Notices by Mastodon Migration (mastodonmigration@mastodon.online), page 3

You may have seen mention of how ICE raided a Hyundai plant under construction in Georgia and detained hundreds of Korean workers.

Well, it's turned into an absolute catastrophe that will cost the country at least several billion dollars and likely far more in future investments.

Read about it in this great @wdlindsy thread:

https://toad.social/@wdlindsy/115171198787024624

"Hyundai’s halt: Construction is paused, and Hyundai has signaled it won’t move forward with the plant. That’s a $4.3 billion investment gone."

@folkerschamel @mmasnick.bsky.social

The technique Mike Masnick employs is to ignore the substance of the critique. #Bluesky may technically be capable of decentralization, but in practice it is still highly centralized. Instead, he repeats the mantra there are some examples of decentralization.

Stipulated Mike.

Now move on to addressing the reality that for all intents and purposes, which is what matters for these censorship issues, it is centralized.

https://arewedecentralizedyet.online/

Video Clip: Advice for the Democrats from Mallory McMorrow | 0:47

"When we take back power, we need a party who is not afraid to use it."

h/t The Bullwark on Threads

@dalias @scripting

Great point! Had not thought of this.

And a corollary... When your business model is collecting data on all of the users you are incentivised to collect it from as many users as possible. When you don't collect data, your incentive is simply to spread the cost as you point out.

@scripting

The reason that they don't do this is because it would undermine their hegemony over the protocol. They want their cake (claiming decentralization) and to to eat it to (effectively being centralized) because that is what is necessary for their valuation to attract investors.

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The Tale Of Two Social Media Networks

One puts up a fight...

Mastodon says it doesn’t ‘have the means’ to comply with age verification laws: https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/29/mastodon-says-it-doesnt-have-the-means-to-comply-with-age-verification-laws/

The other cuts and runs at the first sign of trouble...

Bluesky blocks service in Mississippi over age assurance law: https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/24/bluesky-blocks-service-in-mississippi-over-age-assurance-law/

Which one should you trust? 🤔

Will Bluesky Block Most Red States?

Digesting Sarah Perez's @Sarahp great TechCrunch article on #Bluesky blocking users from Mississippi (https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/28/mississippis-age-assurance-law-puts-decentralized-social-networks-to-the-test/), and noticing that almost all the "red" states have similar laws to Mississippi (see below).

So, will Bluesky soon be blocking users from these states? Do users want to take that chance?

It's easy to set up a truly decentralized Mastodon account, even if only as a backup >>> https://joinmastodon.org/

So, this is interesting!

News: Full text of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's speech at news conference on reported Trump military plan for Chicago

https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/illinois-governor-jb-pritzker-speech-news-conference-full-text-trump/

#Pritzker

Former star Washington Post reporter Philip Bump has written an important piece that should be read by everyone involved with or engaging with US media and/or social media today, particularly journalists.

The Power We Use And The Power We Give >>> https://www.pbump.net/o/the-power-we-use-and-the-power-we-give/

In it Philip discusses his reasons for using his writing for 'building power' for good institutions and not 'giving power' to bad ones.

@renewedresistance

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Breaking News Video: Gov. Pritzker | If you hurt my people you will face justice | 1:34

Illinois Gov. Pritzker vows to pursue Trump officials who participate in an illegal National Guard deployment to Chicago:

"If you hurt my people, nothing will stop me - not time or political circumstance - from making sure that you face justice under our constitutional rule of law."

h/t Adam Schwartz on Bluesky cc:@renewedresistance

#Pritzker

Breaking News Video: Gov. Pritzker | This is not about fighting crime | 1:22

Gov. Pritzker: “This is not about fighting crime. This is about Donald Trump searching for any justification to deploy the military in a blue city, in a blue state, to try and intimidate his political rivals…There is no emergency in Chicago that calls for armed military intervention.”

h/t The Bulwark on Threads cc: @renewedresistance

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#Pritzker

News: Coffee Prices Rise 14.5%

Coffee and tea prices continue to ramp up due to tariffs, worrying retailers and importers:

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/13/coffee-and-tea-prices-ramp-up-due-to-tariffs.html

Truly horrifying thread today from @wdlindsy comprising a compendium of articles on the Epstein cover up:

https://toad.social/@wdlindsy/115086086364222676

"...this stunning number that is thrown around so frequently, it has completely lost its meaning: 1,000 victims of Jeffrey Epstein. The horror of that number and what happened to those girls incomprehensible."

So, in response to a post this afternoon calling attention to how Bluesky blocking all their users from Mississippi, a Bluesky engineer doubles down on corporate 'decentralized' marketing jargon, and starts talking PDSs, relays and AppViews.

How tone deaf can you be? You just cut off all your users from an entire state. You provide no guidance on where they can go. Run your own PDS. For reals?

Seriously, Bluesky what does your average user in Mississippi do tonight?

Join the conversation...

Mastodon founder Eugen Rochko @Gargron discussing the Bluesky Mississippi mishegaas:

https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/115079973776525398

Great exchanges of perspectives. Gets into the fundamental differences in both technology and philosophy between the two social media networks.

#Bluesky Users: Pack Your Corporate Social Media Go Bag

Have an escape plan!

Yesterday all users in Mississippi were cut off. No notice.

As now repeatedly demonstrated, centralized corporate platforms are vulnerable. Will you be ready when it's your turn to be shut down?

Have a plan to evacuate to Public Social Media. Create an account on #Mastodon and use it as a secondary. You might even find you like it.

Be prepared. Begin building your online presence free from corporate overlords.

Listen, some are saying it is not Bluesky's fault. They are just victims of a terrible age verification law which left them no choice.

OK. Yes, they are a small company and if they are prosecuted for violating this crazy law it could be ruinous.

BUT THAT IS ENTIRELY THE POINT.

It doesn't matter whether or not they are forced into this. This is not a good guy bad guy thing. It is a reality. It is not defensible because it is a vulnerable US corporate platform and it is not decentralized.

So, again today we get another crystal clear example of how Bluesky is not decentralized. The company just blocked all users from an entire US state and those users are completely cut off. No other way to interact with the Bluesky network.

BECAUSE BLUESKY IS A CENTRALIZED PLATFORM.

Folks on Bluesky. There is a decentralized alternative. Just create an account on any decentralized Mastodon server. You will love it here. Promise.

https://joinmastodon.org/

Quote Posts Are Coming To Mastodon

Just in case you didn't see this yet: https://mastodon.online/@renchap@oisaur.com/115068741746272435

Apparently, users will be notified if their post was quoted and be able to remove the quote post if they don't want to be quoted. Seems like a very well thought out and technically challenging implementation. WTG @MastodonEngineering !!!