🔄 Account move

Hi friends!

Almost everything is ready to finalize the move to my new account, @fabio.

See you there!

@cirku17 because currently the vast majority of accounts from Gaza is registered there. Which means:

1. They are currently exposed to regular harassment and defamation from malicious actors on the main instance that have been acting with impunity for years

2. We can’t respond to their calls for help if we are muted, unless they already follow us

@jones @aral @joynewacc @admin @Gargron unfortunately they did, but via email.

They basically blamed me for block evasion, harassment, doxxing and legal threats.

Not the guys who blocked us just to keep lurking on our profiles and shamed us (and the victims from Gaza) on their timelines calling for blocks and defederation - behind our backs, without tagging us, and without even giving us a chance to respond.

Not the guys who kept throwing mud on Gaza Verified and called the victims scammers.

Not the guy who threatened to report me to my employer for antisemitism, and even left bad public comments about Booking saying “it employs a notorious antisemite like Fabio”. And when I asked for the details of that account because I wanted to proceed through legal means for defamation (because those comments, even though deleted by now, caused my HR to ask me questions) then it’s me throwing “legal threats”, rather than simply trying to leverage my rights as a citizen who has all the right to call accountable those who try to purposefully inflict permanent reputational damage.

These folks have not been limited (for years), but I have been limited.

Also, mentioning the Law of Return as a ground for colonialist expansion and calling Jews both at home and abroad to protest more, carrying both Israeli and Palestinian flags on the streets so they can’t be accused of antisemitism, is a ground for limitation or suspension on the main instance.

They are basically staring at our finger while our finger is pointing at a genocide.

After reading this, and after reading their staff bragging about the support that they’ve given to Gaza Verified, I feel like these folks have lost any inch of leftover credibility they could have in my eyes. mastodon.social is a crypto-Zionist instance that struggles to manage its own contradictions, and everybody onboard should leave that sinking ship. Starting from the accounts from Gaza currently exposed to regular harassment without anybody from @staff protecting them. Me and Aral can’t keep doing their work and expose ourselves on the gunfire of well-equipped armies of Zionist trolls. Either we do that, or we focus on helping people.

They can punish you even for quoting Omer Bartov on the NYT or Bertrand Russell if that doesn’t align with their sensitivities. And we’re supposed to care more about their sensitivies than our ability to reach out to people literally begging for food. Entitled privileged kids who live in their own fucking academic ivory tower and don’t even see a real-world emergency when you put it under their noses.

We are supposed to help the victims of an ongoing genocide, but not eradicate the ideological and political seeds that may lead to new occurrences of such acts of aggression.

mastodon.social is managed by morally bankrupt individuals who are accomplice in genocide and are actually obstructing humanitarian initiatives while bragging about them.

@staff so basically you’re bragging about the initiative that @aral and @joynewacc have set up (with support from me behind the lines), putting our own names and surnames next to it, taking all the risks and all the threats on ourselves, while repeatedly shielding anonymous ultra-Zionist accounts that reported for antisemitism even AI-generated caricatures, and kept throwing mud on Gaza Verified, to the point of calling even the victims of a genocide that you were supposed to protect on your own instance scammers or antisemitic (sample 1, sample 2) for daring to compare the death that Israel brought upon them to the one that the Nazis brought upon Jews?

And then you muted MY profile instead of theirs, despite the widespread condemnation against those vile attacks, and despite me being actually one of the guys working on Gaza Verified?

Can you please confirm that the reports from those pro-genocide trolls constituted the grounds for your actions against my account?

You know right that because of your absolute incompetence at moderating a platform that is trying to handle an already delicate humanitarian initiative you have ended up with newly registered users from Gaza on your instance that were crying for help, even tagged me, and they couldn’t see my replies because they weren’t following me?

You know right that you may have to cut some lifelines there, because both Aral and Joy were busy in these days and couldn’t respond to all the requests?

You know right that you’ve silenced the guy who set up the Gaza archive for this initiative, to make sure that all of the content uploaded by the verified accounts is persisted even if some admins decide to kick them out, and the guy who uncovered some Gaza scams on your instance in July whose claims you were too lazy to verify?

And then you also have the guts of bragging about OUR initiative despite the damage you’re doing to it, just because you’re responding to a couple of questions from Aral?

How much credibility do you think you have left?

