Posts by rwg@aoir.social
(DIR) Post #AwPDTjuPFKAntUqq2K by rwg@aoir.social
2025-07-22T19:04:19Z
1 likes, 2 repeats
Pleased to announce that my book, Move Slowly and Build Bridges: Mastodon, the Fediverse, and the Struggle for Democratic Social Media, is now available online, and will be out in print in a couple weeks!https://moveslowlybuildbridges.comThat site has more stuff, too -- links to related articles, some notes about how I researched it, and a contact form in case you want to talk about the fediverse with me! (I'd be happy to chat with journalists about it!)#academicChatter #bookstodon #fediverse #mastodon
(DIR) Post #AwSWWpp4CDgBhwQHy4 by rwg@aoir.social
2025-07-24T13:00:02Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Fediverse developer Chris Trottier makes this argument more forcefully: "ActivityPub poses a tangible threat to Meta’s monopoly on social media. By choosing to federate, Meta might be opening Pandora’s box. The moment Meta’s users receive a message from a server not owned by Meta is the moment they’re exposed to something else beyond Meta’s control....https://moveslowlybuildbridges.com#MoveSlowlyAndBuildBridges #bot
(DIR) Post #Ax09U501oWI2L1ivIm by rwg@aoir.social
2025-08-09T18:22:55Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Nonilex Winners of the new grants program include Europe and China
(DIR) Post #AxW8jvxFKNZe1W8UIC by rwg@aoir.social
2025-08-25T04:08:19Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
holy crap I think I did it... I think I reimplemented my static site generated blog entirely in Python... including an atom feed... and tags... and fediverse-based comments system.I need to sleep and see it in the morning to believe it...If this is true I can ditch github pages and just host it myself super easily.either I've totally fooled myself and this won't work, or I did the most ambitious coding thing I've ever done. Time will tell...
(DIR) Post #AxWeCnxjDci4DGblfU by rwg@aoir.social
2025-08-16T13:00:03Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
"Mark Zuckerberg called the people who trusted him with their data when he set up Thefacebook at Harvard “dumb fucks.” His extractive business of building intimate profiles of people to exploit for profit has made Facebook a trillion-dollar corporation and Mark a billionaire. So should you trust Threads and federate with it? Sure...." -- Aral Balkanhttps://moveslowlybuildbridges.com#MoveSlowlyAndBuildBridges #bot
(DIR) Post #AxWeCwMpy9Y2HSPvuq by rwg@aoir.social
2025-08-16T14:21:03Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Need to clarify, this is a quote from @aral when I asked him about Threads...
(DIR) Post #AxWeD4NUBcov7mmZ2O by rwg@aoir.social
2025-08-16T14:22:17Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@aral I do wish Aral had told me what he *really* thought. I felt like he was holding back a bit!
(DIR) Post #AxY5K8Gb1Atx8K6ziK by rwg@aoir.social
2025-08-26T03:04:07Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Latest FOSS Academic is I DID IT! I DID IT! I re-implemented my static blog generator in Python and moved it off #Github onto my own hosting!https://fossacademic.tech/2025/08/25/reimplemented.htmlWhat's that? You want an archive and previews of posts? Done. Tags? Handled! Atom feed? Generated. (https://fossacademic.tech/feed.xml)What about comments, you say?Respond to this post and they shall appear on my blog, I say unto you.I did it! Yay!#FOSSAcademic #Python
(DIR) Post #AxoLksmNPnJKiM74qm by rwg@aoir.social
2025-09-02T21:12:40Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
I love LibreOffice Writer -- I've written 4+ books with it! But why do they think a dark mode makes any sense?(please don't respond to me with a suggestion to use LaTex)
(DIR) Post #AxoMuIcYo0UzQBZlJI by rwg@aoir.social
2025-09-02T23:48:57Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@monarchist boooboooo this man
(DIR) Post #AxoSDTobuPoBPfB44W by rwg@aoir.social
2025-09-03T00:48:25Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@monarchist it does disgust me! I do the same... but with Python to process it!
