@erik the issue is, there's over 20,000 Fedi instances, unless you set every post to private, there's no chance in hell you can be sure who is/isn't reading your posts or harvesting your data. This is a completely open platform by design.
@BeAware: exactly
@erik the programming behind the Mastodon platform is all about broadcasting information out without much in the way of control over who gets it.
You can not block those actors on this platform, unfortunately. It’s simply not how they structured the system here, and it’s really important for users to realize that.
Effectively, if you participate here, they will have access to it.
I criticize that design, but it is what it is. Other platforms like BlueSky might be better about this, but it’s how this platform decided to operate.
@volkris@qoto.org NB I know you just used it as an example but don't think Bluesky specifically is at all better when it comes to this particular point. If anything it's worse since everything is public by default there and you don't defederate from anyone AFAIK.
@vetehinen yeah, after your reply I went back and skimimed the docs again, and I think you’re right.
It looks like BlueSky emphasizes giving users control over their content and yet admits that they don’t think they can really do anything to enforce this.
