* When you discover your Instance is blocked. *
After creating a new blog post, I prepare text for announcing it. This is posted at my main instance, and later I visit other accounts, search for that Status URL, and boost it from there.
In one case, I could not find the status on that normal search. Odd. What is going on?
A search for my user profile at Qoto did not bring ANY results either. It dawned on me that something was amiss...
On today's web magazine, live at : https://write.tedomum.net/rgx/when-you-discover-your-instance-is-blocked
@design_RG See this thread: https://mastodon.technology/@pganssle/103199195138668923
It seems unlikely we'll be unblocked.
@pganssle Thank you Paul for your reply and the link, I will be checking it.
Since I had taken the time to prepare a very formal letter, and thought this is an important issue, I prepared a blog post too, with the full letter plus supporting reasoning and links.
When I finished and was just starting to announce the blog, I received a reply from Mr Furrow, very prompt and corteous too. It confirmed the reason for our black listing being exactly the fact we don't block ceartain instances that M.T. prefers no relations with.
Agreed, it's unlikely this will be lifted, as you mentioned.
@design_RG Thanks for working on this! Sorry that it doesn't seem to have had a happier ending (though there's always hope)!
@pganssle, same story here (mastodon.technology → qoto.org).
For me, the alarm went off in December last year, when I shared a quote (verbatim, without commentary) from a Scientific American article, and ashfurrow@mastodon.technology replied privately:
“Spreading sexist misinformation violates our code of conduct. This is your only warning that this isn’t acceptable on this instance.”
After that, when I tried to migrate my followers, I discovered about his blocking qoto.org.
@design_RG, are discussions still at an impasse?
Just curious. To be honest, at this point I think it'd be best if mastodon.technology simply suffered the consequences of its own bad policies — I want to see the smart users migrating away from it.
🇳🇱
This is the story I hear time and time again. We did a survey and 58% of the people who came to QOTO came here because we have a policy of tolerance when it comes to speech, not oppression (aka free speech).
We see over and over again with the instances that do not espouse tolerance of opinions that ultimately the users mass migrate away, (thankfully mostly to places like QOTO) and what is left is an echo chamber of only the most toxic elements. Then they stay in their bubble and only really start trouble when they tell another instance that their intolerance should carry over there as well.
People also need to understand free speech does not mean "you can say anything at all and always be immune".. what it means is tolerance of opinions, an ability to share ideas in open forum without fear that one small mistep means you are banished forever. We make it clear that explicit racism and sexism isnt tolerated, and we have stood by that.
And our policies have served us. Not only are we in the top 20 most federated servers we also serve as an example to many other servers with instances replicating our ToS policy regularly and by having a good relationship with the tolerant minority represented instances throughout the fediverse.
The only consequence of our actions is a small handful of oppressive instances (both towards minorities and the general public) dont want to hear what we have to say. Personally I say we are far better off not having their noise in our timeline anyway.
I can say this, I am immensely proud of the open dialog we have at QOTO. We have by far the most respectful community ont he fediverse when it comes to how we treat others, and a mutual respect in our discussions and dialog I have seen no where else on the internet. As the founder of this community I hope to do what I can to make sure it stays that way.
No but we are a member of multiple relays though. I can list them if youd like.
@freemo I wouldn't mind having that list as well, please? Thaaanks.
relay.linux.pizza/inbox
https://relay.social.seattle.wa.us/inbox
https://relay.spinster.xyz/inbox
https://relay.civiq.social/inbox
https://en.litepubrelay.resplendentwebservices.com/inbox
https://relay.gidikroon.eu/inbox
https://relay.strizhakov.dev/inbox
https://relay.shittyurl.org/inbox
https://relay.slum.cloud/inbox
https://rrfarmbot.appspot.com/inbox
@tripu At the very least, there are mods from F-Droid that I've talked to aware of the situation. I don't think they've had much success getting a response though.
First of all - I am very thankful for you discovering and bringing to light this thread.
I am in the middle of serious thinking about these issues - and how a particular person's actions, biases and attittude can impact on the sites, the community of users.
I was quite polite (as my usual) in reporting that last contact with Mr. Furrow. He was short and Blunt, and I will now post it here, since your post adds evidence of his type of action and nature.
Screenshot, reply letter dated Jan 20, 2020. Our last contact, as per his clear request.
@design_RG Wow. That was incredibly rude to shut down communication in that manner. I assume the irony is lost to them though. Fortunately, more and more users on that side are becoming aware of the issue.
@design_RG I get why some instances want to block certain content, but blocking the ones that refuse to use the same rules is just borderline tyrannical.
I don't want to be rude to Ash, but it's just... narcissistic to think you know enough to tell others what to do and how to run their own instances, but then acting high and mighty when when being reasoned with? There's some underlying cause to that kind of superiority complex.
