this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2023
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sdfpubnix

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(not sure if this is the right community, sorry)

Hi, someone posted this on another server. I'd like to request we defederate with rammy.site and exploding-heads.com as well. I scrolled through some of their posts and comments and it's full of ridiculous anti-left propaganda, for example a post where some liberal Florida family fleeing the state when some child protection laws got passed, implying liberals abuse children and won't live in a state that doesn't allow them to. Just take a look for yourself.

" Admins of Lemmy.ml please consider defederating from rammy.site it has been taken over by right wing malicious actors from exploding-heads.com and the admin is nowhere to be found.

It is imperative that you take action as soon as possible the users on rammy are using the site to spread their messages to a further audience, we must nip this in the bud. If you don't believe me check the instance for yourself, you'll see it dominated with bigoted right wing posts and spam communities."

Edit: So many commenters think this is about political opinions or disagreement. It's not. If I said "Mixing bleach and ammonia is good for you" I bet some of you would call that a political disagreement.

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Please don't! The whole reason I made an account here is because they don't defederate. I want to control what I read. If you have a problem with a certain instance or user, block them yourself! It's very easy.

I don't want to have to spin up a whole instance just for myself.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I can block users or communities but I don't think there's a way to block instances.

There are some tricks you can do with uBlock, which I've done, but that doesn't help on apps.

I hope this feature gets added to Lemmy at some point.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So, the effect of "blocking an instance" is that you'd be blocking all users from that instance? Seems like a useful feature.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

What I had in mind was only to block posts from that instance when browsing "all". Exploding-Heads and Lemmygrad, for example, each have a lot of different communities that are all ideologically identical and it's tedious to block each one individually.

But I like your idea even more. Blocking all users from an instance should also be possible at the user-level. This would be similar to defederation.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The Android app Connect has it. I've blocked a few instances, so I don't see communities on them. I do see posts from users from those instances, but they're collapsed by default, though I do see responses. Example:

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I decided to see for myself so I could voice an informed opinion. One of the first posts I saw on their (EH) Local channel, titled Based Pride Month, is an image of a headline reading, Saudi Arabia Celebrate Pride Month by Hanging Gays with Rainbow Noose. This is hateful content. My ability to discern such has nothing to do with savvy. I don't want to see these opinions because they are grotesque.

However, I haven't seen ExHeads leaking out into the greater Lemmiverse. That said, I want nothing to do with anyone who considers this ok. Even if they are currently fairly contained, they have made it clear who they are and I choose not to surround myself with bigots.

I vote to defederate. We don't need to wait for them to become a huge pain in the ass. They are showing us who they are.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

So, why don't you block it yourself? Why are you making that decision for others?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (2 children)

How do you block an instance?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I just block whole communities. I've blocked most of the shitpost communities and now my feed is clean. Plus, I just stich to "subscribed" feed most of the time. It's really easy to not see things you don't like.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Yeah I'd certainly like to know as well

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

What do you think a federation is? If you don't like the decisions of an instance you go to another one. If this instance defederates from rammy.site I'm staying, if not I'm leaving. You're free to leave if they defederate too, and if you felt the need to leave because of it I'd be happy to have you gone.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I simply don't understand what you gain by asking someone else to block content for you when you could simply do it yourself. You get all the benefits of not seeing the content you don't like without imposing your will onto others.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's not about blocking content from my feed, it's about the instance not relaying that content. Maybe you would feel differently if it was child porn?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes. I would feel different if it was child porn. However, that is completely irrelevant because that crosses a legal line. So far your only argument is that there's content there you don't like. Not that there's something there that is equivalent to child pornography. Be genuine with your arguments.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I never argued there is content I don't like (although I guess that's implied, I don't like it. But I also don't like child porn?). Some of it actually is illegal, free speech has exceptions in the jurisdiction of SDF, but regardless of whether or not you believe that, I don't understand why anyone would want to remain federated with an unmoderated instance.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

The only part that you need to understand is that some people don't like it when other people make decisions for them. So, if something illegal is happening, call the police. If something you don't like is happening then you take steps you need to avoid it. For yourself.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm asking the mods who run this server to do their jobs, are you telling me that if you're at a restaurant and they bring you the wrong food you call the police instead of asking your server to fix it? Bruh

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

As far as I'm concerned the job of the mods is to keep their users in line. Moderate what they do to others so that the forum doesn't get shut down. It's not their job to moderate content from other forums. If you, a user, don't want to see something in your feed, you've been given the ability to block communities you don't like. I've done it, it's not hard. It's the simplest solution that effects the least amount of people to get you what you want.

Or, go make an account somewhere else. Choose of these and go there: https://fba.ryona.agency/?domain=explodingheads.com

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's nice, but you're wrong. If you run an instance it's your responsibility to defederate from servers that are distributing illegal content or content that is against your policies, because if your don't, you're re distributing that content. Legally it's the same as if you download a torrent and then seed it. I don't know if maybe you live in a different country with different laws, but SDF is located in Seattle WA. Anyway, I'm not going to engage with you further, at this point you're repeating yourself so I have to assume you're a troll.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Whatever helps you sleep at night.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If you don’t like the decisions of an instance you go to another one. If this instance defederates from rammy.site I’m staying, if not I’m leaving. You’re free to leave if they defederate too, and if you felt the need to leave because of it I’d be happy to have you gone.

