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Trump’s new social media platform found using Mastodon code

blog.joinmastodon.org

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Re: Trump’s new social media platform found using Mastodon code

#341

Post by cabalamat »

s7r wrote: post #191
roenxi wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If all software was licensed that way, 5-15 years would pass then suddenly there'd be a whole bunch of "Wow, Stallman was right again! We should have been using free software licenses!" style articles. Restricting software use to only people approved by the creators is a terrible idea. Society has to operate with some level of trust that even people we disagree with, using methods we don't approve of, have the potent…

> Restricting software use to only people approved by the creators is a terrible idea. Everyone is free to use the software. If a project is found to be in violation of the Code of Conduct (e.g. discriminating against marginalized communities, manipulating public opinion, automating weapons) than the community developing the software takes steps to remedy the problem with the reported violator, or the project falls o…

> I agree with your hesitance and apprehension of how it could could go wrong.

There are 2 issues:

1. the CoC is a "living document" which is Silicon valley speak for "we're making it up as we go along" (see also HTML5). It can change at any time.

2. The membership of the Steering Committee can change over time (and they can also change the CoC). What if in 5-10 years time I have built a successful business on this software, and the SC is taken over by employees of a rival company that then denies me use of it. As far as I can tell, I am shafted with no recourse.

For this reason I would never use any software licensed like this to do anything serious, nor would I contribute to any software licensed like this.

Re: Trump’s new social media platform found using Mastodon code

#342

Post by Chris2048 »

MomoXenosaga wrote: post #245
kreeben wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that looking upon him as The One Who's Name We Shall Not Speak and effectively killing him on the internet will lead to him becoming a martyr among his supporters. Considering his diverse support from a number of different grass root and/or radical movements, I would say it could backfire on you, hard. We've seen what powers he bestows. These will increase with martyrdom.

Anyone who thinks deplatforming works should read Goebbels.

And to come full circle, anyone who reads Goebbels will be deplatformed.

Re: Trump’s new social media platform found using Mastodon code

#343

Post by rbanffy »

wizzwizz4 wrote: post #116
roenxi wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This would immediately go away... This platform is going to be under continuous attack from all angles. The company has to be ready to be boycotted, licenses revoked, regulation enacted, smear campaigns run, deplatformed by infrastructure providers, etc. Their lawyers are going to be the more combative type, when they signed up it was pretty clear the sort of wild-eyed hate that the Trump brand is going to attract…

I doubt there'll be much boycotting; the people who might boycott won't want to use it in the first place. Certainly no regulation will be enacted. I doubt a smear campaign, either; if it's anything like Twitter, a simple screenshot of the homepage will be enough. So the only things are: • licenses revoked – except with free software, this can only happen if you violate the license • deplatformed by infrastructure pr…

> I expect his social media site might actually have better moderation than his Twitter followers had

They more or less already stated that any unflattering opinions will be deleted and the used banned from the platform.

Re: Trump’s new social media platform found using Mastodon code

#344

Post by rsynnott »

jrootabega wrote: post #53
furyg3 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just as Truth Social can use Mastodon's source code to spread lies and hate as long as they comply with the license, so can Mastodon use their own blog to disprove of Truth Social... as long as they enforce the license. Their statement does not detract from their action.

I think it makes people believe they will enforce the license unevenly to satisfy their personal feelings about who is using it, as well as add an unwritten "these kinds of people are are not allowed to use our software" clause to their license.

> I think it makes people believe they will enforce the license unevenly to satisfy their personal feelings about who is using it

Maybe they will. As copyright holders, they are allowed to do that (though I don't think they have copyright assignation, so there would also be lots of _other_ copyright holders who could attempt different enforcement, presumably).

Re: Trump’s new social media platform found using Mastodon code

#345

Post by bettysdiagnose »

jrootabega wrote: post #303
serial_dev wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But isn't it exactly what they say? Like "hey, I wish they didn't use Mastodon, but there's a license and they can use our software if they want to and they comply with the license"? Or did I misunderstand this? Their only issue in the article is that they don't comply with the license. I believe the "personal feelings" paragraph was added so that they explain to some people that they don't want to/cannot prevent the…

I could understand that interpretation. I just don't believe it's true. I think the best thing to say, if anything was necessary to say, would have been "This action is meant to defend the license, and does not constitute a judgment of the user that is violating the license."

OK but why not give them the benefit of the doubt? You've given no reason why you don't believe them, you just say you don't. OK, so what?

Re: Trump’s new social media platform found using Mastodon code

#346

Post by nuerow »

mananaysiempre wrote: post #316
nuerow wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Restricting software use to only people approved by the creators is a terrible idea. Isn't that the whole point of author's rights/intellectual property in general and software licenses in particular?

No, the (original) point is a time-limited monopoly on the use of a creation in order to compensate for creativity (for copyright) or public disclosure (for patent rights; note the use of the word “patent”, originally used for certificates affirming government-enforced monopolies of other kinds as well, e.g. for the exploitation of a colony). Though the French droits d’auteur line of thought works differently, or so…

> No, the (original) point is a time-limited monopoly on the use of a creation in order to compensate (...)

No, not really. Author's rights and intellectual property are not a price tag on an open market. They establish that the author has exclusive rights over his own work, and thus anyone who is interested in accessing said work needs explicit authorization from the author and covering explicitly the intender use. You don't just press a button and get a license that the author did not specified.

Re: Trump’s new social media platform found using Mastodon code

#347

Post by throwaway59553 »

s7r wrote: post #121

In terms of "antithetical values", the machine learning project ml5js.org actually did something about this. They bound their open-source license to a Code of Conduct¹, which forbids the use of their ML software for (1) discriminating against marginalized communities, (2) building tools that disingenuously manipulate public opinion, (3) building tools of mass surveillance and prediction to repress the rights of peopl…

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Re: Trump’s new social media platform found using Mastodon code

#348

Post by [deleted] »

themaninthedark wrote: post #177
geewee wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? In what world does using software to marginalize people or mislead the public create a better world?

See, this is where the creators of the CoC made a mistake, either of malice or ignorance. >(Do Not)Use ml5.js to build tools that discriminate against marginalized communities That could be better put as >(Do Not)Use ml5.js to build tools that discriminate By adding in "marginalized communities", they are creating loopholes. Some discrimination is good, as long as it is to people we don't like. Is discrimination agai…

[deleted]

Re: Trump’s new social media platform found using Mastodon code

#349

Post by [deleted] »

jamincan wrote: post #337
cblconfederate wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> of course we would prefer if people so antithetical to our values did not use and benefit from our labour it is clear that they are not interested in coopting them

You scrubbed the entire meaning from the sentencing by removing the context. They are saying that despite the conflict of values, principles of free software mean that the network is free to use their code provided they comply with the license . The previous paragraph makes clear the reasons why, and improvements to upstream software is a key one. > We pride ourselves on providing software that allows anyone to run t…

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