*banned 4 MarkDown love* @design_RG@qoto.org

@severian @Tulikaa Trunk would be a good place to look indeed.

I wrote a blog post that explains and links to it : https://write.tedomum.net/rgx/to-help-new-users-set-up-todon-101-page

@ErikaDesign @Ilsa You are welcome. 😄

I have it on my Possible Blog Posts list, to prepare a long post documenting the various ways people can Filter their timelines. This one is an awesome, power tool to remove whole swaths of annoying people.

@11112011 @snow Thanks, Blitz, I will. 😃

@freemo @snow LOL, I could have broken one, or even two, but there's more computers by far here than people. So could switch to another one without problem.

Just been quiet and reading a lot, which I hadn't done since got really busy with the fediverse. Spent the whole weekend catching up on The Guardian, NY Times, The Atlantic, New Yorker...

And this morning started a nice book, Steampunk short stories, quiet enjoyable.

@11112011 @snow Hi guys, thanks for the heads up, I have been quiet and mostly reading.

Winter Blues, yes. Sucks.

Blitz, would like to but later, when Spring has arrived. Not too enjoyable to be backpacking in cold weather.

@miguel31416 @astoriamike41 Hello Mike and welcome.

Enjoy the network and all it has to offer. If you are new to using Mastodon, there's a good guide here: https://lifehacker.com/a-beginner-s-guide-to-mastodon-1828503235

We also have another new users guide, posted here : https://write.tedomum.net/rgx/suggestions-and-guidelines-for-new-users-written-by-mastodon-art-administrator

Casey Rollins made a video to explain the Fediverse, here :

"I made this video awhile back to help explain how the #Fediverse works."

https://www.bitchute.com/video/XOtRcgIdqihs/
https://invidio.us/yBRrqbRQ3tM
https://youtu.be/yBRrqbRQ3tM

Any question, just ask, and someone will try and help out.

@ErikaDesign @Ilsa

Hello Erika, welcome to Fediverse, Qoto and Mastodon.

I have read your posts above and you have been learning quite fast, well done.

To Block a Whole Instance :

1. find a post from any user with an account there.

2. click on the users name, and it will take you to their profile page.

3. At the top, right corner, you will find a dots menu "..."

4. select that, and one of the options is to "Hide everything from instance.name" --- this is the one you want if Blocking their instance is the goal.

A quick screenshot (with an innocuous account, just for show and tell) is attached.

Have fun you won't see their posts anymore.

@khird I think the NA is afraid of a hostile agent having acquired an exploit for this, and that is why they came out and disclosed it.

Rumours are floating around, I have heard something along this line. State sponsored cyberwar won't be fun.

Verifying that the Update is done?

Windows Key -- Updates -- View Update History.

In the list, you should see an entry similar to this one. The KB (Knowledge Base) number could be different, as it is a different patch and KB issue for the different sub-versions currently out there.

* Regarding the Windows 10 January Vulnerabilty and the Importance of patching it! *

The NSA came out in public to announce this vulnerability, a sign of their concern and how serious this could potentially be.

Microsoft has made patches for the various versions of Windows affected.

However -- it's possible that your own machine hasn't received the update yet, as there sometimes other pending updates, etc and things might get blurry.

A user has posted a direct link to the Microsoft Advisory page for this, and the page has links to each of the correct fixes to be downloaded and applied, depending on what version of Windows you have running, the patch level, processor type (x86 32 bits, or x64 64 bits ones)

Please consider checking your own system - and manually getting and installing the proper patch if not installed yet.

Steps I would suggest :

1. Find out the current Windows version you have running. This might very even if you do have Windows 10 running. Open a commmand line --> Windows button, then type "Winver", which will run a Windows Version program, that displays on a new window your current system info.

2. Write down the Version and processor type. E.G., version 1809 64 bits, or 1903 32 bits, etc.

3. Open the Microsoft Advisory page here : https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-0601

4. Locate the proper version of patch for your system -- based on the current version level you are running.

5. Click on that type, and a new window will open, offering download options. Select the file with the proper processor architecture to match yours; either x86 which is for 32 bit versions, or x64 for 64 bit versions (more likely on newer computers and laptops).

6. Click on the correct file and it will download. It is a LARGE file, so wait until it's completed.

7. Once the download is completed, you can click on the file and allow it to install as a "manual update".

8. Since the patch files are fairly large, the installation will take a bit of time. Wait for it to finish, you can do other tasks while waiting.

