When #BlackTwitter tried to migrate to #Mastodon they were harassed and made to feel unwelcome.
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When #BlackTwitter tried to migrate to #Mastodon they were harassed and made to feel unwelcome. Some of you even suggested digital segregation as if that’s a beneficial response as opposed to doing the work to clean up this space. Black & Brown folks are enjoying #Bluesky & feel empowered yet many of you want to crap on that. There was nothing but contempt and criticism for those still on #X #Twitter. So, staying on Twitter problematic, going to Bluesky problematic. Yet, unless they assimilate and capitulate Black and Brown folks weren’t welcome #Fediverse I can tell you that’s not a good look for any of you at all. This place isn’t as ethical nor as welcoming as advertised.
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@damon I’ve heard a version of this from SO MANY of my black peeps. 🤬
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@damon @NaClKnight Folks need to stop thinking they’re entitled to tell Black people what to do. The approach should be not, “you are wrong to not be on our network,” but “what can we do to make our network into your network?”
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@cferdinandi it’s disgusting and upsetting
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NaClKnight is Black online!replied to Ben Rosengart last edited by
@fivetonsflax @damon Yeah, you're right.
I think, if I'm playing devil's advocate, is that once i let go of the idea that the "core* Mastodon users want the platform to grow, it becomes much easier to understand this.
sometimes i think Mastodon users start from a place of moral superiority and then work backwards. Mastodon and FOSS is obviously the future and only morally ethically correct choice, and anyone who doesn't join their vision is either stupid or sinister.
I'm cynical perhaps, but all i can i do is take info and construct a narrative to fit it.
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Ben Rosengartreplied to NaClKnight is Black online! last edited by
@NaClKnight @damon I think you are describing at the very least, an influential strand of Mastodon culture. Unfortunately.
I’ve been involved with UNIX and such for about 30 years, so I have an insider’s perspective on that culture. It has treated me well. But its blind spots around inclusion are enormous and increasingly consequential. It’s ironic, for a group so focused on “systems”.
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NaClKnight is Black online!replied to Ben Rosengart last edited by
@fivetonsflax @damon I'm glad you have that perspective. I'm no coder or dev and my FOSS exp is begrudging more than exciting.
But in this case, i don't blame the Masto devs nearly as much.
I think it's moreso the old guard who have tied their sense of belonging and stability to this place being the anti-twitter.
Quote Tweets are bad cause Twitter has them
They don't want influencers or celebrities or popular accounts on their space
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damonreplied to NaClKnight is Black online! last edited by@NaClKnight
I place some blame. They are a part of the culture. It’s like a city or neighbourhood, sure things take a life of its own but there are key figures that influence culture and reputation. To ignore this isn’t reality. That to me would be like saying I don’t blame Trump for maga. There’s different levels of maga and people with different views than even Trump but he is an influential figure -
@damon I'm not saying you're wrong, but I don't understand talking about Mastodon as if it were a monolith service ala Twitter, Blue sky, etc.
It's all about what instance you join.
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NaClKnight is Black online!replied to nico198X last edited by
In this case, enough Black people have joined various Mastodon servers and then reported the same behaviors and unfriendly reception to be able to draw some larger conclusions.
I agree that what instance you land on makes a huge difference for your Mastodon experience.
But new users don't know that, and most people aren't willing to investigate and compare 3 or more servers before even writing their first post, let alone willing to have a bad experience and then make a new account on a new server and try again.
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nico198Xreplied to NaClKnight is Black online! last edited by
@NaClKnight @damon I see. Man, that's a damn shame.
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@damon Hey Damon, this makes me feel sad. What can we do?
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@damon how do I find you on BlueSky btw?
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@nico198X This is honestly a cop out. There are hardly any monoliths if we take that approach. Irrespective of semantics, you have the vast majority of instances running the same software which makes up most of the fedi, the two instances of the Mastodon nonprofit makes up 30% of monthly active users, most instances follow the Mastodon server covenant, they block most of the same servers and federate with most of the same servers, gee this seems like a lot of singular alignment. Also, to discredit your point I can find plenty of posts online including on #fediverse that says it doesn’t matter what instance you join. Also, go ask the people that ran Play Vicious instance which was the largest most popular Black & Brown ran instance that was harassed so badly it shut down. Asked them if there harassment came from a singular instance
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@nico198X @NaClKnight nor should they have to. People don’t often even in real life go to 3-4 of similar experiences after getting burned just to see if the other 2-3 will somehow be better
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@maartenpelgrim What can be done is for starters people need to stop lying about ATProto & Bluesky and stop attacking it. As I’ve stated there are legit concerns there. What should happen is focus on the shortcomings of ActivityPub, Fediverse and Mastodon, there’s so much content out there pointing the issues out. This place needs to get its own house in order first. While tending to the issues, figure out how to make this space better for people without the need for them to assimilate and capitulate, they should be able to come as they are. Speak to and listen to Black and Brown people. Stop talking about how ethical, nicer and welcoming the space is and actually earn that.
