Silencing Spinster Instance for all of QOTO, CW for Length
After much discussion among the mod team we've decided to silence the @spinster instance for QOTO users.
We do not take the silencing of an instance to be anything less than totally serious. We have had issues with being silenced and we do not wish to simply ban an instance because they disagree with us.
Abuse and harassment without moderator comment, however, is a different story.
There are many showings of misandry, anti-trans ideologies, and abusive behaviors dressed up in the guise of 'Protecting an Oppressed Class'.
We at QOTO do acknowledge that there are a great many issues facing women in this world, and that indeed the current social structure of society is almost certainly stacked against them, as it is other oppressed and minority groups.
We cannot, however, support an instance that has little to no moderation of it's more extreme elements that cross the lines of understood acceptable behavior on Mastodon.
It is important to note that this is not necessarily a permanent decision. Should Spinster change their moderation stance on their users and begin to better police their instance we will be happy to unsilence and try again to have a relationship with these people who are undoubtedly trying to fight for what they feel is correct.
As I have said before, and will say again:
It isn't what you say that's important, it is how you say it.
Silencing Spinster Instance for all of QOTO, CW for Length
@Surasanji @alex @mk @freemo @arteteco I do not agree with your decision. No one is forced to follow Spinster and I guess most of QOTO users are not interested in what happens there so this is not an issue for them. Instead, I am interested and your decision affects me as a QOTO user. If I don't like their "extreme elements", as you say, then I do not follow them and if they engage with me I mute them. I joined QOTO because its description says "A free speech space. No censorship here. We do not silence or block any instances." Why are you changing this now?
🇳🇱
Silencing Spinster Instance for all of QOTO, CW for Length
I should also point out there "extreme elements" is not the reason for the ban. The ban was due to the fact that those "extreme elements" were being shoved down the throat of users who respectfully asked to disengage and that request was not honored. It was made several times and even after a personal block continued..
Silencing Spinster Instance for all of QOTO, CW for Length
@freemo @angelobottone @Surasanji
Hello all,
I was quite busy today and didn't pay attention to the matter here.
I have to say that I follow some people from spinster (2 accounts) and I enjoy them, never have found problems there.
Now, I see there is a problem with a single user - and with how the mod are deciding to deal with it, that is fine.
But couldn't we take a couple of days to think this through? This all problem seems quite easy from here.
I think (hope) that @alex and @mk obviously want to protect their users, but also would not want a block.
I'm asking to the spinster mod, can you just keep an eye on that user and if he happen to tag freemo again proceed with, idk, something?
Silencing Spinster Instance for all of QOTO, CW for Length
Originally it was a dozen users, but at this point it has progressed to dozens who continually, and out of spite have been tagging me *my in box has been flooding all day".
Without moderator intervention or prevention, and they already made their final decision and made it quite clear there would be no action, it continues.
At the beginning of all this I never requested the user be banned at all. I requested that the user be told that their actions were against the rules, warned, and if it continues with other users (even on other servers) that the user be banned for breaking the rules.
That was of course a pretty minimal ask, but that was refused. Now with dozens fromt he server on blast in my in box, and still not moderator intervention, it has become clear that they will not act.
With that said I did give them our contact information and let them know that should they wish to act and get this problem (which appears rampant) under control, then we can always unblock them.
Also keep in mind this is a silence. While no user will see that spinster even exists, anyone you currently follow or who follows you will still be able to interact with you normally, this wont be a hard-ban at this point.
I too had people from spinster I was following and wished the admin team at spinster would have behaved more equitably on this. But after hearing their final decision it would seem there is no where else to go but to issue our final decision.
With that said the silence itself wont take place until the day is over so they have plenty of time to change course if they wish, even after that they can email us should they intend to address more seriously the harassment problem from their user base.
re: Silencing Spinster Instance for all of QOTO, CW for Length
Silencing Spinster Instance for all of QOTO, CW for Length
@angelobottone
There is a big difference when we talk about someone harassing a user after they are asked to disengage.
No one will ever be silenced for an opinion they hold. But if a user is being spammed by unwanted tagged messages and that continues after they ask not to be, then that is the line.
How would you feel if someone wrote a bot that every 15 seconds created a new account ona server and spammed you, and the mods of such a server would do nothing to stop it? Obviously that isnt the exact case here but it does go to show there needs to be a very basic level of moderation that amounts to "1) if someone asks you not to send them messages or other spam that is repsected 2) if a ban is intentionally evaded"
Without these 2 basic rules then no, a user can not actually choose to disengage someone, they are in fact "forced" to listen even if they dont want to.
@Surasanji @alex @mk @arteteco