Every major social media is censoring anti-israel or pro-Palestine content. This may be a good opportunity to convince Arabs to move over to lemmy, where only we control the content moderation.
For the record, the lemmy won't be Palestine only. I just think it'll be the reason people will move over.
The reason I ask for others to help me is:
- help advertise to other Arabs to bring them over
- someone to register the stuff in their name. Unfortunately, I am an immigrant in a country and have been interrogated by them before (on bogus grounds). While what I'm doing is not illegal, they have their eyes on me and I am paranoid they'll give me trouble again regardless. I can take care of the technology side of the hosting and the initial costs (hopefully donations cover the rest). Since it will be on your name, moderation and the like will be your decision, but I will just want to make sure initially that we are on a similar page.
I can't stop you, or even blame you for wanting this.
But in they long run, I think this kind of voluntary isolation is only going to keep the hatred escalating, or just simmering, at best. I say this with absolutely no stake in either party.
I think you misunderstand my intentions. An Arabic lemmy instance is not aimed at isolation. People will be able to ineract with us without issue, and we will interact with them (federation will be open). The only purpose is to have a space where we are free of corporate censorship, and a space where you (whether an Arab or not) will find many other arabs, rather than most of the internet that is English-speaking, and most of the remainder speaking a west european language.
If anything, this would de-isolate Arabs. The primary Arabic speaking spaces on the internet are networks of friends on Facebook, isolated from the rest of the world. At least this way you can find us, and see that we are normal human beings (as unfortunately some racists in the western world are surprised to find that out) and you can talk with us.
The small existing Arab spaces that are accessible to the outside world is cringy, unserious, terminally online memers that ruin our image and do not represent us. Probably many of them are 4chan-ers
I still think that would effectively imply isolation (at least, moreso than not doing it). What you're describing to me still has a lot of characteristics of an echo chamber. And by spending time on that instance, in those communities, you'll be spending less time on "generic" instances and communities. In doing so, those instances will, in turn, also become less diverse and more echo-ey.
Again, I understand your reasoning (except for the corporate censorship, there is none on Lemmy AFAIK), but I do think it's a step in the wrong direction.
I don't think it is harmful to give people the option to spaces primarily speaking about local matters and concerns, and primarily occupied by local people. It does not take away the other spaces.
We are already in an age where it is almost impossible to undo globalization, and nothing I do will prevent those who frequent mixed and international spaces (or more accurately Western dominated spaces) from doing this. It is only giving them a place that didn't exist before for content they couldn't post or read elsewhere.
Most of the world already has this. I don't think Arabs having it will be harmful.
I am not convinced, but hope to be mistaken.
Peace be with you.