@War_Kittens
Qoto is blocked by a few instances, not a 'decent amount'. This is one of the most connected servers around.
We also have clearly defined rules as per our About page: https://qoto.org/about/more
So if there are instances blocking us for trans/homophobia, they're very mistaken. @freemo would be absolutely livid if one of the users on Qoto would be expressing trans/homophobia.
🇳🇱
I can second this, we are very very strict with regards to hate speech. Also most of our controversial features were specifically added for the safety of our LGBTQ community.
As trinsec set we have one of the largest footprints in the fediverse. If you want a server that federates with the largest number of other servers, QOTO is at the top of that list. The number of servers that block us are very few and mostly small instances with enormous and extreme block lists.
See this post for more details: https://qoto.org/@freemo/109319817943835261
You've got to understand that for a new user to see your instance listed multiple times for reasons like federating with gab/kiwifarms, and that the instance you're on has privacy / CoC breaking protocols is not confidence instilling. We're on 126 block lists, which again, to a new user, seems a lot.
Its also a bit of a lie.. first off the features we have are **not** in any way privacy or CoC breatking. Whoever told you that doesnt understand our features or was lying.
Second, Gab doesnt exist anymore and hasnt for some time, we cant federate with them. The only part that is true is that people can see post from kiwifarms, and we do this at the request of our LGBTQ community and for their safety. This is, in fact, one reason we are so popular throughout the fediverse, there was a large exodus of LGBTQ to our server in the early days specifically because of our rules to allow federation to other instances. They used this to be able to monitor violent accounts on those servers and use that to warn people in their community when their life is at risk, the same reason we added subscriptions.
Where are you getting the figure of us being on 126 block lists? I am not saying its inaccurate but I'd like to fact check that.
Regardless you have to understand of the block lists we are on the vast majority are servers with single or double digit counts of users, moreover those are servers that have **massive** and even abuse blocking practices, they often block servers for very silly reasons and being on any of those servers and you wont see the vast majority of the fediverse, even good actors.
Actually I take that back... ALL of it was a lie,... both kiwifarms AND Gab dont exist and cant be federated with... So at this point whoever told you what you just said is a complete lie, or at least, the block lists you keep seeing are lying.. we cant federate with something that doesnt exist.
@freemo @trinsec Thanks for the handholding. I try my best, even with the dumb posting I do, to avoid that kind of mess. It would be fantastic to understand how that got all started. Like what is up with their mod teams.
This entire thing started due to a friend being on a server who blocks qoto. There's no big white paper really, about this stuff. I've read all your org docs when I joined, but this is beyond that.
@War_Kittens
Honestly, there's only a few suggestions I can make when you want to connect with your buddies on a server that blocks us:
- You move to a server that can connect with them.
- They move to another server that can connect with us.
Additionally, you or them can create a 2nd account.
That's totally up to you all, and that's something you'll have to discuss among yourselves. But the reasons given for the blocking is ancient, and some detest us because _we_ don't block the same stuff like they do. You can't please everyone I guess.
I have to say im a bit disgusted (not with you) that us taking a hard stance on protecting our members of the LGBTQ community from violence has been twisted and distorted, and blatantly lied about in an attempt to make us look bad.
When the vast majority of the fediverse were silencing the LGBTQ and they were migrating to us int he thousands I knew what we were doing was right... when those servers who lost their user base tried to distort and lie about the situation, evne as a minority, it hurt, but I did what was right anyway.
To actually see people years later buying those same lies when they are so easily debunked... that causes me to loose hope for humanity. You made no attempt to ask us about the situation or learn what the other side of the story was, talk about the features, understand why they arent privacy violating at all (they do not give you access to toots people dont give permission for you to see)... People need to do better, they need to fact check this nonsense rather than just get spoon fed and then repeat the disinformation again and repeat the nasty cycle.
Agreed. The back story is long and crazy. But in short the LGBTQ and others in the community at the time were being mass banned simply for following bad actors, even when they didnt boost, promote, or in any way show sympathetic leaning towards those bad actors.
The reason they were following them was to watch their account for violent threats and then disseminate that throughout their community for safety. But many instance admins didnt care and blocked/banned anyway.
As a result the LGBTQ community in masse migrated here for their safety.