How much are you going to lie in our own face while taking undeserved credit and silencing the voices trying to save as many lives as possible?

p.s. It’d be great if someone could take a screenshot or a quote of this post and paste it to @staff. Those guys have silenced my account and they’re even ignoring emails from me and Aral, so I’m not sure if they can even see what I write to them.

@rzeta0

@staff so basically you’re bragging about the initiative that @aral and @joynewacc have set up (with support from me behind the lines), putting our own names and surnames next to it, taking all the risks and all the threats on ourselves, while repeatedly shielding anonymous ultra-Zionist accounts that reported for antisemitism even AI-generated caricatures, and kept throwing mud on Gaza Verified, to the point of calling even the victims of a genocide that you were supposed to protect on your own instance scammers or antisemitic (sample 1, sample 2) for daring to compare the death that Israel brought upon them to the one that the Nazis brought upon Jews?

And then you muted MY profile instead of theirs, despite the widespread condemnation against those vile attacks, and despite me being actually one of the guys working on Gaza Verified?

Can you please confirm that the reports from those pro-genocide trolls constituted the grounds for your actions against my account?

You know right that because of your absolute incompetence at moderating a platform that is trying to handle an already delicate humanitarian initiative you have ended up with newly registered users from Gaza on your instance that were crying for help, even tagged me, and they couldn’t see my replies because they weren’t following me?

You know right that you may have to cut some lifelines there, because both Aral and Joy were busy in these days and couldn’t respond to all the requests?

You know right that you’ve silenced the guy who set up the Gaza archive for this initiative, to make sure that all of the content uploaded by the verified accounts is persisted even if some admins decide to kick them out, and the guy who uncovered some Gaza scams on your instance in July whose claims you were too lazy to verify?

And then you also have the guts of bragging about OUR initiative despite the damage you’re doing to it, just because you’re responding to a couple of questions from Aral?

How much credibility do you think you have left?

How much are you going to lie in our own face while taking undeserved credit and silencing the voices trying to save as many lives as possible?

p.s. It’d be great if someone could take a screenshot or a quote of this post and paste it to @staff. Those guys have silenced my account and they’re even ignoring emails from me and Aral, so I’m not sure if they can even see what I write to them.

@rzeta0

@ramin_hal9001 @ErickaSimone my issue isn’t just about creating a new account or moving instances - I already run my profile on my self-hosted Akkoma in my utilities room :)

My issue goes deeper into how the platform is run.

I don’t care much of m.s in itself, I already defederated it for a while last summer after it failed to take action multiple times towards threats and intimidation from ultra-Zionist accounts.

But I do care about the accounts from Gaza that are overwhelmingly registered to the main instance. Those folks aren’t tech-savvy geeks like us - someone told them to install the Mastodon app and many don’t even bother to check what an instance is (and why should they care, since they have much more pressing issues at hand, and Mastodon is just a way for them to ask for support to buy food or a tent), so they mostly end up on m.s

What m.s has done to me could be done to other profiles of donors or volunteers. And then folks from Gaza join m.s, they shout for help, we respond to them, but they may not even hear our responses - and give up on their last lifeline.

Even if I were to create a new account on my instance, or even spin up another domain, there’s no guarantee that within a couple of days of exposure in these initiatives I don’t start getting Fediblock spam again as soon as I criticize Israel, and then we’re back at square one.

@jones @aral @joynewacc @admin @Gargron for as much as I (strongly) disagree with the way the main instance is managed and how transparent they are about their decisions, I feel like I must ask to hold on the horses before mass silencing/defederation.

The simple reason is that the vast majority of accounts from Gaza are currently registered on the main instance, and muting m.s means muting their voices too (or new voices that may come in and may not be heard if the instance is muted).

This is a very unfortunate case of Stockholm syndrome where the instance that persecutes the most outspoken critics of the genocide is also the one that hosts most of those victims…

@xdej @aral @joynewacc @esoteric_programmer @regendans in normal conditions I wouldn’t mind. Last summer I even blocked the main instance for a few days because of its inaction against Zionist trolls throwing threats at me with impunity.

But these are not normal conditions. 80% of the accounts we’re helping on Gaza Verified are on the main instance. And the ones in the pipeline are basically all on the main instance.

By limiting my profile they limit the reach of the help I can give them.

Even if they are supporting Gaza Verified on paper (because of the backlash they’d get if they were to ostractize a very popular and transparent humanitarian campaign), they can still jeopardize it by limiting or suspending the accounts of top donors and volunteers that aren’t technically “victims” - new accounts then can’t get the level of support they need, and posts about the initiative won’t be visible to most of the users.