My background is in environmental science, so I know basically nothing about psych, but even I get concerned when encountering that kind of behaviour.
I was writing a long reply here, but you took it off for redraft, lol... :P
No problem and actually BETTER -- as I posted it Top Level for exposure.
See it here : https://qoto.org/@design_RG/104275469850810101
@design_RG Sorry! My typos!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this out in the open.
Yeah, I probably would have had a slightly different approach and actively avoided being confrontational if it were me that was addressing him. However, since Ash doesn't even want to see what's being written here now, I'm just going to speak freely and plainly.
I would probably also be a bit prickly if someone called me naive, but I wouldn't just shut down like a child having a temper tantrum.
@pganssle
Yes. We originally setup on Gab because of that furore but jumped ship when we learned they were #CloucHore (the company that silently controls 20% of the Internet, denies access to many #tor users, and seems to get a kick out of #radicalising the #disaffected).
It comes as little surprise Gab chose to isolate themselves. It will help to speed up their #radicalisation processes.
@design_RG Right now i can see posts user's pages from mastodon.technology, they unblocked us?
Or bans over here work only in one side?
But, anyways, i personally think that really "free speach servers" should federate with everything, making it so only user decice what he wants to see. So, i hope qoto will continue to be a free server without stupid rules and bans.
@bukbak Yes, we can see their posts it seems -- I just read some posts from a thread that Paul started there and linked above - https://mastodon.technology/@pganssle/103199195138668923
...which shows in my search here no problems.
And liked the reply Wolfie posted on it.
https://pleroma.wolfie.pw/objects/fc9d1d3f-5c51-4849-b23e-63cb56c4444d
Snapshot below. I am still start and going thru the thread, looks like material for another, follow-up to my blog of today. 😃
@bukbak And it seems we have reached the end of discussions on this issue.
We had some correspondence, back and forth, the first of which is the letter I included in full at my Blog post mentioned in the OP above.
Received a courteous reply from Mr. Furrow, followed up today with another letter explaining some internal discussions.
Received just now a reply from him, stating we are at an impasse and requesting that I do not contact him again.
Seems I will have to delete one of my accounts, a first for me. Surprisingly, but fair.
I might, or might not, create a second blog post about this, but have nicer, more positive things to think of and act upon, so maybe just let it be.
Adieu, mastodon.technology.
@design_RG
The old "censorship" discussion.
Or "frea speach" if you prefer.
The latter I remember from more than a decade ago fighting spammers.
Who, in their opinion, were denied their right to "frea speach" if their spam was blocked by others than the end user.
This time it's the fascists crocodile tears.
Even worse looking at than the spammer's.
To make it short: It is a collective responsibility to deny fascists a public platform.
End of any discussion.
Even only instances blocking this brown shit is not enough in my opinion.
Like spammers, they should be kicked out by any hoster, ISP or where else on the net.
End note:
qoto.org is found as "good" on a list sorted as "good"/"Not bad"/"Bad" together with freespeechextremist.com and other shitty instances. The list is made by brownshits themselves.
@Leftover @isolategab
Not being an American citizen or resident, I do have some qualms when the "free speech" flag is waved in discussions or to justify things.
I believe civility comes before anyone's right to speak whatever they want, this seems to be a common view in many international communities.
Personally, I have no interest in the gab and peripheral instances; indeed block them on my personal account, because I can't see any advantage or progress coming from confrontations with extreme views on the right.
I was disappointed to see a Tech themed instance act in this, for me arbitrary manner. Problems can be dealt with, and if needed, a whole instance could be blocked by an admin.
The M.T. action was not a result of any problem though - but as mentioned in a thread posted here earlier by Paul (who used to be a user there, questioned their ban on Qoto, left and joined us), the action there came at the request of one user, according to his own admission in the thread.
I can understand your desire to de-platform them (gab and company).
There was an interesting article I read about the impact of Gab appropriating Mastodon as a platform (to circumvent their proprietary client software being de-listed in the two major App Stores). Gargron wasn't particularly happy about it. Neither were the Bravo browser developers when Gab grabbed their code and 'forked' into their own version.
All of this will likely merge into another blog reflection for me, as I read and enjoyed these various pieces in the media.
Thank you IM -- I am working those issues and planning a Blog post, bringing my Fediverse Reporter back to light.
It had been months, but you brought back a detailed post I will be using in this new project.
Cheers and thank you!
@isolategab @Leftover
@design_RG This is actually why I switched to qoto.org. They seem to want to defederate from anyone who doesn't believe in defederating from gab et al.
It's a bit sad and honestly one of the most offputting parts of the fediverse for me.