If you're a white person on the Fediverse and you've never seen someone called a slur, or threats made against them--congratulations!
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@shlee @fishidwardrobe certainly it's harder on the internet where the jerk is out of physical reach.
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@dragonfrog @dave
How about "followers of the author of the original post that started the thread"? "Followers of anyone mentioned" is going to take a lot of queries to different servers to get the list of followers - and some instances may not even make the list available for privacy reasons. Followers of the OP could be done by having such replies go through the OPs instance.Having followers only replies gobthrough the OPs instance would be more eork for the developers, but the current solution is useless for replies, because two people with distinct sets of followers having a followers only discussion are going to sound like listening to one half of a phone conversation.
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@dave OMG THIS EXPLAINS SO MUCH. I knew of the phenomenon ("I'm being abused but nobody else can see it") but not the mechanism.
Thank you much!
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@TheJen I actually really love this idea, like setting off an alarm.
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Would this change (in the code/design) be helpful, do you think: for posts that are in reply to something, give the original poster the ability to {reveal publicly, if non-public} and/or {completely delete, for everyone} those replies.
Maybe someone has come up with a better idea, but that's what comes quickly to my mind.
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@TheJen I actually really love this idea, like setting off an alarm.
@dave For one thing, nobody could say "I don't see it" anymore, because it would force it all out in the open. Taking the burden off the victim I think is one of the goals here, yes?
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@dave For one thing, nobody could say "I don't see it" anymore, because it would force it all out in the open. Taking the burden off the victim I think is one of the goals here, yes?
@TheJen yeah, and I think "change this to public" is the sort of thing that has a reasonable chance of working in the federated architecture.
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@TheJen yeah, and I think "change this to public" is the sort of thing that has a reasonable chance of working in the federated architecture.
@dave Yep. That's what I'm thinking too. Fairly simple fix.
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@TheJen yeah, and I think "change this to public" is the sort of thing that has a reasonable chance of working in the federated architecture.
@dave TBH, I don't even see it most of the time as I heavily use the block button, but I absolutely believe this is happening. There is also nothing that says you can't use the technology to apply social pressure. If bad actors know they will likely be outed and subject to social consequences, they may think twice.
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@chocobo13 You can explain it to those who still thinks it's not happening.
Harassers also sometimes target hashtags or groups, so you could watch those (e.g. #MutualAid or #BlackMastodon and definitely #FediBlock) and help by reporting anything you might see there.
Also, read https://infosec.exchange/@thenexusofprivacy/112956213079993182
@gunchleoc @chocobo13 this. You can file issues with Mastodon devs and you can spread the word that this happens and how.
Steal my post in good health or describe the issue in your own words.
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@dave Is there a shit mastodon says account yet? Maybe people could anonymously shame the harassers by messaging screenshots and posting them that way.
@semitones @dave
Willst Du den Scheixx noch verbreiten? Dann ist das hier bald wie X.
Und ein Pranger gehört ins Mittelalter. -
In order to keep their abuse secret, these harassing accounts would have to use "Request to follow", because otherwise their abuse could be easily exposed by those following them.
I have avoided following anyone with this setting, not wanting to be in a group where others are not welcome. I know this is a weak reason, but now I have a stronger one.
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Last post I'm going to make in this thread. If you want more visibility into this underside of the Fediverse, follow the #fediblock hashtag (and send some mental thanks and good vibes to MarciaX while you're at it, you're benefiting from the work of a Black woman).
If you want to do something about this, I know of two things anyone can do:
1. Open or comment on issues at https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues
2. Share this info. Steal my posts in good health, or write this issue up in your own words.
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@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io @pierrenick@hachyderm.io @dave@alvarado.social It's certainly a useful feature, but one with its own potential for abuse.
@flesh @pierrenick @dave how would it be abused?
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@flesh @pierrenick @dave how would it be abused?
@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io @pierrenick@hachyderm.io @dave@alvarado.social Unless I misunderstand the feature described, enabling the original poster in a thread to remove replies would make it pretty easy for someone to censor out any criticism of their claims or fact-checking. Considering that platforms like fedi are used to spread (mis)information and host harassment campaigns, giving just anyone the ability to control the conversation on a post seems like a bad idea.
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@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io @pierrenick@hachyderm.io @dave@alvarado.social Unless I misunderstand the feature described, enabling the original poster in a thread to remove replies would make it pretty easy for someone to censor out any criticism of their claims or fact-checking. Considering that platforms like fedi are used to spread (mis)information and host harassment campaigns, giving just anyone the ability to control the conversation on a post seems like a bad idea.
@flesh @pierrenick @dave I’ve never seen it used for that; meanwhile the thing on Mastodon is actively used to harass.
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@flesh @pierrenick @dave I’ve never seen it used for that; meanwhile the thing on Mastodon is actively used to harass.
@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io @pierrenick@hachyderm.io @dave@alvarado.social I don't think a lack of examples is sufficient evidence to dismiss the risk.
And also, like, it is kinda ironic to argue "I've never seen it" on this thread in particular. -
@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io @pierrenick@hachyderm.io @dave@alvarado.social I don't think a lack of examples is sufficient evidence to dismiss the risk.
And also, like, it is kinda ironic to argue "I've never seen it" on this thread in particular.@flesh @pierrenick @dave you’re coming up with a hypothetical that sinply doesn’t matter in real usage ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
removed replies on Bluesky (unless th OP outright blocked the accounts posting) are still visible but hidden by default, so you can see what got removed (these also include moderated removal of low-quality replies, such as stuff that’s just expletives)
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@flippac That sounds like an excellent suggestion.
I'm not sure where to poke to try and make this happen, but I'll keep my eyes open for opportunities.