I don’t think that this is just a problem about 22% vs. 100%. It’s a deeply moral problem of what kind of Fediverse we want to build, and how much do we want to call the admins of the main instance accountable for their actions.

Plus, as I said in other posts, this episode is just the tip of the iceberg. The pressures I have received against my involvement aren’t limited to this episode. It’s human to expect someone who has taken too much fire on the frontline to step back a little before planning the next move.

@baskin @aral @joynewacc than you so much for your support :)

My issue isn’t much about finding a new instance - I’m self-hosted on an Akkoma server in my utilities room, I could simply create another account here or even spin up another domain.

My issue is with the sum of all the external pressures that have been applied - being limited on the main instance (on top of being already blocked by mastodon.art) is just the tip of the iceberg. And even a new account, if exposed as much as the current one, would probably be subject to the Fediblock flood from the same 1-2 accounts and limited again - until the main instance solves its little Zionist mafia issue.

When too much pressure is applied you just need to take a break to heal and recover before thinking of the next steps.

@joynewacc @aral thank you so much for your support Joy, it means everything ❤️

As I said I’m not disappearing - you know where to find me whenever you need me :)

I’m just taking a step back from the spotlights because of the pressure I’ve been exposed to - and this is not an easy decision either.

I still stand by your side and by the side of the people of Gaza and I will still give you all the support that you need - just not in the spotlights…

@esoteric_programmer @regendans @aral @Gargron @joynewacc just keep in mind that by defederating m.s you’ll also lose access to most of the Gaza Verified accounts:

❯ accounts="$(curl -s 'https://archive.gaza.onl/api/v1/accounts' | jq -r '.[].fqn')"
accounts_count=$(echo "$accounts" | wc -l)
mastodon_social_accounts=$(echo "$accounts" | grep '@mastodon.social' | wc -l)
echo "Share of mastodon.social accounts: $((mastodon_social_accounts * 100 / accounts_count))%"

Share of mastodon.social accounts: 80%

That’s the biggest problem here…m.s is notoriously hostile towards anti-genocide voices, it allows Zionist propaganda and genocide denialism to flow unimpeded, as well as threats and slander from anonymous accounts towards those who run humanitarian initatives (and even towards the genocide victims themselves), but it’s also the place where 80% of the verified accounts from Gaza are.

This is a Stockholm syndrome problem.

And until @staff clarifies their stance I feel like those accounts must be moved to safer havens.

Donors on other instances can be silenced within a click if they dare to post a single hashtag or a negative post towards Israel. And that ends up with their replies being invisible to those accounts unless they explicitly follow them.

So far they are allowing humanitarian efforts towards the victims, but not criticism towards the aggressor.

This ambiguous position is no longer sustainable because it literally kills people.

@esoteric_programmer yup, I just gave it a try and it looks like you’re on an instance that doesn’t allow unauthorized API calls.

I guess that the simplest way is probably to install toot, then:

toot login
toot followers | awk '{print $2}' | grep '@mastodon.social' 

(Also, the id in /api/v1/accounts/{id}/followers is not your username but your user ID, that you can fetch via /api/v1/accounts/lookup?acct={handle})

@esoteric_programmer @aral @Gargron @joynewacc @regendans you’re right, I tested it in zsh and not bash, which is a bit more strict about square brackets semantics 😅

Bash-compatible version:

n_accounts=0
max_id=
instance="instance.social"
# Fetched via /api/v1/accounts/lookup?acct=<handle>
account_id="your_id"

while :; do
    data=$(curl -s "https://$instance/api/v1/accounts/$account_id/followers?limit=40&max_id=$max_id")
    if ! jq empty <<< "$data" 2>/dev/null; then
        echo "Invalid JSON received, stopping" >&2
        break
    fi

    [[ $(jq 'length' <<< "$data") -eq 0 ]] && break
    accounts=$(jq -r '.[].url' <<< "$data" | sed -r -e "s|^https://([^/]*)/(.*)$|\2@\1|")
    [ -z "$accounts" ] && break
    n_accounts=$((n_accounts + $(echo "$accounts" | wc -l)))
    max_id=$(jq -r '.[-1].id' <<< "$data")
    [ -z "$max_id" ] && break
    echo "Processed $n_accounts accounts" >&2
    echo "$accounts"
done | grep '@mastodon.social' | sort -u

Of course if you just want the number you can append a | wc -l at the end.

