Posts by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
(DIR) Post #AdfU6Owbkjgtm9jyLI by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2024-01-09T03:51:23Z
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The free fediverses should work together with people and instances in Meta's fediverses and on Bluesky whose goals and values align with the free fediversehttps://privacy.thenexus.today/work-together-with-metas-fediverses-and-bluesky/Part 6 of Strategies for the free fediversesMany of the Meta advocates I've talked to share the free fediverses' long-term goal of building a sustainable alternative to surveillance capitalism -- and the same is true for people on Bluesky. So there are likely to be situations where some of the people and instances in Meta's fediverses and Bluesky wind up as situational allies to the free fediverses. A few areas where collaboration could be very useful:- A key principle of organizing is meeting people where they are. - Moderation on decentralized networks is a shared challenge. - Bringing concepts similar to Bluesky's custom feeds to the fediverses, and more generally focusing on human-focused and liberatory (as opposed to oppressive) uses of algorithms in decentralized social networks designed from the margins. - Meta's fediverses, Bluesky, and the free fediverses are all vulnerable to disinformation.https://privacy.thenexus.today/work-together-with-metas-fediverses-and-bluesky/#fediverse #threads #bluesky #organizing @fediversenews
(DIR) Post #AdfU6SntP561kHh4JU by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2024-01-09T04:06:59Z
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FYI @FediTips @kissane @tokyo_0 @underlap @FediGarden @jseggers @evanprodromou @renchap I mentioned you and linked to your posts in ⬆️
(DIR) Post #AlMemxrq2VHdlpcBIO by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2024-08-26T16:31:58Z
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@strypey Friendica connects to Bluesky as well, so in my mind it really is analogous to Diaspora: a different protocol used internally, two-way connections to ActivityPub-based fediverse instances. Threads and Flipboard similarly use different protocols internally and are only piped in via connectors ... okay in those cases the same people who implement the network also implements the connector but that very much isn't the case with Diaspora, where it's not seen as a deal-breaker.
(DIR) Post #Ao6zT8mZJSzfARV0Ns by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2024-11-16T20:36:07Z
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It depends. If the fedierse continues not to address its key problems, then yes, that what will happen again in a year or two. Time will tell.In the short term, people are looking for a Twitter alternative, and for most people Bluesky's a lot better for that than Mastodon or any ActrivityPub based software. And what are the other options, Threads? Sure, Bluesky is likely to become exploitative and turn evil, but Meta's been doing that at scale for a decade already. So I generally see Bluesky -- despite all the very real problems -- as a very good thing in the short term. I just finished updating https://privacy.thenexus.today/bluesky-atmosphere-fediverse/ , which goes into a lot more detail on my perspectives.@collectifission @ASegar
(DIR) Post #Ao9bDcPnYZFx0qnHeK by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2024-11-18T02:57:11Z
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Rudy, who does Blacksky, sees things exactly the same way. He talks about it some in https://blog.rudyfraser.com/blacksky-part-three/ (or maybe an earlier installment in the series)It's quite possible that there's a difference in the ways oppression manifests itself targeting Black and trans people online, and what community defense mechanism have historically been successful.@futurebird @HumToTable @eosfpodcast
(DIR) Post #AoEki0V4Rat1mCcney by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2024-11-20T00:24:22Z
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Poll: how much of a priority should fediverse starter packs be? (7/7)As you can tell from the previous questions, it's not straightforward to do something like starter packs on the fediverse! And we haven't even gotten to the potential "rich get richer" dyanamics and risks magnifying existing biases. But new arrivals to Bluesky certainly think starter packs useful -- and for many people it's challenging to find people to follow in the fediverse. So given all that ... how much of a priority should starter packs be?It's urgent to get an initial version out. even if it's got problems -- we can clean it up laterHigh-priority, but we should take the time to do it rightIt's one of many important things to work onLower priority than other important thingsNot a priority at allNot sure
(DIR) Post #AoElBBeA522CkFn6Tw by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2024-11-19T23:57:53Z
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A poll: how do you feel about the general idea of starter packs (or some equivalent) on fedi? (1/7)Bluesky's "starter packs" make it easy to follow a bunch of accounts all at once. Anybody can create one or more starter packs, and they're used for a lot of different things; the Blacksky starter pack, for example, is great for newcomers from Black Twitter, and Newsmast's FediSky starter pack is helpful for finding folks you might know from the fedivere.But Bluesky's implementation has some major problems: people can be added to starter packs without their consent, aren't even notified when it happens, and it's not obvious how to opt out. And any mechanism like this potentially creates "rich get richer" dyanamics and risks magnifying existing biases -- guys tend to mostly add guys to starter packs, white people tend to mostly add white people to starter packs, etc. Still, despite the problems, they're very helpful for onboarding.I've had discussions with multiple people working on ideas for fediverse starter packs or the equivalents, and similar questions keep cropping up. So I figured I'd do a series of polls to get feedback on what people think.To start with, the basic question, how do you feel about the general idea of starter packs (or some equivalent) on fedi? the Mastodon iOS app cuts off long text in the polls, so I'm including it here as well No, Bad idea for fedi, don't do itMaybe, depending on how it's implementedYes, this is important functionality - get something out now, we can fix it later!Not sureEDIT: untagged newsmast. Sorry about that!#fediverse #bluesky #starterPacks
(DIR) Post #Aoc9anNh6SoQMCfMIK by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2024-12-01T21:34:13Z
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Almost none.@strypey @smallcircles
(DIR) Post #Aoeq7kkAVzw27lUoVM by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2024-12-03T04:40:11Z
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@strypey Bluesky is currently to the ATmosphere what StatusNet was to the Identiverse back in the day (only moreso): a venture-funded startup that controls the protocol and runs what's by far the largest server.Bluesky's Relay is currently to the ATmosphere what Google' search engine is to the modern web (only moreso)
(DIR) Post #AoizPxRRieR8wGKlZg by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2024-12-04T19:11:50Z
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More precisely, as of today, 17479https://blue.mackuba.eu/directory/fedi@strypey @smallcircles
(DIR) Post #ArttXYOvMN4b9V8YRU by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2025-03-09T23:56:23Z
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@box464 thanks for the updates!Out of curiosity, other than Molly White, did any women speak today?
