woah! octodon.social blocks fosstodon.org? (and blob.cat apparently)
That's kind of depressing, that was the first mastodon instance I joined.
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@swiley Its pretty absurd the levels blocking has gotten. Usually its done under threat as many people demand you block a laundry list of instances lest be blocked.. it snowballs quick where instances wind up blocking instances just not to get blocked by what few instances can still see them. Its why we are so resistance to going down that very slippery slope here.
It seems to be a pretty big portion, and sadly there are very few instances that have local moderation rules and a polite environment but themselves are not block happy. Its so rare in fact that its been the main attractive feature QOTO presents to new users in my expiernce.
When users are more than capable of blocking instances on their own, and its a trivial matter to just go down a list when you first open an account and create your own personal block list, then I really fail to see the point besides perhap virtue signaling.
Its just armchair whiteknighting.. its a way of telling themselves they are doing something to stop the evil when really they are just perpetuating it.
bonifartius ๐ผ๐
@mathlover what bothers me most with this reasoning is the view that other people are _too dumb_ to decide for themselves. it's essentially anti-humanist, contrary what those who hold it believe they are.
i'm getting a bit off-topic here: this school of thought has gotten a strong foothold in politics, that's why we get "anti-hate-speech" legislation. which will be applicable to everything in the end, as those laws always are.
@bonifartius @freemo @swiley Agreed. Fortunately, with all the precedent regarding the First Amendment and the way courts see things here, "anti hate speech" legislation is impossible to pass without being struck down.
I do hope things calm down here in terms of partisan nonsense, but it's going to be bumpy for at least the short term.
@mathlover i'm in germany and it's more than likely that we will have such a law, sooner or later. our highest court is rather good with delaying those things as they are often against the constitution, but laws are then refined so that they are at the exact limits of what's possible.
that said: i guess it's rather calm here compared to the US, but i don't like where it's going..
@bonifartius
@freemo @swiley
I should add that at the moment things are calmer than they were even a month ago. Partly because COVID rates are down and vaccinations are under way (a lot of the stress of this was compounding political issues) and partly because we aren't constantly worrying about what Trump does. Biden may not be perfect (I disagree with his stance on at least two issues and with his handling of the Kashoggi aftermath) but at least he's not an attention seeker who does things when the camera pans away to get it back on him.
Well, they are too dumb.. but its important to note this is dumb in the sense that its learned behaviors not inate ability.. That is, other humans go "Oh that dumb thing you just said regarding your political opinion, thats GREAT, glad to see your fighting for whats right".. rather than "I am glad you care about the right thing, but your ideas wont get you there they will make the problem worse, you ARE the problem but you can change that!"
As long as we refuse to accept the people are "too-dumb" and make a conscious effort to change that and maket he people thoughtful and well educated in what works giving them the intelligence and the compassion, then the problem will persist. yea saying the people are "too-dumb" may sound anti-humanist but only if you exclude the fact thatwe can change it.
The worst part is that for long as we refuse to acknowledge the blame lies on us and our stupidity we will never break the cycle. So by rejecting it out of hand you also perpetuate it.
It also doesnt have to lead to anti-hate speech, again that is only the consequence if we feel or conclude that people cant be educated and improved and must be forced.
@freemo @swiley From the few people I discussed this with of that persuasion I get the impression that they think certain views are intrinsically harmful and need to be sealed away from their audiences.
Then there was that Jessica L. Hacker person who blocked me for contradicting something.