Post APtwkiyL88ZOgOuj5M by shengokai@zirk.us
(DIR) More posts by shengokai@zirk.us
(DIR) Post #APtwkiCU04HyHyWVUW by shengokai@zirk.us
2022-11-18T02:01:46Z
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Yet another insightful question about my engagement with mastodon here.If I'm going to be honest, my perspective hasn't much changed about Mastodon except insofar as I've learned more disturbing things about the history of users of color and other marginalized groups on the platform. I've also learned some pretty not great implications for the existing affordances of the fediverse, many of which I've outlined in other places.https://mastodon.social/@blaine/109361905814299212
(DIR) Post #APtwkiyL88ZOgOuj5M by shengokai@zirk.us
2022-11-18T02:03:37Z
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The primary thing that I've learned about mastodon is that more than twitter, much of our cultural inheritances structure how we use the site and how the norms of using the site are enforced and maintain. This, predictably, has a great deal to do with who is using the site and in what way.As I have said before, Mastodon is a very white platform. It is also, in many respects, a very male platform and a platform that abides by the epistemic norms of the tech industry.
(DIR) Post #APtwkjYqwNmEVdzszw by shengokai@zirk.us
2022-11-18T02:05:16Z
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Let me be clear what I mean: tech privileges a particular way of knowing, of engaging with problems that is in tension with other modes of inquiry. As I am primarily a philosopher, I am interested in implications, directions, potentialities, while a great many of the replies have demanded "solutions" "resolutions" and so on. This is similar to the demands made of me when working in spaces like AI and algorithmic bias.
(DIR) Post #APtwkjyNPUC3mnwGmW by shengokai@zirk.us
2022-11-18T02:07:21Z
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These are both spaces that share the demography of Mastodon and the social norms, broadly construed, of mastodon itself. In essence, some of what I have learned during my time here is about the social dynamics of mastodon and how those dynamics can impede the kind of community formation that many (not all) marginalized groups desire and are looking for. To put it simply, I have learned more about the social aspects of mastodon since being here than any of the technical aspects.
(DIR) Post #APtwkkUzSEHVPxCJcG by shengokai@zirk.us
2022-11-18T02:09:57Z
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Now, what I have learned of the technical aspects gives me both hope and broad concern for the platform. I see that the technical aspects of the fediverse, while enabling freedom from some kinds of abuse, also open up vectors to other kinds of abuse. These vectors are overlooked in the recommendations made by mastodonians to marginalized communities. I have enumerated them in my responses to "build your own instances."
(DIR) Post #APtwkooHQS5WmwFmEq by shengokai@zirk.us
2022-11-18T02:11:30Z
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But there is a hopeful spot there: the possibility to build our own instances and then federate with other instances means that communities can create unique enclaves. This is the strength that mastodonians often tout. However, this strength is organized by a shocking ignorance of or indifference to the ways that this actually enhances the vulnerability of these communities. Further, it contributes to a disinvestment of responsibility for making existing communities safer.
(DIR) Post #APtwkqVZ70J43TVrLU by shengokai@zirk.us
2022-11-18T02:12:58Z
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I've also learned that the choice in instance matters a great deal in being on mastodon: pick the wrong instance and you are open to all kinds of racist violence with no recourse, especially if the moderation team simply does not care or the server does not have rules preventing the kind of abuse. The above, in combination with the whiteness of the platform means that marginalized users need to be more careful about the selection of instances.
(DIR) Post #APtwktetOmY9pGtqng by shengokai@zirk.us
2022-11-18T02:14:21Z
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Indeed, there's a massive amount of privilege to be had when one can "just sign up" for an instance or when one can throw a dart at a map of the fediverse and then pick an instance. This is not a privilege afforded to all mastodonians, and one of the things I've learned is that many long time mastodonians simply do not understand this. And this lack of understanding contributes to much of the wrong-headedness on this platform.
(DIR) Post #APtwkvRqkFIzNOoSkS by shengokai@zirk.us
2022-11-18T02:16:16Z
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That said, Mastodon does a great many things correctly: hashtag following, while a recent innovation, could enable community formation in some unique ways by aligning users with groups through the hashtag function across instances. If long time mastodonians eased up on their policing of the norms around hashtags and CWs, I would be curious to see what marginalized groups made of these affordances in time. Again, the existing community is kind of a problem here.
(DIR) Post #APtwkx7MXO6cYRF85o by shengokai@zirk.us
2022-11-18T02:21:59Z
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And finally, like many social media sites, Mastodon does have some good people who are genuinely curious and willing to engage charitably. As much as I critique the platform, it is not completely made out of assholes and bad actors.That said, the culture of mastodon makes possible these bad actors in ways different from Twitter. I have encountered more "nice whites" here than on twitter, which is to say that there are white folks who use civility to cloak their racism.
(DIR) Post #APtwkz0LWRgKPFyYQy by shengokai@zirk.us
2022-11-18T02:23:07Z
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But again, these are social problems that we deal with offline. It is only the unique affordances of Mastodon that brings them into the online sphere. All of this is to say that I am critical of Mastodon because I believe there is potential in it, but that belief is hampered by the current social and cultural norms surrounding the use of the platform.