(DIR) Post #AtcwSsfjqK0As1b35M by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2025-04-27T02:08:39Z
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For those of you on Fosstodon (UPDATED) UPDATE, April 30: there are some encouraging changes happening at Fosstodon. That's good! So, I've updated this post accordingly -- and added a new reply about the Nazi bar analogyStill, even though things are much more hopeful now than a week ago, it's still too early to know how things will work out. So here's a few thoughts for people who are on Fosstodon ...1) let your new admins know what direction you want to see the instance moving in -- and, if you've got the time, consider offering to help! 2) if you're still considering potentially moving, now's a good time to start exploring. It really is hard to pick a compatible instance, and you'll want to take the time to scope things out. Don't feel like your next choice is necessarily your permanent new home -- you can always treat it as an interim and move again if necessary. Asking friends for recommendations is a great place to start but not bulletproof (would you have recommended fosstodon if somebody had asked you about it a month ago?) ...Resources for choosing the right fediverse instances has links to directories and instance catalogs that can help you find out more 3) You can set up new accounts on other instances without moving -- so this is a good way to explore. One option is to export the list of people you're following (on the Preferences / Import and Export tab ), and import it on your new account. Or, if you feel like you're following too many people, this can also be a good time to experiment -- either start from scratch, or edit the CSV file before importing. You'll probably also want to export-and-import your blocklists, mutelists, domain blocks, and lists if you have any. Unfortunately there isn't any way to export and import your filters, so you'll need to recreate those manually. 4) If you're planning on "migrating" your account, make sure to read Cutie City's guide to Migrating Servers and Erin Kissane's Notes From a Mastodon Migration first to avoid unpleaant surprises. It really sucks that Mastodon migration doesn't let you move your posts, but things are getting better. Check out Posty and Slurp5) if you're up for having your own instance, it's really worth checking out GoToSocial. My experience with gotosocial.thenexus.today: setup and configuration were straightforward and well-documented, and upgrades have been smooth. There are also hosted options available. And, Slurp works really well with GoToSocial! If you decide to stay on Fosstodon, you can either keep it around as a secondary account ... or just view it as an interesting experiment and delete it.#fosstodon #fediverse
(DIR) Post #AtcwSxmIrLDwhphrVo by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2025-04-30T19:33:29Z
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There's been a lot of talk about Fosstodon as a "Nazi bar". If you haven't heard the analogy and the story behind it before, here's a good discussion.The point of the analogy is that (at least initially) most of the people in the bar aren't Nazis. But once you let Nazis -- or fascists, or white supremacists, or anti-trans bigots -- in, it becomes a place where Nazis know they're accepted, and it goes down that path. How to Radicalize a Normie talks about how once fash get a toehold in a community they recruit and radicalize others ... and that's exactly how they've operated in the punk scene.OK, maybe Fosstodon's now-former moderator wasn't an actually card-carrying Nazi. But his views were anti-immigrant, white supremacist, authoritarian, hostile to free speech, and anti-LGBTQ+ ... so, close enough. And by the way it's not just this latest incident. Remember a couple of years ago when Fosstodon reprimanded a membr for referring to a Nazi as a Nazi? If I recall correctly, the person who was being referred to had even been legally convicted of being a Nazi! But it was still considered hate speech by the moderators at the time. The good news is that it's not an irrevocable path. Continuing the analogy, the bar now has new management, and there are lots of people there who don't want it to be a Nazi bar. It's harder to push fascists out after they've gotten a toehold, but it can certainly be done -- I've hung out at punk bars that have told Nazi punks to fuck off, and talked with organizers in small towns in Washington who pushed the Aryan Nation out when they were on the verge of taking control back in the 1990s.So Fosstodon's new management has a great opportunity to work with the people there -- and elsewhere on the Fediverse -- who don't want Fosstodon to be a Nazi bar. Let's hope they pull it off!#fosstodon
(DIR) Post #AtoQ4UWyu04GHpywWe by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2025-05-06T08:55:53Z
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@peertube congrats!
