@GossiTheDog LinkedIn has shut down the site for China in August 2021 (two months after the screenshot) and other operations in August 2023, so all due respect it probably doesn't do what you think it does.

With regards to the utoots.com #scraper, the current information is as follows:
1. The scraper depends on a Mastodon instance flashist[.]video; it is recommended to block the instance. flashist[.]me and flashist[.]health is also operated by the same person.
2. I wrote a GitHub issue about it, however the person has chosen to take down the entire repository instead. The issue is archived at https://archive.ph/8ynKh .

Email address on GitHub is royceclrw@gmail.com.

#fediblock #MastoAdmin

@jdp23 @tokyo_0 The correct technical solution is as follows:

1. Get outbox endpoint from username: https://(instance)/.well-known/webfinger?resource=acct:(name)@(instance) .
2. In the body, there is a link whose "type" is "application/activity+json". Get that link, append "/outbox?page=true" in the end, then access it.

(Yes, if one is only dealing with Mastodon instances then https://(instance)/users/(name)/outbox?page=true suffices...)

See also https://github.com/RSS-Bridge/rss-bridge/blob/master/bridges/MastodonBridge.php which I wrote before.

@tokyo_0 You can use a RSS-Bridge instance to test it. Pick an instance from https://rss-bridge.github.io/rss-bridge/General/Public_Hosts.html , search for "ActivityPub", put in someone's handle, select "don't sign" in signature type, then see if it throws out a 401. If it does, then there is Authorized Fetch; otherwise it doesn't.

@tokyo_0 Ah. Authorized Fetch requires instances to authenticate themselves to fetch posts through ActivityPub; it's irrelevant to browsers. If you want to test Authorized Fetch, the procedure is to craft a request to fetch a user's ActivityPub outbox with only the "Accept: application/activity+json" header.

@tokyo_0 But how can the instance know if you're logged into another instance? Even without the issue of cross-site cookies, it can't possibly scan every domain... (Accessing a remote post inside your instance is a different matter, as that is similar to a proxy.) So it may be necessary to block web access entirely for everyone other than local users.

#newsmast.social seems to now omit URL in federation, most likely on purpose. In particular, if a remote user look at any of their accounts mirroring another website's feed, all the links in bio are missing, and any links in the posts since a certain poiny would also be missing (leaving only the title, hashtags, and a header image); however, it appears fine on their instance. Are they trying to force click-throughs???

@taiyo In principle I'm still allowing Tor users to register, but with a catch: new accounts will be suspended with a message asking them to write an appeal (using the function within Mastodon) describing the purpose of the account. Same for accounts that get caught by my spam filter.

#mastoadmin #fediblock #fediblockmeta

TAKE ACTION NOW

Between 5:12am and 6:15am UTC mstdn.plus was hit with 111 registrations that are suspected to be part of the Japanese-language spam. (They have been intercepted and no spam was resulted.)

1. The accounts have "$USERNAME@chitthi.in" as email.
2. They appear to be using Tor exit nodes. Some IPs involved (number of accounts):
- 185.220.101.0/24 (33)
- 192.42.116.0/24 (30)
- 185.220.100.0/24 (8)
Frantech IPs also observed.

TAKE ACTION NOW

I implore everyone to reconsider their position on #BridgyFed . Despite the project owner's effort to actually reach out to others (including IFTAS) for feedback, as well as their willingness to provide a full-feature #bridge (that already respects follow rules, implements deletion, etc.), the blowback has been disproportionate. I recognize that there has been a failure in communicating what the bridge does, which I seek to shed some light on right now.

#ActivityPub #fediverse #BlueSky

Through my observations, it appears that the #bridge is presented as an equal to other #ActivityPub instances. Clearly many do not think so, based on their convictions of #BlueSky users, which bears asking: what makes BlueSky different from, say, a generalist Mastodon instance? In other words, why is #federation opt-out, yet #BridgyFed must be opt-in?

#fediverse

I noted that the #bridge which is two-way, is actually well thought out. Deletions are bridged (1). Follows are sent through standard means, so locked accounts are respected (2). There are plans to federate reports (3) and there is a moderation policy (4). I do not believe they're as ignorant as some people claim.

1. https://snarfed.org/2024-02-12_bernie-the-wordsmith-snarfed-org-how-would-bridgin-mastodon-en-masto-es
2. https://fed.brid.gy/docs#behavior-mismatches
3. https://github.com/snarfed/granary/issues/596
4. https://fed.brid.gy/docs#moderation-policy

#BridgyFed #ActivityPub #fediverse #BlueSky

@ntnsndr On your website you shouldn't link to whatever the address bar says when using Element (or other clients). If you want to link a room, set a published address in room settings first, then right click the room and "copy room link." If you want to link to a profile, you can use matrix.to, eg. https://matrix.to/#/@ntnsndr:matrix.org .

Yesterday's #earthquake in #Japan shows a possible weak link in #DisasterRelief. On one hand, conspiracy theories and spam were quickly unleashed on X, and an unofficial account that reposts official alerts was ratelimited. On the other hand some Japanese-speaking #fediverse instances were experiencing long delays in processing posts. In particular, Fedibird had to acquire another server to eliminate such delays, intensifying their already precarious financial situation.

I think the #fediverse can play an important role here. Governments worldwide should establish their official #SocialMedia presence on the fediverse by hosting their own instances, instead of relying on commercial (and often foreign) platforms like X or Threads, as noted by @matabeee. Yes, there are government-operated instances in Europe, but those are more used for PR; their utility in #NaturalDisaster remains to be seen.