Post #2004727

2026-05-05 02:15 UTC

I'm perpetually shocked that there's zero vetting for federation... Like, I get needing to give a new instance a chance, but it feels like shared between all the admins that federate, keeping an eye on them wouldn't be hard for a probationary period. But like.. Admins really saw a blank instance with "chan" being the only other word besides "lemmy" and thought shit was gonna cool? Is federation really automated to the point no human makes a decision? If so, that's an obvious flaw and trolls will just keep spinning up instances to troll from. If one person has to pay it all the time, it's a hassle. If ~100 people are pitching in or taking turns and they don't care what the domain is because they know it's temporary... Have admins even considered how to prepare for that?

Replies (4)

@Shadow@lemmy.ca 2026-05-05 02:30

Some instances operate on an allowlist rather than just blindly being open, but honestly the number of problem instances is much lower than you might expect. Most are just wide open. Spinning up an instance will cost you some time and a domain, so it's not exactly a zero cost effort. Honestly I have no idea what "chan" has to do with this, I only know it as the japanese honorific. Edit: Oh, chan like 4chan? That one didn't occur to me.

Open ##2004728
@davel@lemmy.ml 2026-05-05 02:29

Instances can either be blocklisted or allowlisted. A given instance must choose one method or the other, and almost all instances choose the former. Hexbear is the only one I know that chose the later. They vet instances individually before allowing them. Keep in mind that the fediverse is not just Lemmy. It would be a lot of work to vet each new fediverse instance that comes along.

Open ##2004729
@jordanlund@lemmy.world 2026-05-05 02:31

That was a question I asked our admins. When a new instance spins up is there any kind of probationary or quarantine period? Nope, not really. 😔

Open ##2004730
@Flax_vert@feddit.uk 2026-05-05 14:47

That's just the nature of the internet. On the contrary, I can say that someone can just sign up for normal instances en masse and spread hate speech

Open ##2123972