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Mastodon: Add end-to-end encryption API

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Re: Mastodon: Add end-to-end encryption API

#21

Post by apatters »

megameter wrote: post #5
sneak wrote: post #2

> specifically the Olm implementation developed by Matrix -- but it should be roughly the same as libsignal I'm all for "many eyes make bugs shallow", but this is somewhat-widely deployed software, and I have approximately 0% confidence (based on my previous experiences with Mastodon releases and code quality) that this will be strong and safe for its first public release. (Happy to be proven wrong, mind you.) Perhap…

At the heart of the issue in the complexity of these protocols is that we want to both broadcast widely and address someone specifically. This is a quandary intrinsic to discussion forums, chat rooms and social media. And the default is to mash both of them together and make it public. Unsurprisingly, it's a source of toxicity and needs intensive moderation, because a broadcasted address is mostly employed in a narra…

> A timeline creates a space, but in a shared timeline, whether it's a Twitter hashtag or a comments section on a small blog, the space is made by spamming your narrative more often.

Why isn't this solved fairly easily via a digest metaphor? One can imagine many different implementations, but something as simple as "your recent updates appear in a group and that group can't be bumped to the top of people's feeds more than twice a day" already seems better than the barrage of puke hiccups that is Twitter today.

Re: Mastodon: Add end-to-end encryption API

#23

Post by austinheap »

throwawaysea wrote: post #15

What’s the point of Mastodon given the creators are against free speech and for censorship along ideological lines? I don’t see a remaining value proposition for end users.

No one controls Mastodon -- setup an instance and you're off to the races!

Re: Mastodon: Add end-to-end encryption API

#24

Post by numpad0 »

jauer wrote: post #18
throwawaysea wrote: post #15

What’s the point of Mastodon given the creators are against free speech and for censorship along ideological lines? I don’t see a remaining value proposition for end users.

Are you referring to the reporting feature in this PR, or something else?

Twitter had some drama few years back, Japanese non-tech users rushed into Mastodon and completely obliterated the federation, something like 3/4 of global DAU and volume at peak? That forced quite a progress for Mastodon project and left substantial pain for two cultures so there's a bit of Cold War between people taking Western or Japanese sides

Re: Mastodon: Add end-to-end encryption API

#25

Post by thrwaway69 »

soraminazuki wrote: post #12
numpad0 wrote: post #4

Could it be why mstdn.jp is shutting down? Official reason is lack of resource to handle anticipated legal requests but that sounded weird.

I think not. Japanese politicians are preparing for a crackdown on cyberbullying after a wrestler killed herself. mstdn.jp states that it won't likely have the operational capability to deal with the anticipated legal changes, whatever that might be. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2020/05/26/entertainmen...

Shows how much society cares about anyone that's not popular. There are many people who are suicidal - no named hanging out on mstdn or other internet holes. There are many who get bullied everyday in real life and it's worse because you don't have a block button. Why is everyone so focused on cyberbullying these days? They couldn't solve bullying in school. Only made it worse by putting responsibility on management.

I wonder what legal changes they would come up. I am not optimistic.

Re: Mastodon: Add end-to-end encryption API

#26

Post by jack1243star »

throwaway1997 wrote: post #13
numpad0 wrote: post #4

Could it be why mstdn.jp is shutting down? Official reason is lack of resource to handle anticipated legal requests but that sounded weird.

I was assuming it was due to the sheer volume of loli being posted on that instance. Most instances block / mute it for this reason.

The whole blocking situation turns me away from Mastodon. Short of maintaining my own instance, there's no way to be sure I can follow anyone I'd like to, or communicate with them. There's no way to find out from the outside if an instance is defederated.

Re: Mastodon: Add end-to-end encryption API

#27

Post by jack1243star »

numpad0 wrote: post #24
jauer wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you referring to the reporting feature in this PR, or something else?

Twitter had some drama few years back, Japanese non-tech users rushed into Mastodon and completely obliterated the federation, something like 3/4 of global DAU and volume at peak? That forced quite a progress for Mastodon project and left substantial pain for two cultures so there's a bit of Cold War between people taking Western or Japanese sides

> completely obliterated the federation

The developer decided to implement instance blocking, not the other way around.

Re: Mastodon: Add end-to-end encryption API

#28

Post by willvarfar »

thrwaway69 wrote: post #25
soraminazuki wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think not. Japanese politicians are preparing for a crackdown on cyberbullying after a wrestler killed herself. mstdn.jp states that it won't likely have the operational capability to deal with the anticipated legal changes, whatever that might be. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2020/05/26/entertainmen...

Shows how much society cares about anyone that's not popular. There are many people who are suicidal - no named hanging out on mstdn or other internet holes. There are many who get bullied everyday in real life and it's worse because you don't have a block button. Why is everyone so focused on cyberbullying these days? They couldn't solve bullying in school. Only made it worse by putting responsibility on management.…

It is true that celebrities suffering brings attention and can be the catalyst for change.

Bullying has always been a problem. Sometimes its physical, but its always mental. The child who is ostracized is bullied too.

Now, in the virtual world, children find it follows them home too. Even if a child is offline after school, they hear all about what was said about them when they get back to school in the morning.

Where I live, there are good speakers who pass through all the schools, talking separately to the children and to the parents. Their descriptions and explanations made me realise that my mental model of what bullying is or how it works was inaccurate.

Re: Mastodon: Add end-to-end encryption API

#29

Post by numpad0 »

jack1243star wrote: post #27
numpad0 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Twitter had some drama few years back, Japanese non-tech users rushed into Mastodon and completely obliterated the federation, something like 3/4 of global DAU and volume at peak? That forced quite a progress for Mastodon project and left substantial pain for two cultures so there's a bit of Cold War between people taking Western or Japanese sides

> completely obliterated the federation The developer decided to implement instance blocking, not the other way around.

Wasn't that weeks-months after the initial in-rush? I think few instances crashed, born, transferred before devs split.

Re: Mastodon: Add end-to-end encryption API

#30

Post by jack1243star »

numpad0 wrote: post #29
jack1243star wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> completely obliterated the federation The developer decided to implement instance blocking, not the other way around.

Wasn't that weeks-months after the initial in-rush? I think few instances crashed, born, transferred before devs split.

Yes, but I think the implementation of the block is what caused the schism (or simply isolation).

It was sad, to have witnessed such a bright future unfold, interesting discussions on language, on tech, on culture. And then to have half of the world just cut off.

The fediverse was the future...

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