Please stop drawing the process out and find somewhere better suited to your preferences.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Take your own advice and block me so you don't see this post?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You said it better than I was going to. Keeping truthaboutjews.ru out of grandma's feed is one thing, but I feel like I'm savvy enough to read garbage responsibly. Maybe I'm being overconfident but there it is.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Do you have the same level of confidence in children and people who are deeply mentally ill?

If you want to read far-right trash, you can set up an account on a far-right trash server, rather than insisting that everybody else on the instance tolerates them for your convenience.

Their posts might be a harmless novelty for you but for others, they're threats of violence and celebrations of abuse.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Do you have the same level of confidence in children and people who are deeply mentally ill?

I'm not SDF, or even that familiar with the organisation, but I would argue we shouldn't let such people use this instance. Or grandma from my example, for that matter.

Their posts might be a harmless novelty for you but for others, they’re threats of violence and celebrations of abuse.

I never said they're a harmless novelty to me. I don't particularly expect to interact with these people but if I do I promise it won't be in support of their hate, or even passive of it.

If you want to read far-right trash, you can set up an account on a far-right trash server, rather than insisting that everybody else on the instance tolerates them for your convenience.

Like people have said, you can block things for yourself.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’m not SDF, or even that familiar with the organisation, but I would argue we shouldn’t let such people use this instance. Or grandma from my example, for that matter.

It sounds like you think it's easy to police who can join an instance. The privacy ramifications of what you're alluding to are troubling.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Sort of, but if you leave the door wide open you get, like, straight-up spambots, and then everyone defederates you. It's pretty hard to make an email address without your real-life identity or something equivalent for the same reason.

Right now, finding SDF in the first place is the main barrier that's assuring a certain sort of person is on here.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago

So you think grandmas and children and people with mental illness shouldn't be allowed here, but people who call LGBT people slurs and make jokes about hanging them should be?

That's...really not at all how SDF operates.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm not SDF, or even that familiar with the organisation, but I would argue we shouldn't let such people use this instance. Or grandma from my example, for that matter.

I'm not sure that this approach is in-line with the org's stated mission.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Oh, okay.

In case that read as an ageist thing, it's not, there's plenty of equally dumb 20-somethings. It might be elitist, I guess I have to own that.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This instance is run by a 501(c) non-profit and their stated mission is:

Our mission is to provide remotely accessible computing facilities for the advancement of public education, cultural enrichment, scientific research and recreation. Members can interact electronically with each other regardless of their location using passive or interactive forums. Further purposes include the recreational exchange of information concerning the Liberal and Fine Arts.

I didn't necessarily take your statement to be ageist. However, considering the above, excluding those who may not have strong critical reasoning skills or understanding of the Internet really seems contradictory.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

A 501© also has to steer clear of politics, at least on paper, which could be an issue here. It's odd that I know that as a non-American.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

And neither hate speech nor speech aimed at inciting or celebrating violence against minority groups are considered protected, political speech. So, I would see that as a moot point. If it were a case of "we should de-federate because these are instances where policies are discussed that I disagree with", you might have a point in that.

However, that's clearly not the case. It took less than a minute, not searching, to find content from these instances that is using falsified information to demonize and foment hatred against those in the LGBTQ+, including communities dedicated to that purpose. Human rights and whether all deserve them is not a political topic, despite being made central to some political parties' platforms. It is one of basic human dignity and ethics.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

In a similar vein, in Canada promotion of hate is written in as an exception to freedom of expression in the Charter and criminalised (although that's not very often enforced).

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I never said they're a harmless novelty to me. I don't particularly expect to interact with these people but if I do I promise it won't be in support of their hate, or even passive of it.

"Let's just give them free reign and leave the people they're trying to bully into suicide block them" sounds pretty passive to me.

Like people have said, you can block things for yourself.

Something people have been able to do on every platform the far-right have built a little rat nest on.

Looking at the last 5 years, do you feel that strategy has been effective?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Well, you're being true to you name, but I guess I'd question if your approach has been effective. We could make a walled garden, but that's just [insert big platform] again and we all know where that goes.

"But hate is different!" well yeah it is, but walled garden is bad and semi-walled garden has proved unstable. By federating we've accepted that people will use the fediverse for whatever; defederating from something as a political tool effects only people on this small instance with highly mobile users such as myself, which is useless. If it was a bigger instance maybe you would be right.

Of course, I'm basically a guest here, so I have to temper my opinions even on that, and you're not even on this instance. It seems like there's some free speech absolutists here so maybe I'm wasting my breath.

Edit: And I think federation is still different from 4chan or similar. It's not open, maybe it's a movable-wall garden. I'd gladly wall off these people but I paradoxically don't want to be walled off from them, and an SDF defederation fails on both counts.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You aren't even a user of SDF Lemmy. So why are you spamming everyone here with your irrelevant opinions?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Sounds like you'll hate the work exploding-heads do then. Better defederate.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Do you have the same level of confidence in children and people who are deeply mentally ill?

This instance, which you are not a member of, is for adults who can decide what they want to read for themselves.

Maybe you should stick to discussing issues about the instance you're actually on, instead of wasting people's time in discussions which don't involve you.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Don't worry, you're the smartest adult in the room so if my comments are upsetting you, just don't read them.

It's fascinating that this solution of yours is apparently only for other people reading far-right extremism.