9. Once it completes installing, it will prompt you for a Restart. Do it. Now.

10. Done? It will reboot, installing the patches during the shutdown process.

11. Verify the Install? You can go into the Windows -- Updates -- Show Update History list, and you should see a new update with today's date installed in the list.

Good luck, and please make sure to have all your home and work machines updated ASAP...

@sbjohnsrpi

Thanks for the link, Sam. I did read the article, and it seems to recommend the same method as on the more detailed ArsTechnica post.

I enjoyed reading the explanation and it does make sense. 😄

@freemo

@activenoisecontrol

You are very welcome, I am glad you enjoyed reading it. There are a variety of guides to the Fediverse and I love reading them and learning more.

@snow

@snow Oh, I wouldn't know, I am not that good at Psycology or these tests. I imagine some kind of E type (Extrovert) ?

Sorry for the delayed reply, haven't been online much.

@82wrangler @greylaw89

Kris's post was right on - I am glad you went to see for yourself, and realized the content there can be pretty nasty.

I have had contact with other instances admins, in regards of our own instance being blocked because we don't block certain instances (gab and its affiliates) which they are opposed to. So we get black listed (in a failry large Tech themed instance, no less) for simply not blocking anyone unless there is a problem and it cannot be solved.

There is this hard nosed attitude, which I can understand (I do block gab and company from my personal account, not wishing to have arguments with them). But it's disheartening to see the positioning some people take (guilty by association, even if we did not wrong).

Free online coding and other courses, check out Wolfram University -- they have many free courses and are a nice place to learn.

A good read and with a surprising Scientific analysis.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/01/letting-slower-passengers-board-airplane-first-really-is-faster-study-finds/

@freemo @realcaseyrollins Very cool indeed.

Looked up my own forecast, it's grey here today, blah.

Snow tomorrow, Blizzard forecast. oh my. 😔

@freemo That text based forecast is really neat. 😃

@masoud Hello Masoud, and welcome to Qoto!

njoy the network and all it has to offer. If you are new to using Mastodon, there's a good guide here: https://lifehacker.com/a-beginner-s-guide-to-mastodon-1828503235

We also have another new users guide, posted here : https://write.tedomum.net/rgx/suggestions-and-guidelines-for-new-users-written-by-mastodon-art-administrator

@activenoisecontrol
It's a very interesting concept. The idea is that all systems are self-supporting, self-maintained and can choose who they would like to correspond with (or not)

The whole of this is called the Fediverse (from Federated Universe), and in fact it encompasses a number of projects - Mastodon being the one most people start on, and with the most nodes/instances.

The screenshot attached to this post is from https://the-federation.info/ and they do have detailed stats pages for each of the projects, their individual nodes, etc.

You can chose to install one of the software packages described in that page, for example, the Write.Freely blog posting software.

I do use WF for my blog, really like it's simplicity and how focused in the words, the content it is. I installed a local copy on my laptop to see how it was (the installation process), and chose to NOT federate it at all, since it's for a single user only, me. But I could have chosen to Federate, and it would show up in the stats pages if I did.

Similarly, the much more complicated install of a Mastodon node will have at some point the choice of Federating or not (most will).

And it federating, in principle it would be open to sending and receiving content from any other Fediverse instance using the same software.

It is pretty cool that even different projects can communicate between themselves. People can find a blog account (from Write.Freely, Plume or WordPress) and Follow it (which is the same as an email subscription).

And Friendica nodes, a less common and less known type of instance, they offer a different UI and experience, more similar to Facebook, including the option of Editing posts, plus supporting Rich Text format like Bold. Italicized text, ordered lists, etc.

I have a Friendica account, and it sees my posts here in Mastodon, can boost any of them or reply if so desired.

Now -- as the fediverse started to grow, new nodes started to pop up, and in some cases had users who clashed with some of the other instance's values.

At that point, people started adding Exceptions to their Federated status - Blocking those instances as a whole, if they felt it was appropriate.

Each system has full autonomy on doing this or not; and sometimes being Blacklisted for not blocking others who some have objections to.

Sorry for the long explanation, I hope it makes sense, it's a rich space and fascinating for me, even with the small political clashes we sometimes get involved in.

@snow

@greylaw89 Internet Explorer was never a good browser, and is despised by most techies.

The Edge browser was surprisingly capable, and I do regret seeing MS abandoning their EdgeHTML rendering engine and joining the crowd of options based on the Chromium project.

Google Chrome is not in use on any of my devices.