10 ms·

I’ll be that techno neophyte and say that I don’t really understand how to use Mastodon properly. I’m able to get on and read posts but no idea if I’m where I

by Vaslo 6y ago

I’ll be that techno neophyte and say that I don’t really understand how to use Mastodon properly. I’m able to get on and read posts but no idea if I’m where I want to be. I want to be on a very free speech and open server, even at the cost of having some human trash posting nonsense on there. What’s the best approach? I’m tired of seeing a handful of kids at Twitter decide what is appropriate to post or not.

drexlspivey 6y ago
Mastodon is federated which means you want to pick an instance that follows the moderation principles you adhere to, the instance you are on determines your "local" timeline while the federation of all the instances is the "global" timeline. This link should be a good start to decide which instance you want to join https://joinmastodon.org/ https://joinmastodon.org/
- zanny 6y ago
  The joinmastodon.org site curates the instances it recommends to only show ones that don't permit racism, sexism and transphobia. OP seemingly wants those on their instance so they won't find it there, and they also won't find them in the global timeline on the "mainline" fediverse because those instances are banned for obvious and good reasons. You can, however, probably find links into the alt-right sphere fediverse on the chans. And they would be federating together so you can trace those instances to find one you, uh, want.
  - robjan 6y ago
    I don't think GP is looking for an alt-right instance, probably just one where you aren't treading on eggshells all the time. The people on the Fediverse do have a bit of a reputation for cancelling people who they disagree with, most notably Wil Wheaton [0]. [0]: https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/100639540096793532 https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/100639540096793532
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - artyr3 6y ago
      I dont think its people on the Fediverse per se. I think its leftists in general. They aren't much different from the people they claim to be better and more "tolerant" than. They have just as much catchphrasing and judgement as the right, but of course they are correct :P I went on Gab. There are some serious nut job racists on there. But I kept blocking them, and found that the majority of people are pretty mellow. Even un-political. But these days, everyone wants to judge things by their extremes. Which is just weird.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - wizzwizz4 6y ago
      Hearing about what happened to Wil Wheaton was a shock to me, when I first found out about half a year ago. I don't think this behaviour is all that common, though I'm (un)happy to be proven wrong.
  - Thorentis 6y ago
    > because those instances are banned for obvious and good reasons. What benefit does Mastodon offer over Twitter if you think that censorship is good?
    - untog 6y ago
      Not being owned by a Silicon Valley giant? No advertising? API access that doesn’t get shut off for idiotic reasons? I’m sure there are plenty more.
    - throwaw4y-plate 6y ago
      Not-federating with people you dont like isn't censorship, y'all.
    - zanny 6y ago
      Twitter is ruled by the will of the company and by extensions its shareholders and by extension of that the interests of capital. The Fediverse broadly isn't really ruled, its about who you participate with. It is to the benefit of Mastodon et al that even though the mainstream deplatforms intolerance it doesn't actively prevent them from using the software, just from using their servers of it. Yea, if you want to be in the mainstream Fediverse you need to play by the consensus rules of that space. But its just that, a consensus of server operators, rather than the will of a corporate entity.
      - kortilla 6y ago
        I’m not sure mob rule is better than a corporate entity in this regard.
        zaarn 6y ago
        If you disagree, you can run a server that doesn't follow consensus. The most common outcome is that you'll be blacklisted or atleast silenced by other instances (silenced meaning only people that deliberately follow see your posts). People who agree with you and don't blacklist your instance can talk and interact with you. That is basically as close to proper free speech as you get. I get my corner of the internet, where I will blacklist nazis and racism, you get yours were you don't.
  - youeseh 6y ago
    Have you learned nothing from artists, comedians, authors, game creators, musicians, peace activists or civil liberty activists?
  - manigandham 6y ago
    OP only said they want more free speech, not the extremism that you’re quick to assume, which is why they probably want that freedom in the first place.
carry_bit 6y ago
If that's what you want, you can use the Gab instance.
- rglullis 6y ago
  I know you're being facetious, but Gab announced they are going to shut down federation.
rglullis 6y ago
The best approach is always to run your own. The second-best approach is to run a managed instance via something like masto.host or spacebear (https://app.spacebear.ee/ https://app.spacebear.ee/). The third-best approach is to join an instance that is (a) neutral in its content and (b) not overbearing in its moderation policies. Most of those listed on joinmastodon fail this test. I am running a instance at https://mastodon.communick.com https://mastodon.communick.com, and my moderation policy is basically "don't post anything illegal and follow the Silver Rule - don't treat others in a way you wouldn't like to be treated".
- mobiledev2014 6y ago
  The golden rule got demoted to silver? Damn, times are tough all over.
  - rglullis 6y ago
    No. Read it carefully; - Golden Rule: treat others in the way you would like to be treated - Silver Rule: don't treat others in a way you would not like to be treated. The difference is subtle, but important.
    - euler_angles 6y ago
      I'm sorry, the double negative there is making it very difficult for me to parse and understand the distinction you're pointing out.
      - rglullis 6y ago
        The main point is that the Silver Rule states that it is more important to avoid harm than to try to do something that you think is positive. Another way to put it: when in doubt, don't interact. https://gonen.blog/the-golden-rule-vs-the-silver-rule/ https://gonen.blog/the-golden-rule-vs-the-silver-rule/
        6y ago
Icyphox 6y ago
The best approach -- unironically -- is to look at fedi blocklists propogated by radical left instances. They hate the word "free speech". However, here are some neat instances you can try: freespeechextremist.com noagenda.social neckbeard.xyz gleasonator.com I'd also recommend hosting your own -- Pleroma preferably, since it's way lighter than Mastodon.
young_unixer 6y ago
If you want free speech, avoid anything listed on joinmastodon.org, as that site lists only instances with censorship. I joined Gab, but unfortunately most of the posts are political and very US centric. I care primarily about tech, so in the end I don't use Mastodon.
- ryder9 6y ago
  >gab >free speech they ban a lot of people who aren't conservatives & even a lot of alt-right types
kabacha 6y ago
> I want to be on a very free speech and open server Mastodon and most of fediverse is very conservative in that regard. Chinese "communist" propaganda is fine though, so it's very much controlled by handful of vocal kids. It's the same project that has two different block buttons and yet has a rule against replying to people who indicate that they don't want to be replied to lol There are chill instances though — look for smaller niche ones that don't focus political discussions.
askxnakjsn 6y ago
What could you possibly want to post that might get taken down by twitter? Unless you post actual nazi propaganda or violence or something, it's a pretty free place. Remembering that freedom means people get to tell you to shut up, of course.

