Notices by Polymer Witch (polymerwitch@social.polymerwitch.com)

? I wonder if I could have mastodon signups sync into LDAP and use that for authentication on a loomio and a wiki? It would probably require them to be added as apps via OAuth and then give some sort of authentication of account.

Workers who build iPhones at Foxconn in Zhengzhou fighting corporate security. The shutdown is currently estimated to be causing $1 billion a week of lost sales in iPhones.

:blob_raccoon_heart:

Stolen from r/berlin

Remember when people were hawking communist papers at protests? Now, after covid and the 2020 uprising, they are hawking subscriptions to Amazon and Google. How times have changed.

https://ia902605.us.archive.org/5/items/tomframpton_makingfolkathreatagain/track10_64kb.mp3

today the communist party papers are just called Hasan, Vaush, ...etc

#FediBlock

infosec.exchange will be hosting the official account of CISA, The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, (part of Homeland Security).

My decision to block them and to call for more to as well will likely have serious professional repercussions for myself. However, this is an ACAB account, and the community I have here is one where "spot the fed" actually means something.

No feds on the fediverse.

be gay; copy that floppy

?️? ?

I've been thinking about this. So, I designed a thing

My takes literally never change ?

https://mastodon.social/@PolymerWitch/1619886

Ex-twitter employees making their own Mastodon instance sounds like it's part of a sci-fi novel, but it's real

Do you ever just open uBlock Origin while on Mastodon and stare at the beautiful void? The big "0"? Let some of that stress out of your shoulders?

I encourage everyone to add an image description (even if it's just a few words). I know filling that out isn't accessible to everyone all the time, but I try to balance that against the blind users who follow me when I choose to boost. So, if you are able, a couple words in the image description, even if super general, go a long way.

Governance on fedi is a hot topic again, and decentralized (ad-hoc) governance is something I am experienced in and have some biased opinions about. So, strap in...

First thing first, we need to distinguish from moderation tools and values/morals. A block list isn't "good". A mute list isn't "bad". These are tools in our toolbox. Our values inform how we define our policy governance. That policy governance is what then helps us plan on how to implement and utilize those moderation tools.

It is tempting with tech to look for a perfect fix through technology. Friends, no such thing exists.

Our communities are made of people. Trust and community building always come first. Defining our shared values and our points of unity is what brings us together. Maybe I federate with a community because I like their memes, or their posters inspire me. I have not unity or incentive to federate with someone who makes me sad and discourages me. We implicitly build these connections and grow together.

As we figure these out, and setup our boundaries we start to figure out who are boundary crossers. Who is not safe for us. Who do we want to distance ourselves from to protect our neighbors. etc

So, we start using out tools to enforce our values and protect ourselves.

So, we end up with blocklists. Each person and instance is going to have unique blocklists. Again, there can't be one "good" list. A golden list that is perfect for everyone is a silly idea.

However, we can use whisper networks, and loud exchange to share aspects of them. Sometimes it's not safe to share our blocks with everyone. Sometimes it creates confusion. Other times we need to share them.

For example, I can definitely think of times when I've let people know quietly that I'm distancing from an instance, but I don't want to make a fuss about it. Other times, I've blasted loudly about instances that pose imminent danger.

Some communities I block because it makes me feel a little more comfy to be away from their brand of snark. Others I block because they are literally nazis.

I hate the term "eternal september" because of what it represents. Things change. We can make them better. We can rebuild in the ashes of the old. I don't want to be culturally stagnant forever.

I remember when Lynn Cyrin and I started toot.cat we were getting a lot of flack for pushing for having a detailed CoC that was inclusive of sex workers, furries, non-english speakers, etc and would not hesitate to tell "free speech" instances to eff-off. It was a change in how instance guidelines and compliance were done, and there was a lot of fear.

Things changed from that (not only or even mainly because of Lynn and I), and that was good.