We added a feature for them called subscribe. It lets you follow a person without them knowing you are following them. BUT it only lets you access the posts that person gives you permission to view (basically public posts, you cant see follower-only posts on a subscription). We did this so members of our community could follow these bad actors without alerting them and putting themselves at risk of violence or retaliation.
People again twisted this feature into being privacy violating despite the fact that it honors the privacy rules set by the poster.
Needless to say a lot of people were very mad that their blocking and banning abuses were coming back to bite them in the ass and ultimately distorted and lied the truth about QOTO and our feature to try to make it sound like something evil when it wasnt... those lies persist to this day.
@freemo @lavenderlens @trinsec @War_Kittens pity the bad actors can't exercise their right to STFU and sit TF down. @brynntannehill isn't comfortable Mastodon is a good fit for her. I'm not clear on the specifics, and I'm in no position to say otherwise. But I'm happy to see the effort involved in making Mastodon protected against the very things Tannehill warns about.
@freemo @lavenderlens @trinsec @War_Kittens @/brynntannehill@birdsite.wilde.cloud
https://birdsite.wilde.cloud/users/brynntannehill/statuses/1591793016829870081 is what she referenced. I'm not familiar enough with Tannehill's concern or how it plays out here in this context. I will see if I missed a post where she clarifies "silo" but it seems relevant to this discussion.
I have only come here seeking knowledge... things they would not teach in college.
@Romaq @freemo @lavenderlens @War_Kittens I think I get what she means. And I wholeheartedly disagree. To an extent.
If she was on a server with a huge blocklist.. let's take mastodon.art as an example since they do have one, then the silo feel might indeed be fairly big. But there are plenty of other servers which are not that restricted (Qoto being one of them, naturally, but the big ones like mastodon.social and mastodon.online are also fairly open) and which have a lot of people federating together.
On top of everything, she is used to Twitter, with her 92k followers. I wouldn't really expect someone like her to immediately feel at home in the Fediverse either. There's no algorithm gaining her a lot of followers at once. The approach's wildly different here.
If you already have a huge existing network elsewhere, you have very little reason to move over.
I am here for myself, for fun. I interact regularly here which I just cannot find on Twitter. I learned a lot of things from the people here, I never learned a thing on Twitter. My network is different.
Everybody has to find theirs for themselves. The Fediverse has its doors open to everybody. It's up to you all whether you want to take up on the offer or not.
@trinsec
Thank you for your prompt response. Yes, this platform has a very different feel to it culturally. I'm also quite pleased with the MAGA filter: you have to think and make well-reasoned choices to sign in.
@Romaq
Whoever came up with the siloing argument doesn't remember what it was like being a brand new user on Twitter.
@freemo @lavenderlens @trinsec
@War_Kittens @freemo @lavenderlens @trinsec Perhaps not, but I consider Tannehill a valuable person even if I don't know her personally. I'm simply not in a position to persuade her she is mistaken, and I *SURE AS HELL* don't want to be the person to "mansplain" Mastodon to her. I find her analysis of various topics excellent, very well thought out, superbly written, and I don't know enough about the specifics of her concerns to even begin.
@Romaq
I'm not a man, so 
There's a lot of folks I adore and that are intelligent over on the birb that have wildly incorrect opinions on how it works here. I do science outreach and some of the scientists that I desperately want over here just can't see past certain issues. Anyhow. YMMV.
@freemo @lavenderlens @trinsec
@freemo @trinsec @War_Kittens ah I see. Thanks for that information. Here’s hoping the good intentions of the instance can be upheld into any possible future we may find ourselves in.
@freemo
That's fair. I'm way too used to admin being uninvolved and that's something I need to get used to not being the case. I seriously appreciate your explanation and time.
It's been years upon years that I've had any involvement in anything other than a Discord or Slack channel (which just isn't the same) that has had anything like a reachable admin. That's back to BBS and MUD days. So I'll definitely do better. I apologize for being a dick.
@trinsec
You have been nothing but polite, I wouldnt cvall you a dick at all. You just fell victim to misinformation and didnt take the time to check it.. Its not the best of things, but it happens.
Like I said, its nothing personal that im upset... I am more upset that after all these years people are still spreading these lies when its so easy to fact check it.
@freemo @trinsec @War_Kittens obviously, being so new, and cis, I don’t know the backstory here, but it’s very dismaying. Inclusivity must be fought for all the time, but shouldn’t have to be. 💪🏳️🌈