(DIR) Post #Axs8fpAGuAfhHgO4Wm by rwg@aoir.social
2025-09-04T19:28:07Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@stux same
(DIR) Post #Ay2dj8V4VqYEHSm6DY by rwg@aoir.social
2025-09-09T21:01:02Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
This might be a longshot... but the fediverse might be the best place for me to post this and get the reply of fellow Linux friends.One of my kid's buddies found an in-the-box Samsung SM-T113 "Tab." Doing searches, I see it may be possible to put something like PostMarketOS on it.Anyone out there have experience in this?boosts appreciated#Linux #keepingStuffOutOfLandfills
(DIR) Post #Ay8cLBkppNiwPxvNku by rwg@aoir.social
2025-09-12T14:13:15Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
I had a wonderful time yesterday talking to folks at the @fediforum book launch event for Move Slowly and Build Bridges! It was especially fun to see folks who were interviewed for the book!As usual, I want to share the text of my talk as well as the slides. You can see them here:https://robertwgehl.org/presentations/fediForumBookTalkText.htmlhttps://robertwgehl.org/presentations/fediForumBookTalk.htmlThe latter has alt text for images, and there's a "presenter view" if you want to see the text and slides together. (Marp ftw).Also, this:https://moveslowlybuildbridges.com//images/discountBill.png
(DIR) Post #AyqtCJChxURUjn1z6m by rwg@aoir.social
2025-10-04T00:42:22Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Hey! If you're new to the fediverse and curious about it, may I humbly suggest my new book, Move Slowly and Build Bridges?https://moveslowlybuildbridges.com/It offers a history of Mastodon and discusses the highs and lows of content moderation and governance on the fediverse. This is a complex space, but... it's *our* space. We can make it what we want.#fediverse #mastodon #alternativeSocialMedia
(DIR) Post #B0I294s7DdzGdoOdQO by rwg@aoir.social
2025-11-15T17:35:22Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Hey, #admins! Along with a grad student, I am working on a paper the surveys Mastodon (and forks -- Hometown, Glitch) servers that have some connection to #Canada. We have done a lot of digging and have found ~40 instances that have some connection to Canada. We presented our work recently:https://robertwgehl.org/presentations/CanadaFediASM.html#1But! Maybe we're missing some. If you are willing to share, please let me know if your Mastodon/fork instance meets this criteria.Boosts appreciated!
(DIR) Post #B1B8Dj9san2tU1q5Z2 by rwg@aoir.social
2025-12-12T16:54:06Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Every day, I check my web site logs. It's very clear human visitors to my various websites and blogs are rare. Clearly the sites are being scraped, constantly. This is in spite of the fact that they're all static sites and I write posts maybe twice a month at the most. Must I put it all behind Cloudflare? Or must I introduce "proof of work" style friction? Or do I just give up and let my work be part of the planet-burning machine?Suggestions welcome.#askFedi #webAdministration
(DIR) Post #B1PsFuuHCPg8bUxhWi by rwg@aoir.social
2025-12-01T14:00:03Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
First, it is false to argue that the #fedipact members are against openness. As I have argued across this bok, the covenantal fediverse is open to people who want to become members. They just have to do a few things: see themselves not as signing up for social media, but joining a community and abiding by its ethical standards....https://moveslowlybuildbridges.com#MoveSlowlyAndBuildBridges #bot
(DIR) Post #B22DFL2CzvApuimlsm by rwg@aoir.social
2026-01-06T21:24:07Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Latest FOSS Academic post is: Oops! All Microslop. Or, Trying to Write with Microsoft.https://fossacademic.tech/2026/01/06/oops-all-microslop.htmlIt's a post in which I see what it's like for me to try to create a blank document with York University's Microsoft 365 subscription.TL;DR version is: it's all about Copilot, and starting a blank Word doc is actually kinda... hard.The post is a bit long, but it does have a lot of screenshots + a dash of anger.#FOSSAcademic #Microsoft #generativeAI #YorkUniversity
(DIR) Post #B2US5uoblxd3Sqojei by rwg@aoir.social
2026-01-20T19:03:54Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Anyone making a version of Noscript (the Javascript blocking plugin for Firefox) that blocks "AI assistants" or any other such garbage?