@oliphant
@HistoPol @snarfed
@snarfed.org @luca @PCOWandre @fedidevs @fediversenews @chronohart @activitypubblueskybridge
I’m wondering if that means there may be a functional difference between blocking the bridge vs adding the #nobridge tag?
@oliphant
@HistoPol @snarfed
@snarfed.org @luca @PCOWandre @fedidevs @fediversenews @chronohart @activitypubblueskybridge
I’m wondering if that means there may be a functional difference between blocking the bridge vs adding the #nobridge tag?
@shiri
#Bluesky #Block
Very concerning, indeed.
How would I go about this?
Would I need to block any and all friendica and hubzillla instances?
“you should be concerned of the thousands of instances like mine (Friendica and Hubzilla) …boost your post, then it’ll be copied over to Bluesky with no actual connection to you in the network, so your blocks will not apply and you will have no control over the post afterwards.”
@jamie @oliphant @snarfed.org @luca @PCOWandre @chronohart @snarfed
@HistoPol It is my understanding that boosts won’t be passed on if you block the bridge or add
#nobridgeto your profile because the boost still has you as the original author. This would be true no matter which software a person is using.But if someone quotes you (on any platform, not just the ones mentioned) or takes a screenshot of your post, that would not be blocked. And people can do that now without the bridge. Windows comes with software that allows people to take screenshots. So do phones. And most other fediverse platforms other than Mastodon allow quoting.
The fediverse has over 100 different projects and multiple protocols already connected to it. If you are concerned that people will quote you or boost you on other networks, you might want to consider a whitelist servers where you only allow approved Mastodon instances.
With or without the Bluesky bridge, you are about to be outnumbered by Threads, WordPress, and other projects coming online. ActivityPub is an open network, after all. Always has been.
But the nice thing is that you can control who you connect with by blocking or whitelisting. In your case, being on a whitelist server would probably address your concerns.
@[email protected]
Thanks a lot, Scott.
I am aware of several of these things. A friend of mine, https://stefanbohacek.online/@stefan, created https://jointhefediverse.net to remedy this lack of undesirable for newbies and no-nerds.
I know what #whitelisting is general, but how would I go about this on #Mastodon?
The whitelist, if I don’t want to do everything manually (no-go,) would need to be “intelligent” and able to discern the platform s.o. is using for his handle…
I can live with the screenshot issue.
@HistoPol
I don’t use Mastodon, so I don’t know for sure. Some people have mentioned that there is a whitelist mode that is called “limited federation mode” or something like that. The admin would have to turn that on since it is for the whole instance.
If you don’t want to use whitelist mode, people have been talking about blocklists that can be imported into Mastodon. I am not familiar with how they work. Maybe someone who uses Mastodon could answer this one?
@[email protected] In short, it’s just like blocking one-by-one but as batch-action. Admins can also block domains using wildcards, I think.
However, either would not work to block specific software. You would indeed have to use an instance in limited federation mode, where each connection is checked one-by-one, to avoid federating with Friendica and Hubzilla instances that could copy your posts over.
@Qazm There are other options, like using a platform that has privacy, access lists, permissions, and better moderation tools. Mastodon only has block lists, which limits user’s control over their own posts.
For example, on Mastodon you can block someone so you can’t see their posts, but you can’t stop them from replying to posts they have already seen. On Hubzilla, you can actually turn off commenting on your posts so no one can reply or so that specific people can’t reply, and can even delete other people’s replies to your thread. You control the conversation in your thread. You can’t do that on platforms like Mastodon.
Also, on Hubzilla, it is all about user choice. So if Hubzilla implements the Bluesky protocol, both the admin AND the user would have to opt-in. Users would have to actively turn on the Bluesky addon to federate with Bluesky. Otherwise none of their posts will ever be sent to Bluesky. I am pretty sure Friendica will work the same way.
So Hubzilla and Friendica would actually do a better job at blocking Bluesky than the bridge does. And the bridge actually has a lot of options for blocking Bluesky.
So instead of blocking Hubzilla and Friendica, you probably want to start using it instead, since it gives you better protection against Threads and Bluesky than Mastodon does.
@scott I don’t think so. Other Hubzilla or Friendica instances that receive a Hubzilla post over AP can still boost it over there, right?
The reply control from your instance won’t stop Mastodon users from replying either (though it will stop you seeing those replies, and to some extent will reduce the visibility of replies).
I think it all comes down to what’s outlined in https://foggyminds.com/display/c6ef095f-1165-ce77-d6de-73f618365846 (saw that post a little after my reply above) and open federated social media in general being built around own-access-choices rather than data control, outside of posting modes with very limited reach which should be implemented with more privacy than they are.
@Qazm That was sort of my point. If you want to have more control over who can see and respond to your posts, you probably should stop using Mastodon and switch to a platform that supports privacy, access control, permissions, and moderation.
@[email protected] @[email protected] Very concerning indeed. I would suggest logging off and going outside if this is a concern for you.