(DIR) Post #AvVzcP7o2ifjHp6BsW by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2025-06-26T03:32:38Z
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Introducing CC Signals: A New Social Contract for the Age of AI, from @creativecommons:"CC signals are a proposed framework to help content stewards express how they want their works used in AI training—emphasizing reciprocity, recognition, and sustainability in machine reuse. They aim to preserve open knowledge by encouraging responsible AI behavior without limiting innovation."Note that the propoal "social contract" does not include a signal for content providers to say they don't want their work used in AI training What's with that?(I was going to file an issue on it but as usual @mcc is ahead of me. Here's the link again ... if you also think this is a problem it might be useful to upvote it and perhaps add a comment.]Hilariously, their list of concepts that the project "draws inspiration" from starts with "consent". Indeed, the full reportThe full report (PDF) says that "We believe creator consent is a core value of and a key component to a new social contract." I believe that too, I just don't see how the actual proposal aligns with that.UPDATE: discussion on Github suggests that this proposal builds on an IETF proposal, which does have a way to specify this -- but takes no position on the default, if it's not specified. So that's somewhat better, but it's still opt-out -- and opt-out isn't real consent. More details in the reply at https://infosec.exchange/@thenexusofprivacy/114748419834505739#consent #AI #creativeCommons
(DIR) Post #AvVzcUeFVWauPtJfdo by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2025-06-26T03:36:41Z
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At any rate, here's the signals in the @creativecommons CC Signals proposal. My initial reaction these seem reasonable enough as far as they go ... it's just that they don't include the ability to say "no"Credit: You must give appropriate credit based on the method, means, andcontext of your use.Direct Contribution: You must provide monetary or in-kind support to the Declaring Party for their development and maintenance of the assets, based on a good faith valuation taking into account your use of the assets and your financialmeans.Ecosystem Contribution: You must provide monetary or in-kind support back to the ecosystem from which you are benefiting, based on a good faith valuation taking into account your use of the assets and your financial means. Open: The AI system used must be open. For example, AI systems must satisfy the Model Openness Framework (MOF) Class II, MOF Class I, or the Open Source AI Definition (OSAID).#consent #AI #creativecommons
(DIR) Post #AvVzcaZ9VO5AloygWu by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2025-06-26T03:39:14Z
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And btw here's @creativecommons supporters page, which thanks (among others) Microsoft, Google, the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation. Amazon Web Services, and Mozilla (which has pivoted to become an AI company these days).Huh.Not to be cynical or anything, but I wonder if that has anything to do with the reason they don't think content creators should be able to say "no" to #AI?
(DIR) Post #AvVzcgQrh71Cxr99Rg by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2025-06-26T03:59:11Z
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@mcc was even farther ahead of me than I initially realized, with another issue report Your proposal is fundamentally bad; withdraw it"CC rolling out a welcome mat for "AI" trainers— inventing a new type of welcome mat for AI trainers specifically, even— harms the goal of nurturing the commons, and moreover harms the public perception that CC is equipped to advance this goal."Agreed. I might feel differently about it if the proposal had both a default of "do not use for training" if no signals are present to establish that the "social contract" is based on consentand an explicit "do not train" signal to unambiguously signal intent to withhold consenting. Without this, unless and until the signals and accompanying social contract are broadly adopted, AI scrapers will be able to argue that it's ambiguous whether consent is being withheld or just not specified.
(DIR) Post #AvVzclfEF8TlBquC1o by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2025-06-26T07:12:13Z
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A reply to the Github thread suggesgts that (based on the implementation session in the README CC Signals is a refinement of a IETF design to convey opt-in/opt-out via robots.txt/HTTP headers. "That is, the IETF proposal allows you to give a blanket yes/no, and CC signals then allows you to give exceptions to the blanket statement for uses that flow back into the commons."If so, that makes the situation somewhat better in that there is at least the ability to opt out. But even so, it's opt-out -- not real consent; the IETF Vocabulary For Expressing AI Usage Preferences says (in section 7) "This document takes no position on what default might be chosen as that will depend on policy constraints beyond the scope of this specification." And the announcement post and the context and considerations page don't even mention the IETF proposal. The implementation page, the README, and the full report do briefly mention intention to build on the IETF's work and provide links, but don't appear to mention the option to opting out of any AI usage. So they clearly need to do some documentation work!
(DIR) Post #AzAdhLbdMhWp3jfPZw by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange
2025-10-13T15:32:38Z
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great news indeed, congrats! @peertube @dpgalliance