Notices by Matt Tutt (matttutt@mastodon.social)

I'm still fairly new to Mastodon but can someone explain - why do I have to approve follow requests from someone like this? Or from those from Gaza?

With this account even after approving their follow request, when viewing their profile it was *all* hidden - I had to mark it as being "safe" to view. Something about being moderated by this server.

Is there any kind of insight/visibility into what these moderators are filtering out, and why?

@aral @staff thanks Aral - the newer account this happened with yesterday was @nemo (I made them aware of this with a private mention).

But it also happens to anyone on their profile claiming to be from Gaza.

And btw thanks for all that you are doing in this space as well 💚

RE: https://mastodon.social/@matttutt/117281100882450869

This happened again today - on an account belonging to someone who is actively speaking out about Israel, Genocide and other important topics.

So I am curious - who or what is filtering out these user accounts, and why? Is it automated? Is it based on manual review or flagging of someone based on the posts they made? Is there any transparency into any of this - or is this not another form of oppression of those with views that might not align with those of a moderator (if there is one?)

Real talk: Based on the fact that Meta (and BigTech) are harmful to society - why is it ok that charities are investing tens of thousands of pounds every month in advertising on these platforms?

I say this as someone who has seen this first hand - I don't offer those services myself - but I do offer management of the Google Ads grant for charities).

So - why don't the anti Big Tech groups put pressure on charities to disclose how much they are paying the likes of Meta?
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@aral don't forget we should invest billions in an unproven Carbon Capture technology - oh no wait we've already done that! 🤦♂️

(I wonder what technological invention will be next - I might try putting a sticker on my old Henry hoover and marketing it as a personal home-based mobile carbon capture device...)

@CorioPsicologia Gracias, me alegra saber que tú también tenías pensamientos similares!

Spanish friends - can anyone help me with something that has been bugging me for too long.

David Graeber's brilliant "Bullshit Jobs", in Spanish, is titled "Trabajos de mierda" which (I think) literally translates as "shit jobs".

BUT - for me this isn't the same thing! A shit job is one that a person hates. A bullshit job is a meaningless, pointless position that may have been created for bureaucratical reasons.

Am I wrong?? Or taking this too literally? 🤔🤔 🤔

#bullshitjobs

@aral socialism is the cure (for me personally, an anarchist form appeals most, to prevent attracting the usual-white-male-dictators that are only interested in power and control).

People are probably tired of me saying this - but capitalism is to blame for the current wildfires, on multiple levels:

- Native woodlands are cut down, flammable non-natives like Eucalyptus are planted - high in oil and a quick cash crop for land owners 🤑

- Climate change strongly tied to capitalist (human) activities ✈️

- People leave the country and migrate to cities to find work - leaving vast wild land vulnerable (no-one to raise the alarm, no human fire-prevention in place) 👷

I think it's hard to have a proper discussion about the wider role of tech upon society without people diving in to protect tech.

I say this as someone who is involved in a few spaces like this - trying to recover tech from the evil cold grip of the techbros, with lots of well-intending people.

We never question the real urgent need for tech - it just becomes this constant baseline assumption, that tech MUST exist! Protect the tech at all costs!!!

RE: https://mastodon.ar.al/@aral/116770333053823108

Sovereignty washing is now a thing - beware of anyone claiming superiority based on the location or origin of their services (eg Europe!).

Also - on Ursula von der Leyen - read this - "The Dehumanization of Palestinians by European Commission President von der Leyen: A Decolonial Feminist Analysis"

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19436149.2026.2648358

@MediaActivist 😂 big relate to all of this! Currently streamlining a lot of stuff too.

And yes - it is very nice to meet someone who sees beyond the Rutger Bregman bs!!! Us types are quite rare these days sadly.

My Bluesky experience is weird - over 1K followers and barely any engagement. So, I have today decided to "retire" the profile and will only post on Mastodon going forward (I have bridged this profile to a new Bluesky profile).

I mentioned over there; it's not just about engagement for me, but clearly if I get no response, I'm not going to continue posting.
But mainly; it was wasteful to post in 2 places and this should make my life easier going forward.

As you were - please continue!

Reminder that this is happening in about 3 hours - you can register at the link below but it'll also be added to their YouTube channel later on.

How to fight back against Big Tech.

https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/disobey-talk-series

@dansup has been down for ages today, at last for me (from Spain).