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Trump’s new social media platform found using Mastodon code

blog.joinmastodon.org

441–450 of 551 posts

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

#441
post #239
post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s reasonable, but don’t call it open source, because it isn’t.

I mean, it's not the same thing as an entirely unrestricted license, but then again, neither are open source licenses entirely unrestricted. I understand that people want to look at this like a kind of slippery slope (if you can define one kind of restriction, why not define another and another - until you have closed source software by any other name) - but just because arbitrary restrictions mean something isn't co…

This has nothing to do with open source. I think that is the issue.

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

#442

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> Chinese are the majority of the world population. No, they are roughly 1/5th of it.

True they are not majority by being over 1/2 population but they are majority in the sense of greater quantity or share.

Population by Country China 18.47% India 17.70% USA 4.25%

I could take your argument and use it to say that Christians are not the majority even though they are 31.11% if looking at the religious population size.

By mostly my point was to highlight that you can spin and manipulate the CoC however you want, thus leaving the CoC Steering Committee either over worked trying to enforce the CoC of using selective enforcement where they only go after "bad" people.

Also: >(Do Not)Use ml5.js to build tools to disingenuously manipulate public opinion

Would ingenuous manipulation be acceptable? https://www.wordnik.com/words/ingenuous adjective Of honorable extraction; freeborn; noble.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So is fairness and justice I fear.

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

#443

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would the latches doctrine really apply to separate enforcement cases though? My understanding is that doctrine would prevent me from enforcing my rights against a particular actor if I wait too long to enforce those rights… but waiting too long against one actor wouldn’t be relevant if I seek to enforce those rights against a separate actor in a separate case.

You have the correct instinct. Laches (not latches, it really is a different word) is about a specific cause so it only helps if you've got a reasonable case that the plaintiff should have noticed this cause ages ago. If the cause is new that's obviously not going to work.

Thanks! That’s what I thought. It’s been a minute since law school and my in-house brain has been steadily leaking for some years.

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

#444
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…

You will have to demonstrate how a social media platform that hasn't even launched yet has "discriminated againt marginalized communities". They haven't.

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

#445

This is incorrect. Currently Truth is still internal software not available to the public, AGPL requires distribution of source code alongside the distribution of the program or service. Because Truth is only made available internally, the modified source code only has to be made available to their own company. This would change once the service does go public. AGPL can also not be "permanently revoked". It's not ind…

That is false, the site was available to the public.

> Many users were able to create accounts and use it

> the AGPLv3 requires that you provide (to every user) an opportunity to receive the entire Corresponding Source for the website based on that code. These early users did not receive that source code

https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2021/oct/21/trump-group-agplv...

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

#446

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, it's _theoretically_ possible that they modified it to remove the link to the source, accidentally put it live, always intending to revert the modification before deliberately going live... but that's not winning any prizes for plausibility. In any case 'officially up' is likely irrelevant here.

> In any case 'officially up' is likely irrelevant here. That's not true, especially considering they took down the site as soon as it was noticed it was publicly facing. If a company misconfigures a VPN and you're able to access an internal tool that would not be otherwise available to the public, but uses GPL code, that would not entitle you to the sources. Especially if the company immediately fixed the issue of t…

Another thing that really should be considered here are the principles involved here...you can completely ignore 2015-current and still acknowledge the guy's long history of not paying contractors, ripping people off, going back on stuff he said, etc.. There's really no reason to give him the benefit of the doubt

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

#447
post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tolerance, right up to the limit where it actually starts hurting, is the best strategy for a peaceful and prosperous society. Trying to carve out little patches for your type of people and excluding that scary, evil other does not work. We're at Enlightenment+200 years here. I suppose shouldn't have to try make a defence of tolerating different opinions. If they want to license their software however then good luck…

Haven't you heard? The enlightenment is racist! We've moved beyond such outmoded ways of thinking.

I think you are being sarcastic but, unfortunately, this is an all-too-common viewpoint among the so called "woke".

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

#448
post #56

Truth social is, as far as I'm aware, not launched. Thus I'm curious whether the AGPL "if you run a modified program on a server and let other users communicate with it there" has really been triggered. Edit: This was based on the https://www.gnu.org/licenses/why-affero-gpl.html explanation of the AGPL but the quote is not present in the license itself.

They didn’t ‘officially launch’ but the platform was up and running. There isn’t a ‘you don’t need to comply if it’s an alpha test’ clause in the AGPL.

I initially had some misunderstandings based on the lay-explanations of the license. I think I finally have a correct understanding now.

The relevant portion of AGPL is section 13. "if you modify the Program, your modified version must prominently offer all users interacting with it remotely through a computer network (if your version supports such interaction) an opportunity to receive the Corresponding Source".

Notice that the right to receive the source code belongs to the user. Not to the upstream author. So if you do run a private test, then only the people in your test have that right. Since this was not intended to be public, you could argue that the public does not have a right to the source.

Now if the program did not offer the source to the legitimate users that is indeed a violation, but the way to cure it is to offer the legitimate users the source.

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

#449

This is incorrect. Currently Truth is still internal software not available to the public, AGPL requires distribution of source code alongside the distribution of the program or service. Because Truth is only made available internally, the modified source code only has to be made available to their own company. This would change once the service does go public. AGPL can also not be "permanently revoked". It's not ind…

People seem to have found an undisclosed internal address and made accounts there. Would this be an instance of “distribution of the service” in lawyer terms?

[deleted]

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

#450

I fail to see how a website that's not up yet is violating any licenses, can anyone tell me more about this ?

The article states it was made available to a small subset of people. I guess distribution is distribution even if it just handing a USB stick to a friend.

Has any person who has access to the site actually requested the source code? If not then there is no license violation right?
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