by Vaslo 6y ago

drexlspivey 6y ago

Mastodon is federated which means you want to pick an instance that follows the moderation principles you adhere to, the instance you are on determines your "local" timeline while the federation of all the instances is the "global" timeline. This link should be a good start to decide which instance you want to join https://joinmastodon.org/ https://joinmastodon.org/

zanny 6y ago
The joinmastodon.org site curates the instances it recommends to only show ones that don't permit racism, sexism and transphobia. OP seemingly wants those on their instance so they won't find it there, and they also won't find them in the global timeline on the "mainline" fediverse because those instances are banned for obvious and good reasons. You can, however, probably find links into the alt-right sphere fediverse on the chans. And they would be federating together so you can trace those instances to find one you, uh, want.
- robjan 6y ago
  I don't think GP is looking for an alt-right instance, probably just one where you aren't treading on eggshells all the time. The people on the Fediverse do have a bit of a reputation for cancelling people who they disagree with, most notably Wil Wheaton [0]. [0]: https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/100639540096793532 https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/100639540096793532
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - artyr3 6y ago
    I dont think its people on the Fediverse per se. I think its leftists in general. They aren't much different from the people they claim to be better and more "tolerant" than. They have just as much catchphrasing and judgement as the right, but of course they are correct :P I went on Gab. There are some serious nut job racists on there. But I kept blocking them, and found that the majority of people are pretty mellow. Even un-political. But these days, everyone wants to judge things by their extremes. Which is just weird.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - wizzwizz4 6y ago
    Hearing about what happened to Wil Wheaton was a shock to me, when I first found out about half a year ago. I don't think this behaviour is all that common, though I'm (un)happy to be proven wrong.
- Thorentis 6y ago
  > because those instances are banned for obvious and good reasons. What benefit does Mastodon offer over Twitter if you think that censorship is good?
  - untog 6y ago
    Not being owned by a Silicon Valley giant? No advertising? API access that doesn’t get shut off for idiotic reasons? I’m sure there are plenty more.
  - throwaw4y-plate 6y ago
    Not-federating with people you dont like isn't censorship, y'all.
  - zanny 6y ago
    Twitter is ruled by the will of the company and by extensions its shareholders and by extension of that the interests of capital. The Fediverse broadly isn't really ruled, its about who you participate with. It is to the benefit of Mastodon et al that even though the mainstream deplatforms intolerance it doesn't actively prevent them from using the software, just from using their servers of it. Yea, if you want to be in the mainstream Fediverse you need to play by the consensus rules of that space. But its just that, a consensus of server operators, rather than the will of a corporate entity.
    - kortilla 6y ago
      I’m not sure mob rule is better than a corporate entity in this regard.
      - zaarn 6y ago
        If you disagree, you can run a server that doesn't follow consensus. The most common outcome is that you'll be blacklisted or atleast silenced by other instances (silenced meaning only people that deliberately follow see your posts). People who agree with you and don't blacklist your instance can talk and interact with you. That is basically as close to proper free speech as you get. I get my corner of the internet, where I will blacklist nazis and racism, you get yours were you don't.
- youeseh 6y ago
  Have you learned nothing from artists, comedians, authors, game creators, musicians, peace activists or civil liberty activists?
- manigandham 6y ago
  OP only said they want more free speech, not the extremism that you’re quick to assume, which is why they probably want that freedom in the first place.

