Trinsec @Qoto @trinsec@qoto.org

One thing that was super common on Mastodon / Fediverse prior to this mass migration was adding image descriptions to help be accessible to our many blind and partially sighted users here. Many people won't boost posts without them.
Please consider adding alt text to your images when you can.

For those like me who have a #Wix website, this guide from @simoncox will help you get verified on #Mastodon. (Note you need a Wix plan with no ads for this to work!)

https://www.simoncox.com/post/how-to-get-your-wix-website-verified-on-mastodon

So someone messaged me privately and asked how absolute this is.. like would we block an instance calling for genocide. I feel my response is import to reiterate here, so here it is:

Its not just about the authorities, it is about the people whose lives are at risk by that call to genocide having the right to see those posts and use that information to look out for their own safety... If someone is doxed, they should know, if someone is threatened, they should know, and they should be able to take action.

Someone saying violent things online doesnt guarantee some police officer will meander by and take them down. The law only tends to get involved once someone is reported, and sometimes not even then. No one will be reporting a site if no one can see or know it is there.

The question is, if someone is being physically threatened and having their life in jeopardy how are you helping them by blocking the privileges of the **victim** and disallowing the victim the right to see the threat placed against them?

In short, I refuse to take away rights from the victim simply because there is a violent bad actor out there. If the victim doesn't want to see it they simply need to import the block list and the problem is solved for them, so why not keep the power in the victims hands?

I really have to say, of all the mass exodus onto this server we had over the years, this is one of the best. the quality and kindness of our new users are absolution exceptional. I appreciate all of you and welcome to the sane part of the internet!

I mentioned this in a private message to someone recently about why a small handful of servers block qoto. I wanted to reiterate it here for the new comers on QOTO who dont know the history:

So there are some servers out there that demand every server int he network block every instance they do, and if a server doesnt block an instance they block then they block you in rettatliation.

Their reason for this is quite flawed but it goes like this.. If we federate with a bad actor instance and we boost one of their posts then their users will see it and defeat the purpose of the block. The problem is, this isnt how it actually works. If they block a server and we boost it, they wont see the boost, thats how blocks work.

The issue becomes even more complicated when you consider the fact that these servers, by virtue of their policy, have huge block lists where they block tons of major servers. So in order to satisfy them we too would have to block a huge number of servers.

This means you have a choice, you either join a server that isnt blocked, but has a huge block list themselves, or, you join a server that doesnt block and be blocked by a small handful of servers. Obviously that means on QOTO you will have bigger view of the world than you would on any of these others servers. In fact QOTO has onne of the largest federation footprints of any server in the network.

I want to also explain why we choose the decision we did. Years ago when this controversy started and servers across the fediverse started blocking there was a divide of people taking sides. WOTO was one of the few servers that didnt take sides and allowed people read content from any server (but with strict hate speech rules). This caused a huge influx of people,s pecifically from the LGBTQ community, onto our server. It turns out many people relied on us not-blocking for their physical safety. There were big name biggots (like milo yanappolus) who were on the network. They used their accounts here to watch his account for doxing so they could warn themselves and their community and protect themselves accordingly. In fact we added a feature just for them called subscriptions which allowed them to monitor accounts without following them so they could do so anonymously.

In tthe end for the safety of the LGBTQ community here we refused to engage in mass server blocking and instead encouraged our users to block servers on an individual basis and provided access to block lists for them to do so. But some really misguided servers blocked us anyway.

Thankfully the servers blocking us are few and far between and are limited to only the most excessive and aggressive block lists. As I said, QOTO has one of the largest federation footprints on the fediverse,

#mastoadmin

Good morning #Fediverse ! ☕

I am going to try to find time this weekend to add in several new features to QOTO, fix a few small bugs, and if we aare REALLY lucky and things go well I might release a new version of QOTO this weekend (no promises though my life is CRAZY right now, hard to predict).

We all know that true Mastodon users follow @GoatsLive

Okay, day 2 back in #Darmstadt after 9 days of #Amsterdam and #Enkhuizen. I absolutely agree with #NotJustBikes: "Citys aren't loud, cars are."

Amsterdam has 900k inhabitants. Yet they manage to keep most of the city calm and (while accessible to private cars) mostly low-car. The result is, that you can sit at whichever corner in a restaurant or shop and have an actual conversation. Yes, there are a few places (again: mostly roads) that are loud, but restaurants almost naturally choose not to be there. It's also much calmer in your flat. It is also very easy to choose even very long routes where you encounter only a few larger streets.

Darmstadt has about 160k inhabitants (more than 5 times smaller than Amsterdam). Yet, even in 30 km/h zones, while less frequently than on the main streets, cars go so fast that once one passes, you have to raise your voice if you're talking. Bet ya, they're very often not going 30 but faster. There are only a few areas (Fußgängerzone) where you can actually sit outside and enjoy a calm time, because every few minutes a car speeds by. And if you live in a flat with another house right opposite of the street, you enjoy the sound amplified by at least 3dB. And yet, although Darmstadt is so much smaller than Amsterdam, it seems you encounter a major road even on the shortest routes.

