@MerlinJStar I wonder if @psmaldino might have some useful suggestions.
@BatSara For whatever reason, I can't see what this is in response to.
@psmaldino I was responding to this question from @MerlinJStar:
"Any computational social science books folks recommend? Prefer if it's under $100. Located in the US for shipping requirements.
"If you need information about my background, I have a bachelor's in mathematics and a master's in quantitative psychology. I don't have a whole lot of specifically computational knowledge, but I do have quite a bit of psychological and mathematical knowledge."
@psmaldino Paul, I just figured out why you can't see the original poster's question. Unfortunately, your instance has been suspended by theirs. I can't remember the details now, but I recall seeing discussion on the FediBlock hashtag about qoto's admin and problems with moderation, resulting in it being defederated by some instances.
@BatSara Ugh. I've seen some of that discussion. I can't stand the attitude of "they won't block people I don't like, so therefore I don't like them and must therefore ban them." I picked qoto sort of arbitrarily when mastodon.social wasn't taking new members and saw it was STEM-based and affiliated with preprint servers like arXiv. I'm don't have any commitments to qoto per se, but I find the general tactic really distasteful and one of the worst things about mastodon.
@psmaldino I understand your frustration, but unfortunately, it's not really the vibe anywhere, because where harassment is tolerated, people who are harassed often leave the conversation rather than exhaust themselves blocking one individual after another. Moderation is tricky and will never please everyone all the time. It was a bit of a bother, but I migrated a couple of times to find a server with a focus and set of rules that suited me.
@psmaldino For what it's worth, one instance that might be a good fit for you that also seems to have a good reputation is https://scholar.social/about
@BatSara Thanks, I'll check it out. I still don't like the "my server blocks anyone from your server" aspect -- it feels like too broad a brush -- but perhaps I'm not seeing things with the right perspective.
@psmaldino Being excluded for someone else's misdeeds feels unfair, and fediblocking can seem like an over the top response. However, some instances are more protective because some of their members are more at risk of harassment. Without that protection, they wouldn't stay. The alternatives here are to migrate to an instance with moderation that understands and accommodates their need for safeguards or to accept that they won't be part of the conversation.
@BatSara That's fair, and I guess part of the mastodon landscape I'm still working to understand. Personally, I wouldn't want to be part of a server that was so protective and reactionary, and I can choose that and reap the consequences, just like those who join other servers choose to shut out other voices based on their own risk management preferences.
@psmaldino I wouldn't characterize a stance protective of marginalized people as reactionary, but I take your point. My own perspective is colored by a quarter century of participation in various online communities, both as a member and a moderator. I've seen women and minorities harassed, stalked, and doxxed. (That's why I don't post my photo, use my legal name, or reveal details about my location in public forums.) The risks are real but often invisible to those who don't experience them.
@BatSara Like, I'm a social scientist. I wanna see all the things people are posting everywhere so I can get a sense of the different conversations people are having. Guess that's not the vibe here.