Mastodon instance codes of conduct can be created in different ways. Some instance admins simply copy language from the Mastodon Server Covenant or the original instance, Mastodon.social. Many instance admins I spoke to report that they developed their codes in consultation with members of their instances....
I spoke with T.X. Watson, the author of a solarpunk short story and former editor of a solarpunk webzine. For Watson, solarpunk is speculation about the near future....
The lack of profitability is only one part of the answer, however. The other part has to do with a spat between Facebook and Google over open technical protocols. In 2007, Google convened a group of Facebook competitors to create the OpenSocial Foundation....
Unlike corporate social media and the infinite scroll, the fediverse is open for experimentation. There are innovations possible with fediverse technologies that are not possible on corporate social media. This is a strong counterargument against those who look at federated, non-centralized, democratically controlled social media and say, “it’s too complicated....
Solarpunk originates in Brazilian science fiction in the early 2010s. Unlike cyberpunk or other -punk science fiction genres, solarpunk is not dystopian. Appearing in anthologies, solarpunk stories feature people shedding unnecessary possessions, using tree root networks to communicate, or teaching children new ways of relating to the land....
As VICE reported in late 2016, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey publicly called for advice from Twitter users on how to make the service better....
As for the three features of covenantal federalism, the fediverse demonstrates those, as well. The fediverse is noncentralized – it is allergic to powerful centers. An instance’s members consent to abide by a code of conduct (or they are free to move to another instance)....
Ehmke didn’t start small. During and immediately after her transition, she and her allies tackled one of the most sacred rituals in the tech world: the convention, or “con” for short....
Chip Butty
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However, while Playvious.social is no more, its influence echoes across the fediverse. These echoes can be seen to this day in two key places: fediblock, one of the most important hashtags on the fediverse, was co-created by a Playvicious moderator, and The Bad Space, a blocklist put together by Playvicious admin Ro....
However, while Playvious.social is no more, its influence echoes across the fediverse. These echoes can be seen to this day in two key places: fediblock, one of the most important hashtags on the fediverse, was co-created by a Playvicious moderator, and The Bad Space, a blocklist put together by Playvicious admin Ro....
The lack of corporate social media involvement in the SocialWG’s work was a mixed blessing. On the one hand, the group was free to conceptualize social media in any way they saw fit without having to address the particular concerns of Facebook or Twitter. As SocialWG member Bengo told me, “I’m glad people from those orgs didn’t get involved....
I argued that GNU social and other alternative social media “are doing more than decrying what they see as the problems of mainstream social media; they are working to build better systems.” ...
There are four shortcomings of concentrated use of Amazon and Cloudflare. First, it is a major flaw in the attempt to make the fediverse noncentralized. While instances are run by admins in a noncentralized manner, from the perspective of where they are physically hosted, the fediverse is far more centralized than not....
Even the lack of behavioral advertising doesn’t explain why Mastodon grew in the 2016-2017 period. Another inheritance from GNU social is the FOSS model of community development. Mastodon has been fueled by contributions from hundreds of other people....
In our conversation he argued that, since his childhood, computation has shifted away from our control over personal devices and towards distant, monopolistic centers – including corporate social media. Instead of having control over our own computers, Balkan says we have ceded that control to centralized systems whose definition of success is endless growth....
The answer is yes, but artists are also hedging their bets....
There are other, even more formalized approaches than the Patreon approach used by Cloud Island. Some fediverse instances joined the Open Collective Foundation, a charitable non-profit organization that operated in multiple countries, providing administrative and fundraising resources for its members....
Could these blocklists devolve into personal grudgelists? Both Ro and Oliphant are very aware of this issue, and both are establishing governance structures to mitigate this risk. In Ro’s case, he has partnered with nonprofits, such as the Nivenly Foundation, to help build a governance structure....
Cory Doctorow
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Critical reverse engineering includes a normative component: the goal is to make something better than the original. What is “better” can vary quite a bit. In my research, I’ve studied alternatives that center protections for free speech, seeking to avoid censorship....
Critical reverse engineering includes a normative component: the goal is to make something better than the original. What is “better” can vary quite a bit. In my research, I’ve studied alternatives that center protections for free speech, seeking to avoid censorship....