Olives @olives@qoto.org

https://v.cx/2025/04/mastodon-exit-interview Inter-instance censorship remains a huge issue on Mastodon, and is a big part of why more people don't use it. #FreeSpeech

It's worth noting that it's also a form of protest, so it's also an attack on protest.

https://qoto.org/@olives/113361636922921463 Goes over things like porn, science, tech, human rights. A critique of censorship, prohibition, puritanism.

I've taken a step away from social media lately but I might expand on this sometime as it's been a while. #FreeSpeech

Such as whether they are securing things properly, particularly if they're handling sensitive information like this. Also, the information probably shouldn't be processed outside of that context.

Goodness, to condemn AI which they dislike, someone might talk like a freakin puritan. #FreeSpeech

Framing it as a matter of "AI" doesn't make complaining about sexual fantasies, or particular sexual fantasies more compelling than if it involves a book or other literature.

There are questions about AI here, of course. #FreeSpeech

A blog is one of the easiest things to self-host. I personally think Substack and Medium are overrated.

Gauging the presence of content based on search results is silly considering that a search result can linger for weeks after something is deleted.

One of my Substack pet peeves is having to click through that thing welcoming someone to the blog rather than just taking you to a list of posts.

Additionally, as far as politics goes, Substack is only a small part of the discourse. At the end of the day, it's just a fancy blog hosting platform. There's nothing that special about it. #FreeSpeech

It also exposes the lack of ideological consistency on Mike's part. Taking fancy to whatever floats up from the seas of an echo chamber. Mike has argued for years that platforms should be free to strike whatever balance of #FreeSpeech they want.

If you are unfamiliar with the tale, a year ago, a few noisy people got mad about Substack's policies. The story got a bit of attention and Mike picked it up, even though it was hardly notable. And it seems that he is still in that mindspace, even though the world has moved on. #FreeSpeech

https://www.techdirt.com/2025/04/11/a-newsletter-writer-reflects-on-leaving-substack/
Mike's obsession with Substack, essentially a clone of Medium, just comes off as *strange*. Like, why does he care? And it's ironic considering he is mad about people suppressing #FreeSpeech.

https://ncac.org/news/in-tennessee-rutherford-county-public-libraries-vote-to-remove-materials-that-promote-transgender-themes Rutherford County Public Libraries vote to remove books containing transgender themes. #FirstAmendment #FreeSpeech #Tennessee

The U.K's proposed terrorism law is being criticized for impinging on free expression.

As a developer, I'm just going to say that I am familiar with *those* kinds of projects where someone promises that there will be something interesting developed, then it just drags on forever and goes nowhere.

The company distancing itself from the U.S. was actually the correct thing to do, even if they might still have a relationship with a U.S. entity.

This was a very stupid decision.

COSL's partner undermining their own independence so as to promote COSL's launch does not inspire confidence.