Hey, I just did a quick browse through the blocked instances list for infosec.pub and have a few questions about it. Seems like we are blocking sh.itjust.works which at first glance just looks like one of the bigger general purpose instances. Meanwhile more overtly problematic instances like lemmygrad (tankie instance) or exploding heads (“free speech extremists”) are federated with. Generally the block list seems fairly small compared to a lot of other instances.
So are these intentional choices or is it more a matter of the admins not (having the time to be) bothering with it? If it’s not intentional, maybe checking some other instances blocklists to weed out the biggest trolls/offenders could be useful.
The admins defedded from SJW because of the quantity of CP and other objectionable material coming from there. It was a matter of their modding workload, not anything to do with politics.
The line in this instance is to not use defederation as a political tool, and that is IMO correct. At least that’s one of the main reasons I chose this instance.
The line in this instance is to not use defederation as a political tool, and that is IMO correct
That doesn’t really mean anything imo. Not defederating is just as much a political decision as defederating is. There’s no way around taking some sort of stance, intentional or not.
Of course it means something.
Yes, it is a political decision in the sense that politics pervades all human activities and decisions.
But it is obviously a different choice to that of many instances, where they actively use defederation as a tool to shield their users from any political opinions outside the mainstream.
The admins here have chosen not to use defederation as a tool in this way and I applaud them for it.
You can block problematic users/instances yourself if they bother you. I just blocked all of exploding-heads and haven’t seen any of their shit since.
IMO it’s not a good solution to just say “just block the bigots”. The problem is that for new users, they are going to see those bigoted posts. They’re going to either think that’s what kind of site Lemmy is and potentially leave, or they’ll potentially get pulled in by the bigots. Both are bad situations.
Especially for blatant bigotry, it makes perfect sense to take measures to ensure that the site is safe for everyone by default, without every individual person having to take action (especially those without accounts or not signed in).
You’re strawmanning so hard here, it’s an actual fire hazard.
They are correct though, it is subjective and it will shift over time as the “acceptable” political lines change over time.
Bigotry, blatant bigotry especially is hardly subjective. It’s more subtle forms might be harder to indentify without making some biased judgements, but that doesn’t make it inherently subjective.
I don’t know how you can say that given that less than 100 years ago in all of the Western world (save maybe France). Bigotry was the default governmental, societal and scientific position. And opposition to it was seen as distasteful as bigotry is today.
Blocking shitjustworks but federating with the loud extremists? Yikes
What site is the “loud extremists”?
I block instances that are the source of issues - shitjustworks caused a river of complaints - I don’t think I’ve seen any from the others.
I block them as they come up as problematic. There isn’t a handy list of instances to block like in mastodon. I will block those others.
