Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store • Hacker News Board

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#131

Post by lotsofpulp » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 2:56 PM UTC

vbezhenar wrote: post #109

mc32 wrote: post #95

It always starts like that. People agree to very sensible things. Like hate speech is bad and it’s not censorship if it’s not mandated by the government. Eventually the definition of hate or whatever it is that’s offensive is very removed from the original meaning, and now we all bear the brunt of the sensible people who with best intentions wanted to make things better.

It might be Apple forcing them to do so. For example you can't publish app with porn content. Even if your app is some kind of forum, you're obliged at least to filter out explicit content in the app. Browser seems to be an exception.

Does reddit filter out porn in the reddit iOS app? And what would Apple have to do with Google’s Play Store?

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#132

Post by drdeca » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 2:56 PM UTC

quotemstr wrote: post #120

drdeca wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s a difference between “has some of it” and “is full of it”. As SSC says, even if witch hunts are genuinely bad, if you found a town with the founding principle of having no witch hunts, you will end up with a town with 5 genuine civil libertarians, and 100 witches. I think an interesting strategy would be to found a site with an initially high level of censorship, but a public commitment to reduce the amount/d…

No, there's no difference between "has some of it" and "is full of it". Where could the line possibly be drawn between those two? Why should your values in particular control other people's speech? If you don't want to participate on a discussion because it's full of something you dislike, that's your call. But big tech companies have no business shutting down other people's legal conversations.

Quantitative differences are still differences. 1% is different from 1.01% and from 80% .

My preferences determine what communities I prefer to be a part of.

I prefer to not be part of a community where the majority says super racist garbage.

As such, I choose not to join such a community/website.

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#133

Post by djsumdog » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 2:56 PM UTC

komali2 wrote: post #98

onion2k wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing that isn't being mentioned is that Google allow apps that make "reasonable" attempts to block content that violates their anti-hate speech policy. Reddit has shown that they're willing to ban the very worst content. No idea about 4chan. In the case of the Fediverse apps they can't block anything because firstly there's no resources to police it, and secondly it's kind of the whole point of federation to let…

Last I checked 4chan bans CP and literally nothing else except that weird picture of two miscellaneous mascots riding a scooter.

You missed the point. You can't police fedi at all. I deploy a new Mastodon or Pleroma server in about 10 minutes.

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#134

Post by kyriakos » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 2:56 PM UTC

jariel wrote: post #15

amadeuspagel wrote: post #2

There was a thread on twitter recently about how app stores would have rejected the first web browser, asking what future innovations might not happen due to them. Guess federated social media is a part of the answer.

The problem is the 'App Stores'. Think of them as retail outlets, in a mall. Do you see shady stuff going on there? Would 'The Gap' sell porn to increase profits by 15%? Of course not. And for obvious reasons. We shouldn't think of 'App Stores' as some kind of truly open marketplaces, any more than a shopping mall is. What we need is just more independent means of distribution.

Shopping Malls can have Sex Shops. Play and AppStore don't allow them.

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#135

Post by Forbo » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 2:56 PM UTC

twirlock wrote: post #73

I'm glad I degoogled. This kind of thing is why. It wasn't even hard after I got email switched over. If they didn't have a video monopoly, I would never have to use their stuff.

Not sure why this comment was dead, but I vouched for it. I've been slowly separating from Google for a while now for slightly different reasons, namely that I've grown increasingly distrustful of surveillance capitalism on the whole.

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#136

Post by thrownblown » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 2:56 PM UTC

komali2 wrote: post #98

onion2k wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing that isn't being mentioned is that Google allow apps that make "reasonable" attempts to block content that violates their anti-hate speech policy. Reddit has shown that they're willing to ban the very worst content. No idea about 4chan. In the case of the Fediverse apps they can't block anything because firstly there's no resources to police it, and secondly it's kind of the whole point of federation to let…

Last I checked 4chan bans CP and literally nothing else except that weird picture of two miscellaneous mascots riding a scooter.

They also banned all images from the Netflix film "Cuties"

https://www.newsweek.com/4chan-bans-images-netflix-film-cuti...

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#137

Post by chiefalchemist » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 2:57 PM UTC

I don't like this type of content. At all. But having Google or similar decide for me is freightening. More so are the people who buy into the idea of Google & Co being benevolent dictators.

Marginalizing ideas that breed on marginalization is to me a fool's errand. Light the ultimate sanitizer.

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#138

Post by Anon1096 » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 2:57 PM UTC

CodeArtisan wrote: post #31

There is probably more than what is being said here otherwise clients for reddit or 4chan would have been removed a long time ago.

Big 4chan apps like Clover got banned off the play store long ago. The reason given was nsfw content, but in the app you had to manually add nsfw boards, much like Reddit's nsfw communities. Picking and choosing which social media platforms to ban has already been a thing.

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#139

Post by anoncake » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 2:57 PM UTC

MyNameIsMyName wrote: post #117

quotemstr wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So? Any platform free of censorship is going to have some speech you dislike.

Censorship not related to government always strikes me as just complaining. Private entities, whether they be individuals or businesses should be free to determine what is an acceptable uses of their services, and what is not. Do you allow any form of speech in your house or is your house a platform that censors speech?

A home is not a platform at all, let alone a public one open to everyone, anonymously and without needing an invitation. It's a personal and intimate place.

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#140

Post by zeveb » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 2:58 PM UTC

When I opened up YT Music today, almost the entire scree was taken up by a link to a political playlist. I don't want to participate in politics — I just want to listen to some background music while I work. Why is Googling silencing one bunch of creators and promoting another bunch? How is this good for Google, the country or the world?