* When you discover your Instance is blocked. *
After creating a new blog post, I prepare text for announcing it. This is posted at my main instance, and later I visit other accounts, search for that Status URL, and boost it from there.
In one case, I could not find the status on that normal search. Odd. What is going on?
A search for my user profile at Qoto did not bring ANY results either. It dawned on me that something was amiss...
On today's web magazine, live at : https://write.tedomum.net/rgx/when-you-discover-your-instance-is-blocked
@design_RG This is actually why I switched to qoto.org. They seem to want to defederate from anyone who doesn't believe in defederating from gab et al.
It's a bit sad and honestly one of the most offputting parts of the fediverse for me.
@pganssle Thank you Paul for your reply and the link, I will be checking it.
Since I had taken the time to prepare a very formal letter, and thought this is an important issue, I prepared a blog post too, with the full letter plus supporting reasoning and links.
When I finished and was just starting to announce the blog, I received a reply from Mr Furrow, very prompt and corteous too. It confirmed the reason for our black listing being exactly the fact we don't block ceartain instances that M.T. prefers no relations with.
Agreed, it's unlikely this will be lifted, as you mentioned.
@design_RG Thanks for working on this! Sorry that it doesn't seem to have had a happier ending (though there's always hope)!
@pganssle, same story here (mastodon.technology → qoto.org).
For me, the alarm went off in December last year, when I shared a quote (verbatim, without commentary) from a Scientific American article, and ashfurrow@mastodon.technology replied privately:
“Spreading sexist misinformation violates our code of conduct. This is your only warning that this isn’t acceptable on this instance.”
After that, when I tried to migrate my followers, I discovered about his blocking qoto.org.
@design_RG, are discussions still at an impasse?
Just curious. To be honest, at this point I think it'd be best if mastodon.technology simply suffered the consequences of its own bad policies — I want to see the smart users migrating away from it.
🇳🇱
This is the story I hear time and time again. We did a survey and 58% of the people who came to QOTO came here because we have a policy of tolerance when it comes to speech, not oppression (aka free speech).
We see over and over again with the instances that do not espouse tolerance of opinions that ultimately the users mass migrate away, (thankfully mostly to places like QOTO) and what is left is an echo chamber of only the most toxic elements. Then they stay in their bubble and only really start trouble when they tell another instance that their intolerance should carry over there as well.
People also need to understand free speech does not mean "you can say anything at all and always be immune".. what it means is tolerance of opinions, an ability to share ideas in open forum without fear that one small mistep means you are banished forever. We make it clear that explicit racism and sexism isnt tolerated, and we have stood by that.
And our policies have served us. Not only are we in the top 20 most federated servers we also serve as an example to many other servers with instances replicating our ToS policy regularly and by having a good relationship with the tolerant minority represented instances throughout the fediverse.
The only consequence of our actions is a small handful of oppressive instances (both towards minorities and the general public) dont want to hear what we have to say. Personally I say we are far better off not having their noise in our timeline anyway.
I can say this, I am immensely proud of the open dialog we have at QOTO. We have by far the most respectful community ont he fediverse when it comes to how we treat others, and a mutual respect in our discussions and dialog I have seen no where else on the internet. As the founder of this community I hope to do what I can to make sure it stays that way.
No but we are a member of multiple relays though. I can list them if youd like.
@freemo I wouldn't mind having that list as well, please? Thaaanks.
relay.linux.pizza/inbox
https://relay.social.seattle.wa.us/inbox
https://relay.spinster.xyz/inbox
https://relay.civiq.social/inbox
https://en.litepubrelay.resplendentwebservices.com/inbox
https://relay.gidikroon.eu/inbox
https://relay.strizhakov.dev/inbox
https://relay.shittyurl.org/inbox
https://relay.slum.cloud/inbox
https://rrfarmbot.appspot.com/inbox
@tripu At the very least, there are mods from F-Droid that I've talked to aware of the situation. I don't think they've had much success getting a response though.
First of all - I am very thankful for you discovering and bringing to light this thread.
I am in the middle of serious thinking about these issues - and how a particular person's actions, biases and attittude can impact on the sites, the community of users.
I was quite polite (as my usual) in reporting that last contact with Mr. Furrow. He was short and Blunt, and I will now post it here, since your post adds evidence of his type of action and nature.
Screenshot, reply letter dated Jan 20, 2020. Our last contact, as per his clear request.
@design_RG Wow. That was incredibly rude to shut down communication in that manner. I assume the irony is lost to them though. Fortunately, more and more users on that side are becoming aware of the issue.
@design_RG I get why some instances want to block certain content, but blocking the ones that refuse to use the same rules is just borderline tyrannical.
I don't want to be rude to Ash, but it's just... narcissistic to think you know enough to tell others what to do and how to run their own instances, but then acting high and mighty when when being reasoned with? There's some underlying cause to that kind of superiority complex.
My background is in environmental science, so I know basically nothing about psych, but even I get concerned when encountering that kind of behaviour.
I was writing a long reply here, but you took it off for redraft, lol... :P
No problem and actually BETTER -- as I posted it Top Level for exposure.
See it here : https://qoto.org/@design_RG/104275469850810101
@design_RG Sorry! My typos!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this out in the open.
Yeah, I probably would have had a slightly different approach and actively avoided being confrontational if it were me that was addressing him. However, since Ash doesn't even want to see what's being written here now, I'm just going to speak freely and plainly.
I would probably also be a bit prickly if someone called me naive, but I wouldn't just shut down like a child having a temper tantrum.
@pganssle
Yes. We originally setup on Gab because of that furore but jumped ship when we learned they were #CloucHore (the company that silently controls 20% of the Internet, denies access to many #tor users, and seems to get a kick out of #radicalising the #disaffected).
It comes as little surprise Gab chose to isolate themselves. It will help to speed up their #radicalisation processes.
@design_RG See this thread: https://mastodon.technology/@pganssle/103199195138668923
It seems unlikely we'll be unblocked.