We have two kids. One in a nursery, one in kindergarten. My way to the nursery is 900 m and I have to cross one major street and go along another one for about 100 m.

Today, my daughter wanted to wait outside in the bike trailer while I drop off my son. Just a few seconds after I entered, I could hear her cry. Why? Because two lorries stopped right next to her at the traffic light on that three lane road. Sure you cry. I should cry too.

Then, the way to her kindergarten is another 1.5 km - 90% on a major road. Yes, the second half is 30 km/h. But of course if I go 25 km/h on the red strip to the right, the lorry on the main strip has to go by at 35 km/h, making this an awkward, very close and unnecessarily long overtaking manoeuvre.
Of course, I could take a route through the side streets. However:
* It's 35% longer.
* The road surface is much, much worse.
* I still have to cross 2 major roads, one of which featuring 6 lanes (yes, 2 regular per direction, and two bus lanes).

And last but not least: The behaviour of motorists in the NL (examples Amsterdam and Enkhuizen) is so much better. The amount of times drivers simply waited at a crossing without making a fuzz. I even had to take the car once and was shocked to find that drivers look ahead and let you pass if it makes the situation easier for everyone. This is absolutely not what I see in Darmstadt every day. Drivers go on into a narrow road with parked cars on their side when head traffic is coming (of course a bike does not count as traffic, so that's fine).

#NotJustBikes is comparing the NL to North America. It would be worthwhile to compare them to cities in Europe more often.

The council of Darmstadt recently discussed (and afaik accepted) the rebuilding plans for a major bridge at the main station. It was necessary for structural reasons, the old bridge was a danger. But they made almost every single mistake in the book when it comes to using that project to make that area less car-centric and more pedestrian and bike friendly.
* Slip lanes were not removed. Even the one with the awkward bus station on it (yes, I'm not making this up, this is 100% US style).
* Corner radii were increased almost everywhere. Where they were not touched, they were left at the current, relatively large values.
* They added lanes. In 2022, they literally added lanes. For (car) traffic flow. And I am not talking about the fact that the formerly shared tram/car lanes now became two tram and two car lanes. They added car lanes.
* Did they add pedestrian crossings? No. Not a single one. They treated pedestrians to a refuge island on this now 7 or 8 lane street. Yay!

And more generally speaking, what drives me nuts is the total lack of ambition: If you bring up Amsterdam as a role model, people tell you twelve reasons why it won't work in your city. Even environmentalists will tell you: "Yes, but the NL has a very high car usage per capita and is not much better than DE."
Yet, Amsterdam is a very real city. And so is Enkhuizen (which could stand in for the typical "but in Rural Germany™" kind of argument).

So, the main error here imho is that motorised traffic *demand*/*need*/*requirements* are discussed and finally met. But *peoples'* needs are not. So, as of 2022, in Darmstadt at least, we're still building cities for cars not for people.

👉 https://www.youtube.com/c/NotJustBikes
👉 https://twitter.com/notjustbikes (unfortunately not in the #fediverse yet)

if you were wondering what happens when oulipo.social (doesn't allow the letter E) meets dolphin.town (only allows the letter E): https://dolphin.town/users/e/updates/2643

Same feeling 🍇

A reminder for anyone new to mastodon who might not be happy with some of the racist and bad actors out there on other servers... Just import the fediblock list to your personal blocks and you will be safe from the vast majority of bad actors.

This one is for all the new people on #Mastodon: did you know that the #fediverse has more than just a microblogging replacement? And that they can all interoperate with your Mastodon account?

Check them out!

Facebook replacement: Friendica
Instagram replacement: Pixelfed
YouTube replacement: PeerTube
Spotify replacement: Funkwhale
MeetUp replacement: Mobilizon
Reddit replacement: Lemmy
Podcasting replacement: Castopod
GoodReads replacement: BookWyrm

I see a lot of people talking about how Mastodon "Feels like the Internet I remember from 20 years ago."

That's no accident. That's Federation. That's UseNet, IRC, Email, Message Boards, etc. What do they all have in common?

Federation: Users congregating around watering holes of common interest, but still being a part of a larger whole.

THIS IS HOW THE INTERNET WAS DESIGNED TO BE. And I am HERE for it.

Tip for the new folk:
Often Mastodon’s features work the way they do because it was first populated by people who had been harassed on FB and the Birdsite.

For instance (not sorry), you cannot search Masto for a simple term. Only #hashtags. Say you’re having a private conversation about iguanas. Anti-iguana trolls will not be able to search for “iguanas”, find your conversation, and drop into it to say, “Iguana luvers suck!”

But if you are wanting to connect with new iguana fanciers on Mastodon, slipping an #iguanas hashtag somewhere into your posts will allow people to search for and find them.

#TwitterMigration #Twitter

I do love the idea behind Mastodon, run by users for users.

Norton Commander, DOS Navigator, and Volkov Commander. Three legendary orthodox file managers for DOS.
What orthodox file managers do you use, and on which platforms?
I personally can barely function without one.
#IBMPC #DOS #Computing #MSDOS #Software