I can somehow agree with a few things you say, but overall I think the premise is wrong. The fact is not that most blocks or even half the blocks are due to having illegal or bad content. I also don’t know any defederation based on language or any such matter (especially since languages seen is already solved by your profile selection of language). Most blocks are automated, especially for instances that have trouble handling bot sign-ups, or those that have moderation issues. I think that the assumptions that one can make are indeed dangerous but they’re not based in reality, but in imaginary facts about what defederation means. Obviously, since we’re growing very fast, I agree that newcomers and less technically minded people may believe this is the case and use blocklists to justify random assumptions. But in the end, they would be entirely wrong, and wrong assumptions can be made about practically anything, so I wouldn’t put much value or thought into the possible wraponizationability of instance defederation lists.
Maybe “weaponizing” is a bit more hyperbolic than what I should’ve said, but it was because it was used in the other comment. So I do think we agree on the points that functionally matter anyway (even if they may not actually apply to how things are working). I still think that us all having this kind of discourse is a good thing. As it can be helpful for both the parties directly interacting, along with maybe those that are looking for information. I would rather admit I was misunderstanding/misinformed and learn why. It will still be something I will be concerned about as things grow/develop. But mostly because many things that have turned out to be bad weren’t started with that intention. Like lots of tech things that have come out over the years that only worked the way they should if you were a white male. Not because the coders were actually racist or sexist, but because they didn’t stop and think about testing it outside their bubble
I can somehow agree with a few things you say, but overall I think the premise is wrong. The fact is not that most blocks or even half the blocks are due to having illegal or bad content. I also don’t know any defederation based on language or any such matter (especially since languages seen is already solved by your profile selection of language). Most blocks are automated, especially for instances that have trouble handling bot sign-ups, or those that have moderation issues. I think that the assumptions that one can make are indeed dangerous but they’re not based in reality, but in imaginary facts about what defederation means. Obviously, since we’re growing very fast, I agree that newcomers and less technically minded people may believe this is the case and use blocklists to justify random assumptions. But in the end, they would be entirely wrong, and wrong assumptions can be made about practically anything, so I wouldn’t put much value or thought into the possible wraponizationability of instance defederation lists.
Maybe “weaponizing” is a bit more hyperbolic than what I should’ve said, but it was because it was used in the other comment. So I do think we agree on the points that functionally matter anyway (even if they may not actually apply to how things are working). I still think that us all having this kind of discourse is a good thing. As it can be helpful for both the parties directly interacting, along with maybe those that are looking for information. I would rather admit I was misunderstanding/misinformed and learn why. It will still be something I will be concerned about as things grow/develop. But mostly because many things that have turned out to be bad weren’t started with that intention. Like lots of tech things that have come out over the years that only worked the way they should if you were a white male. Not because the coders were actually racist or sexist, but because they didn’t stop and think about testing it outside their bubble
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