carry_bit 6y ago

If that's what you want, you can use the Gab instance.

rglullis 6y ago
I know you're being facetious, but Gab announced they are going to shut down federation.

rglullis 6y ago

The best approach is always to run your own. The second-best approach is to run a managed instance via something like masto.host or spacebear (https://app.spacebear.ee/ https://app.spacebear.ee/). The third-best approach is to join an instance that is (a) neutral in its content and (b) not overbearing in its moderation policies. Most of those listed on joinmastodon fail this test. I am running a instance at https://mastodon.communick.com https://mastodon.communick.com, and my moderation policy is basically "don't post anything illegal and follow the Silver Rule - don't treat others in a way you wouldn't like to be treated".

mobiledev2014 6y ago
The golden rule got demoted to silver? Damn, times are tough all over.
- rglullis 6y ago
  No. Read it carefully; - Golden Rule: treat others in the way you would like to be treated - Silver Rule: don't treat others in a way you would not like to be treated. The difference is subtle, but important.
  - euler_angles 6y ago
    I'm sorry, the double negative there is making it very difficult for me to parse and understand the distinction you're pointing out.
    - rglullis 6y ago
      The main point is that the Silver Rule states that it is more important to avoid harm than to try to do something that you think is positive. Another way to put it: when in doubt, don't interact. https://gonen.blog/the-golden-rule-vs-the-silver-rule/ https://gonen.blog/the-golden-rule-vs-the-silver-rule/
      - 6y ago

Icyphox 6y ago

The best approach -- unironically -- is to look at fedi blocklists propogated by radical left instances. They hate the word "free speech". However, here are some neat instances you can try: freespeechextremist.com noagenda.social neckbeard.xyz gleasonator.com I'd also recommend hosting your own -- Pleroma preferably, since it's way lighter than Mastodon.

young_unixer 6y ago

If you want free speech, avoid anything listed on joinmastodon.org, as that site lists only instances with censorship. I joined Gab, but unfortunately most of the posts are political and very US centric. I care primarily about tech, so in the end I don't use Mastodon.

ryder9 6y ago
>gab >free speech they ban a lot of people who aren't conservatives & even a lot of alt-right types

kabacha 6y ago

> I want to be on a very free speech and open server Mastodon and most of fediverse is very conservative in that regard. Chinese "communist" propaganda is fine though, so it's very much controlled by handful of vocal kids. It's the same project that has two different block buttons and yet has a rule against replying to people who indicate that they don't want to be replied to lol There are chill instances though — look for smaller niche ones that don't focus political discussions.

askxnakjsn 6y ago

What could you possibly want to post that might get taken down by twitter? Unless you post actual nazi propaganda or violence or something, it's a pretty free place. Remembering that freedom means people get to tell you to shut up, of course.