🎓 Doc Freemo 🇳🇱 @freemo@qoto.org

I hesitate to boost this, because people only reading the headline might misread it as "someone is accusing Eugen of *being* a Nazi, which is either true or a melodramatic Godwinization" or "Mastodon is full of Nazis".

TLDR:

1. Our instance, qoto.org, came under attack by an actual, swastika-waving Nazi. Mastodon is by no means full of such bad actors, but they do exist. Freemo provides evidence and history of the attack.
2. This bad actor created enough disinformation noise that Eugen chose to delist qoto from joinmastodon to protect the reputation of Mastodon. This was a win for the baddies.
3. Debates over proper moderation and federation policies are complicated and can grow heated.

@freemo @Gargron @trinsec @khird #qoto

(Interesting thing I learned when autocompleting those tags: there are several accounts impersonating Eugen.)

@freemo @Gargron @trinsec @khird Looks like the Mastodon CEO took the path of least resistance, by doing so he lost integrity. Perhaps it's better to ignore joinmastodon[.]org than to bother being listed on their site? Lacking integrity might mean they sell out in other ways as well, such as allowing government control, increase censorship, etc.

@freemo @Gargron @trinsec @khird Yep. It seemed more direct in your article though, I was referring to this portion in particular

@freemo @berkes @rbe_expert @Gargron @trinsec @khird
Ironically, this is all brewing up because of the CEO behavior of one of the two apex predators of USAmerican CEOs, Elon Musk:
"Twitter, c'est moi."
The other apex predator CEO is Donald "You're fired!" Trump.

@freemo this is a frustrating situation and I'm sorry you're having to deal with it. It's infuriating that the bad actors are having some success. I'm optimistic that their success will be short lived. I'll spread the truth about your instance, I align with your philosophies like enabling subscribing to users without following. Keep up the good work

@freemo @berkes @rbe_expert @Gargron @trinsec @khird

Eugen Rochko is CEO of Mastodon.
He explicitly writes that
“I will take a listing down if it risks endangering the reputation of Mastodon”
A lot of the problems in our world is attributable to the typical CEO attitude.
In the case of mastodon, Eugen Rochko's attitude is:
"Mastodon, c'est moi."

So by PROVING him wrong with IRREFUTABLE EVIDENCE,
you destroy Eugen Rochko's reputation, and because in his mind, he IS mastodon, you endanger not only his reputation, but the reputation of mastodon, and you and your instance MUST be delisted.

@freemo I don't think they're on here yet but some of my colleagues have done a lot of work on this sort of moderation, e.g.
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2104.11145.pdf
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2204.12709.pdf

https://idrama.science/publications/

@freemo I appreciate your frustration but framing this as Eugen supporting Nazi's agenda is a dishonest argument. You have legitimate greviences but this clickbait titled defaming post does not further your cause.
With regard to your legitimate greviences, what is your call to action? What do you need from us as admins and users?

@freemo @Gargron @trinsec @khird wow, the internet really can be a cesspit! It sucks Qoto got embroiled in all this! My (admittedly limited) experience of it has been great. It's a very friendly space.

@freemo I am sorry you’ve had to deal with this situation, but thankful for your efforts. I first heard of QOTO via the official mastodon app, so if I were first joining mastodon today I wouldn’t see this wonderful instance. I hope that Eugen will come to his senses and relist QOTO soon.

Thank you very much for all that you do in helping to run this instance.

🙇🏻

@Elephantidae @freemo But isn't this the way that the Nazi's dominated in Germany historically? It wasn't "really" that most petty government officials saw themselves as doing terrible things. But by collective small actions and inaction they did serve the Nazi's goals. So effectively they were part of the Nazi machine. The danger they posed to others was that of real live Nazis.

Now, the fascists see the demolition of Twitter as a forum as a step forward for them. Thwarting Mastodon would be a next step. Not actively standing up to that would be a huge mistake.

@Elephantidae @freemo I am an example of someone who recently found Qoto from the join site. I think that the issue seems to speak to a serious question as to whether or not Mastodon is a decentralized federation or if from a practical standpoint, it has access determined by one person. And of course, I joined this instance because I felt it best met my interests, but also so I could interact with others in different instances.

Succumbing to the strategy of an attack by nefarious agents doesn't make Mastodon a safe or a welcoming place. All instances ought to see that as a vulnerability that needs to be combated.

@freemo @Gargron @trinsec @khird Seems like a reasonable point of concern. Sweep bad behavior under the rug rather than publicly point it out and invite a community response?

@freemo So apparently there's more to the whole "moderation council" saga...
https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/22/23474381/elon-musk-twitter-moderation-council-activist-promise

Elder Scrolls

Chloe says good night. #dogsofmastodon