mcneely @mcneely@librem.one

@demandprogress @GovTrack @eff @pogowatchdog @team @CREW @weareoversight @epicprivacy

Also, if you personally work on (federal) #opengov or #accountability issues, let me know, because I want to follow your account.

I don't dislike Eugen. You have to give him credit for building Mastodon, which has turned out to be a catalyst for introducing decentralized to the masses.

If I had to name a feeling, it would be disappointment. Mastodon represents a massive opportunity to make different decisions about engaging and building community.

Unfortunately, he has chosen time and time again to stick to a myopic view of the fediverse that makes people unsafe and replicates the issue of significant platforms because of his juvenile sense of fairness.

Where is the centralized database of bad actors that instances can integrate into their platforms to check and warn people at the server level? Where is the support for instances that prioritize safety over engagement? Where is the input from targeted communities that could diversify the experience?

Time and time again, he has shown he does not want Mastodon to be an example of what social media could be because he is captivated by his vision of what he feels should be.

And as any non-white man will tell you, his decision-making has left every community that does not look like him vulnerable.

He is simply replicating an open-source version of the social media platforms we are trying to escape.

🇺🇳 💰 #UN #Democracy Fund #grants are open. $100k - $250k for 2-year projects improving peoples' lives in various areas:

youth engagement, law & human rights, media & freedom of information, strengthening civil society, gender equality, and electoral process

Deadline to apply is 30 November.

https://www.un.org/democracyfund/apply-for-funding

I wish I could attach a CW to someone else's post when boosting. I often find interesting Ukraine content without a CW and end up favouriting instead, which limits a post's reach. #Mastodon #CW

An intro to designing accessible data visualizations https://fossheim.io/writing/posts/accessible-dataviz-design/ #a11y #design #dataviz

Morning in New York City.

We use alt-text here folks. I’m on @pixelfed, too. #nyc #photo #sunrise #empirestatebuilding

*PLEASE BOOST*

Hey phone #photography and #iOS #app folks:
I’m trying to de-Google my life as much as practically possible. While I like the UI and end results of Snapseed, it’s owned by Google and therefore has to go as well.

Any suggestions for apps that could fit the bill instead?

CSS :where() :is() the difference?

🔗 https://helloanselm.com/writings/css-where-is-the-difference

—
":where() ignores specificity;
:is() respects and increases specificity"

#CSS

@aurynn

Hello. How can I find and follow more BIPOC conversations here?

#MastodonNewbie

Feels very meta that twitter itself is the main character on twitter this week

#Twitter vs #Mastodon

Does anyone know of a unions-centric Mastodon instance? Please boost for reach.

Looking for an Instance that is a good home for a Black queer feminist scientist who cusses and talks politics. I’m seeing a lot of places with what I would consider to be excessive content warning requirements 😵‍💫 And other instances where I simply don’t know what the admin considers to be racism. Like, are we allowed to talk about whiteness?

This is why I left Twitter and why I don't think Twitter is a safe environment, *especially* for the most vulnerable:

"Everyone here should also know that our CISO, Chief Privacy Officer and Chief Compliance Officer ALL resigned last night. This news will be buried in the return-to-office drama. I believe that is intentional... I do not believe he [Elon] cares about the human rights activists. the dissidents, our users in un-monetizable regions..."

https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/10/23451198/twitter-ftc-elon-musk-lawyer-changes-fine-warning

The recent introduction of the Securing Open Source Software Act, and its subsequent momentum, has stoked a debate about the true reason for the open source security problem and the merits of different solutions.

#Cybersecurity #Technology #USACongress #OpenSource #SOSSA

From Chinmay Sharma, John Speed Meyers, James Howison: https://www.lawfareblog.com/securing-open-source-software-act-good-whatever-happened-legal-liability

Hi I'm Jay! I'm a writer, editor & developer who works in comics, games & books. I love #scifi, #fantasy & especially #StarTrek, #StarWars, #WheelofTime, #TheWitcher and way too many more to tag. BIG #BioWare fan, so expect to see loads of #MassEffect and #DragonAge here. I'm also a cosplayer with 120+ costumes. I stream video games, comics discussions, #TTRPG, art & cooking. I LOVE talking #comics, #cosplay & #games, so feel free to hit me up! Boosts appreciated ❤️

My apologies there's not an easy way for me to port these to Mastodon, but this thread contains every PhD recruitment tweet in the general areas of HCI/InfoSci/social computing/responsible tech I could find! https://twitter.com/cfiesler/status/1582126246007214080

To be absolutely clear:

With all the attention being given to the Fediverse (and Mastodon in particular) bigots and edgelords have identified an opportunity to wage a campaign of racism and harassment.

Many instance admins communicate with each other directly and share their block lists with each other - and the newest version of Mastodon is finally getting tools to help simplify those processes.

But at the end of the day the issue isn't a technical one - but a human one. This is also why smaller instances are better than the ones with tens or hundreds of thousands of accounts. Smaller sites mean moderators can act faster without as much strain on the human behind the screen.

I'd like to use my small voice to encourage my fellow admins to not fail the BIPOC community.

Thank you.