https://github.com/tootsuite/mastodon/issues/3859
"I propose to remove this blocking feature which is not in keeping with the spirit of Mastodon"
It's the story if one fucking idiot that comes on github to decide what "the spirit of Mastodon" is.
Privileged man sees free software made to help a group of people ;
Privileged man owns software, shits on the group it was helping, decides it's all about him and removes features that are not strictly made for his issues ;
Group tells him to go fuck himself instead, privileged man writes a 67 pages blog post about how he's being censored and we're breaking the federation ;
We've all left or died, privileged man wonders why and says we should speak up in public.
@CobaltVelvet nice story.
I agree a little bit with the "privileged man", there is a problem with the feature. Not the feature itself, but how it is used. It should be a last resort, not a first one.
Other than that, removing it is only going to make things worse and asking to do that while saying "not in the spirit of Mastodon" deserve your sarcasm.
@Balor @CobaltVelvet as an instance admin this line of argument annoys me
"should be a last resort"
according to whom?!
it's between me and my users how i run this place, and ultimately the decision is mine.
i'll block whomever i want for whatever reason i want! i don't owe them a place in my life or on my instance.
i don't owe them shit, and nobody else does either!
association in this network is voluntary, and that's extremely important.
(Genuine argument, not troll, I want an open discussion and I understand you're pissed)
According to fairness. As a Moderator, you moderate the discussion, the discourse. When you silence/ban an instance because you don't agree with on of it's user, it's like saying, there is a bad apple in this tree better cut it down.
I understand your view, all of you always talk about protecting your users, but they have to tool to do it.
(1/?)
As the admin you have to take the big picture into account, removed yourself as much as possible and not take issue personally. It's not easy, really not, but that how I see it right.
You also have to trust other admins to manage their users. Saying something like you better do it my way or I block you, is threatening. You might think it's to the benefit of your users, but that still a punishment to the other instance.
(2/?)
And as any punishment, it shouldn't be taken lightly. That why we have laws, attorneys, judges.
As the admin you're all of it. Each decision you take has an impact.
Now, it depends how you see the federation, is it a place where people comprise to live together or is it about creating different island where bridges get burned when issue arise?
(3/4)
If you decide your instance is more important than the federation, that's your choice, and I respect it. Only, please say it clearly in your about page.
May it be clear what you stand for and how you're managing your instance and it's relationship with the others.
Because ultimately, yes it's your choice.
(4/4)
@Balor @CobaltVelvet so, not to worry, i've read it now
i'm quite sure that my users all understand what to expect from me and that that's why they're on my instance
my about page is already mostly a disclaimer, but you know what
i will go add a little bit there just to make it EXTRA clear
@Balor @CobaltVelvet no problem
i updated my about page if you're interested in taking a look
@CobaltVelvet @bea thanks for taking the time to hear me out :)
With all these discussions I start to have a better view on how admins see their instance, their policies.
It's quite informative.