@randolph not recently. what would be the scope? full compatibility, or something in between? Their decentralization creates a bunch of funky features from what I've read, and I wouldn't want to reproduce them.
@33MHz That’s a good question. I remember when IRC servers started linking up, it used to include some hacks to get compatibility. Would it even be something on your radar? My question is a thought exercise based on a distributed networking chat I had.
@randolph Pnut is a friendly neighbor; I'm glad to get along. I wouldn't want to restrict what pnut can become, but some integration might be possible. I'm not sure what would be wanted/needed.
@33MHz I think Mastodon was doing some work towards a newer activity standard which I hope is improved over the old protocol gnu social used. I'd have to look that up to see if it is actually any better though…@randolph
@thrrgilag Do you mean you think they were developing a new spec they would eventually switch to? afaik they're simply following their nose, changing what they're doing as they see fit.
@33MHz I believe they are now supporting ActivityPub (in addition to ostatus). I don't know how far along that actually is though or if it's any better than what ostatus offers. Maybe just something to keep an eye on for now.
@randolph oh boy this is going to take a while. Aside from the reveals at twitter I suppose you'll need a bit more nuance in explanation. So picture the following
@randolph an admin of mastodon instance A doesn't like the user of mastodon instance B. He can block every user of his instance from seeing that user's posts. Without them being the wiser.
It gets better, if that admin were really petty, which most of the ones that do this are, he can ban the entire instance's user base all because of a personal grudge with a user from instance B.
@randolph in a perfect world where unicorns give us free rainbow sherbert, said admin's motives would be pure and defensible, but then again said admin wouldn't need to would they. So let's ask what if it's a personal and very petty grudge against you?
@randolph It gets better, if that admin were really petty, which most of the ones that do this are, he can ban the entire instance's user base all because of a personal grudge with a user from instance B.
@randolph likewise it does get slanderous. Users of instance A notice they can't see the posts from users of instance B and or vice versa. Admin A plays dumb, but when Admin B gets in touch Admin A claims user B is posting death threats.
@randolph user B's timeline and the evidence to the contrary goes up in smoke. Meanwhile Admin A gets away with slander. And could even accuse Admin B of harboring hate speech when adminB refuses to play ball because he did his research.
@randolph picture yourself on the receiving end of this. Imagine being banned from pnut because someone from 10 centuries accused you of promoting domestic violence when you've done no such thing.
@randolph this how shadowbanning has been implemented and in some cases lead to innocent people getting slandered or worse when the questions start coming.
@randolph there are some admin of mastodon instances that like to ban other instances for having Japanese users on the basis of "anime avatar=alt right". You're clearly not getting that unicorn pooping rainbow sherbert in this universe.
@randolph I'd also give @33mhz credit as pnut is kinda his thing and he's not only the kind of guy to not cave to badmins, but he isn't the kind of guy I would call a badmin either. I think he errs on the side of responsible transparency.
@EchoDunk Sorry I asked. FWIW, I still don’t see this as a problem. Private networks are private networks. But you have expressed your opinion, and I acknowledge that.
@EchoDunk Where exactly is the slippery slope? Mastodon is an interconnected network of privately operated nodes. As long as it is privately managed and operated, we are at the whim of those private individuals. It has been thus since IRCops first roamed.
@randolph and when the businesses end of your precedent is directed at you, you will remember this conversation with a bitter taste and a different attitude.
@EchoDunk *If* it is directed at me, I’ll move to another network. And if it’s infringing on my rights at all, I’ll sue for defamation. The origin of this thread was technical, not philosophical. I will thank you to consider the discussion over.