• cydactyl
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    4 years ago

    If you look over at the Mastodon side of things, you’ll see where things can go when the social gains of these alternatives are the biggest part of the message. Tons of people use that not because they know it’s free software, not because they know it’s federated, but because “it’s Twitter but queerer and without the fascists!” There’s real tangible power in that appeal that needs to be at the front of the conversation.

    As someone who recently set up a Mastodon Instance and supports people, philosophies, and movements like LGBTQ+, and Black Lives Matters, I know for me personally the anti free speech rhetoric that is oh so common on Mastodon is the most off putting part by far. What happened to using local moderation tools available to you to silence opinions you do not agree with?

    My friends and I are meme shitposters, and we are constantly getting zucked and many of us have been fleeing FB and YouTube because they censor freedom of information and expression, so to find out about things like fediblock and the fact it isn’t just instances that abuse and harass the network, but any network that promotes free speech and doesn’t censor the “right” content is automatically added to this list and defederated(e.x. https://fediblock.org/blocklist/#libre.video). It is extremely disconcerting, and my willingness to praise it as a viable alternative is directly related.

    I think the Political Correct/Coddle culture is one of the most toxic things to the idea of freedom of information, as giving anyone the power to say, “I don’t agree with your view, so I will silence you, and make sure others do as well, or else” is almost even worse than Facebook. At some point creating or perpetuating this divisiveness is perpetuating hate, empowering idiots to think they are special, ultimately congregating them into and promoting echo chambers…

    • Whom
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      4 years ago

      That’s one of the consequences of freedom of association and perhaps its biggest strength. Fediverse blocklists are what keeps it usable and not filled with absolute garbage, letting people join communities that interact with others based on a set of principles that they support. Moderation is good and necessary and drastically under-applied on the internet at large.

      Whatever, should’ve have replied to someone honestly complaining about “coddle culture” in the absolute hellscape that is the internet. Go fling shit at other shit flingers…the magic of the fediverse is that the rest of us don’t have to deal with them. It’s a haven for queer people specifically because you can curate your experience just like you can in real life. It’s so fucking weird that people think that everyone having to deal with everyone at all times online is normal and the default and that anything restricting that is just being coddled. Outside of have-tos like work, I can avoid shitheads and have shithead-free spaces in my day to day life. I choose the people I hang around. The fediverse and the blocklists that are so pervasive within it are a natural extension of this right to a digital space.