. If you don't like the rules in one place, you may be able to find someplace more suited to your standards.

     2/n

     Rich Felker repeated this.
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     Mastodon Migration (mastodonmigration@mastodon.online)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 13:58:21 JST Mastodon Migration

     in reply to

     @hacks4pancakes

     Also because different segments are actually in competition to appeal to members, the local authorities are restrained from acting in autocratic and capricious ways. People will just leave.

     So, while a truly distributed system like Mastodon may be more complicated and have more friction for new users, the fact that it has an organic democratic mechanism for moderating community standards over the long run is a huge natural advantage.

     3/n

     Rich Felker repeated this.
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     Mastodon Migration (mastodonmigration@mastodon.online)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 13:58:42 JST Mastodon Migration

     in reply to

     @hacks4pancakes

     Not super familiar with the current BS moderation controversy, but think it can be simplified to say the BS moderation team, for whatever reasons, are taking an action that upsets a big segment of users. Because authority is centralized, that's it, take it or leave it. You can object and complain, but those are your only options. You can't go anywhere else or set up another server where this account won't be tolerated.

     4/n

     Rich Felker repeated this.
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     Mastodon Migration (mastodonmigration@mastodon.online)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 13:58:56 JST Mastodon Migration

     in reply to

     @hacks4pancakes

     Plus, you are now bound to a regime where decisions may be based on external factors. Like the owners. Don't know if this is true, but what if some big shareholders want a controversial account to be platformed. Again, no recourse.

     Open democratic systems don't have the same problem. There may be other things like multiple instances with different characteristics, reply guys and HOAs, but that may be the price we pay for participating in a truly distributed system.

     5/5