@gytisrepecka when you are involved in humanitarian efforts it’s also about reach - people from Gaza have overwhelmingly registered to the main instance.

Of course the average Fediverse user probably knows how to follow me even if Gargron decides to silence my profile. But non-tech folks in dire need who have just installed the Mastodon app on their phone, use the default instance without knowing what an instance is, and just try to shout out a cry for help, without knowing anything of how this platform works, won’t be able to see my replies.

This is not about metrics and reach, this is about a crime against humanity that @staff should be called accountable for.

@regendans @aral @Gargron @joynewacc @esoteric_programmer

And for those who want to see your profile details, they can click to continue.

The problem is that those who don’t follow me won’t be able to see my replies to other people’s posts too.

It already happened a couple of times in the past 2 days.

I received requests for support from newly created accounts from Gaza who needed verification, but who were not following me, and they didn’t see my replies.

The impact of this rushed decision with no notice can literally be a cry for help from someone who needs urgent funding that I can’t reply to.

get new people that we want to help to migrate to other instances.

That’s a battle that I’ve been fighting for years, but I don’t see any change happen - the share of users on the main instance today is similar to that of 2-3 years ago.

And even Gaza Verified accounts are mostly being created on m.s, which obviously exposes them to the all-eggs-in-one-basket problem.

The truth is that mastodon.social is a cancer that is literally eating the whole idea behind the Fediverse alive. The problem here is not Threads or Bluesky federation, the problem is the flagship instance.

@esoteric_programmer @aral @joynewacc @regendans

I have no way of knowing how many people I’d cut out if I killed my federation to mastodon.social

instance="your.instance"
# Fetched via lookup API
account_id="your_accont_id"
n_accounts=0
max_id=
while :; do
    data=$(curl -s "https://$instance/api/v1/accounts/$account_id/followers?limit=40&max_id=$max_id")
    if ! jq empty <<< "$data" 2>/dev/null; then
        echo "Invalid JSON received, stopping" >&2
        break
    fi

    [[ $(jq 'length' <<< "$data") -eq 0 ]] && break
    accounts=$(jq -r '.[].url' <<< "$data" | sed -r -e "s|^https://([^/]*)/(.*)$|\2@\1|")
    [ -z "$accounts" ] && break
    n_accounts=$((n_accounts + $(echo "$accounts" | wc -l)))
    max_id=$(jq -r '.[-1].id' <<< "$data")
    [ -z "$max_id" ] && break
    echo "Processed $n_accounts accounts" >&2
    echo "$accounts"
done | grep '@mastodon.social' | sort -u

That’s 522/2367 followers in my case - or about 22% of my followers gone with that single instance gone.

Btw 22% is close to the total share of users that are on the main instance compared to the whole of the Fediverse - the law of big numbers is at it again.

A technology where a quarter of the users is on a single server can’t be called decentralized. Markets where a single company holds a quarter of the total share are usually considered monopolies/oligopolies. So far I tried to ignore the literal elephant in the room, but after seeing the consequences of their action to the visibility of my content I’ve decided that it can’t be ignored anymore. We’ve been repeating for years that mastodon.social is the Facebook of the Fediverse, with all the negative meanings that that implies, and that people should move out of it, but people are still on it and new accounts still register to it.

The server is mine, it runs in my home, but @Gargron has still a say on who I can reach out to. And if he decides to limit or suspend my account I still have to beg him to be able to communicate again effectively with those from Gaza who often ask me for help without following me and are overwhelmingly on the main instance.

I have to beg a single guy who has no clue of how the world works, and who bends repeatedly to Zionist pressures, not to limit my own account on my own server in my own home so that I can effectively support a campaign that is literally saving human lives.

This is humiliating and wrong on so many levels that I don’t want to have anything to do with this Fediverse shit anymore - despite having contributed to it.

@regendans @aral @joynewacc thank you for your support ❤️

And people can migrate away from mastodon dot social.

I wish that was the case…the ugly truth is that m.s has 3M users, it’s by far the largest player on the Fediverse, and people are unlikely to move out of there. They’ve already behaved like unaccountable jerks before, they got backlash from people urging the accounts there to move, but they’re still by far the largest instance.

This Fediverse thing is decentralized only in theory, if the admins of the largest instance can in a blink of an eye cut you off from 30% of all the Fediverse users, without even being accountable for their actions…