Reach for the Stars @antares@qoto.org

I have been conned¹ into preaching on [Epiphany 6][2] and I may be forced to pluck out my own eye to get out of it.

1: Was asked nicely and accepted before looking at the readings

[2]: http://lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Epiphany/AEpi6_RCL.html

@isucceed Last week you boosted [this post][1] from Stux lamenting, "What's it with people reporting every single person they don't like.." While you personally may not find yourself uncomfortable, I would take that post as clear evidence that a significant number of people are.

[1]: https://mstdn.social/@stux/109369969599633401

@TheBird I don't know if we are in full agreement, but I do believe we are both seeing the same overarching culture and identifying the same concerns.

@skribe The point of the federated model to exclude people who don't uphold the communities values and to have a plethora of communities each of whom can decide what their community values are.

The issue here is not that Gab is broadly defederated, but that the way much Mastodon is enforcing community values is silencing BIPOC members in ways they are likely not even aware of.

@TheBird

@rmerriam Thus the word "fallacy". There is not a bright line that defines acceptable behavior, however many instance admins acting like there is and all they need to do to make Mastodon into the promised land of social media is to aggressively enforce that line.

@geekgirl397 If you begin with the premise that we cannot be made uncomfortable, this becomes a rather intractable problem. The framers of the United States constitution looked at 18th century Europe and decide that, at least at the government level, there would be freedom of expression with all the discomfort that inevitability leads to.

In the for-profit social media sphere a much more complex system developed based on market forces -- what retained the most eyeballs and didn't frighten away advertisers. Of course market forces also include socially inept billionaires.

Even in the not-for-profit space moderation is driven by what doesn't drive off donors so it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

The fallacy that I see in current #fediblock interactions is the idea that there is some formula that everyone can agree upon which neatly divides the users into acceptable and unacceptable, and all we have to do is aggressively de-platform the latter.

Observing what some are calling "growing pains" with how Mastodon instances moderate minority voices is reinforcing what free speech advocates like @popehat have preach for years - that it is the ability for minorities to share their perspectives even if that is uncomfortable for the majority which is the most important function of free speech.

@freemo I think it would be perfectly appropriate to accompany announcements like this with a link to support QOTO's expenses.

@mark I like text and image apps like Mastodon, but the reality is that I spend some 11 hours a day needing my eyeballs and hands free, but able to have something on my earbuds. If you are a long form content producer my attention is available in the form of podcasts.

I sing in the church choir and listen to music regularly, but I am not a musician. Never the less, I am fascinated with music theory, and 12tone is one of my favs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SEafqmwWdQ

It is Thanksgiving here in the USA so here is my take on the traditional turkey