FBXL Social

I joined #Mastodon for the exact reason to AVOID surveillance capitalism social media. I will block #Meta #Facebook #Threads and any other surveillance capitalist social media.

@erik the issue is, there's over 20,000 Fedi instances, unless you set every post to private, there's no chance in hell you can be sure who is/isn't reading your posts or harvesting your data. This is a completely open platform by design.

#Fediverse #Threads #Meta

@BeAware: exactly

@erik the programming behind the Mastodon platform is all about broadcasting information out without much in the way of control over who gets it.

You can not block those actors on this platform, unfortunately. It’s simply not how they structured the system here, and it’s really important for users to realize that.

Effectively, if you participate here, they will have access to it.

I criticize that design, but it is what it is. Other platforms like BlueSky might be better about this, but it’s how this platform decided to operate.

@Hyolobrika @volkris @BeAware I am on a single user instance, I have blocked my instance from threads.net and since your posts I am considering going private-only for my posts. Thanks.

@erik even if you block your instance from threads.net, the way the protocol works your content can still make its way to them.

Again, I think it’s really important that users realize how little control they have over content on this platform. Simple blocking like that doesn’t solve the problem, and you remain vulnerable.

@Hyolobrika @BeAware

@Hyolobrika yeah, there are a few other platforms that didn’t have these problems.

IMO, the key is focusing on users instead of instances. ActivityPub chose to put the control in the hand of instances instead of users, but other platforms are user-first.

That makes the difference.

@Hyolobrika @erik @volkris that's pretty neat and all, but would it be adopted enough to make a difference?🤷‍♂️ Fedi already has 15m accounts natively and just started to federate with one of the biggest platforms in the world, if they can get some momentum and have a legit route to actual privacy on Fedi, then that'll definitely be a sight to see.🤔

@volkris @erik you CAN technically block this from happening, either by joining an instance that blocks the instances you don't trust or by running your own instance.

If these aren't options for you, you can always make your posts private.

There's plenty of control over who gets to see your posts, it's just that a lot of people think that Fedi is some sort of "bastion of privacy" when that's just not the case by default.

@BeAware right, if you form a splinter Fediverse made up of only instances that are 100% trustworthy, that have all implemented security policies to lock down ways their users might be using their services, then you can block this from happening.

But that seems pretty unrealistic to the way people are imagining Fediverse growing.

A single bad acting instance in the whitelisted network, or a single hacked instance, is all it takes to undermine that firewall.

@erik

@volkris@qoto.org NB I know you just used it as an example but don't think Bluesky specifically is at all better when it comes to this particular point. If anything it's worse since everything is public by default there and you don't defederate from anyone AFAIK.

@vetehinen yeah, after your reply I went back and skimimed the docs again, and I think you’re right.

It looks like BlueSky emphasizes giving users control over their content and yet admits that they don’t think they can really do anything to enforce this.

@volkris @erik truth. There's lots of safeguards but it's definitely a personal thing if they're good enough for you or not.

I just try to be as transparent about the facts of the platform as much as I can because there's a lot of misconceptions.

I do enjoy this place and think it really deserves to grow as much as possible so everyone can experience what it's like to have a "safe space" for "you" because there's enough control to fine-tune your experience here, unlike most corporate options.

We want people to be here because the corporate options are worse in that regard specifically. Not because it's a bastion of privacy, but because you have the option to make it as open or closed as you see fit. You just have to know that the options are there and aren't default.

@BeAware exactly, and that’s what bothers me so much, a lack of transparency for users to make up their own minds.

There are far too many users on here posting content under the belief that it’s much more private and safeguarded than it actually is, that end up surprised to hear how little control they actually have.

I see it almost every day, and it really worries me.

@m @erik @volkris @Hyolobrika mastodon also has a "whitelist" mode. In that case, you could leave the whitelist empty and you'd be severed from Fedi as well.