Post #3919158

PSA: The secret fediverse you may not know about. TLDR: Make your profile private and post followers-only. I usually post in a private corner of the Fediverse you may not even know exists. And if you do, you may not have considered the full implications. I am talking about posting Followers Only and having an account set to require Follow Requests. Nearly everything I post now uses this magical feature where only people I have approved see my posts in their timelines. The posts can’t be boosted. Note to the “well actually” crowd: yes, I know this is not really secret or private, any more than a conversation with your friends in a public park is private. So why do I do this? Well the first reason is the well actually, reply guys. I don’t let them follow me, so the only time I have to deal with them is in my occasional public posts, like this one. Why else? Well, let’s stick with a theme. Assholes, racists, jerks, sexist pigs, transmisogynists, TERFs, tankies, scammers, spammers, RUbots, nazis, fascists, need I go on? “But!” I hear you say, “we don’t have those people here in the Fediverse! Yes. We do. I used to think we didn’t either. Because if your profile pic and description are of a white, cishet man, or someone who passes as such, you are much less likely to see how underneath the happy face of the fediverse is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. But as a lesbian trans woman, even a white one, every public post brings the creeps put of the woodwork. Follow requests, boosts/quotes/replies on my few other public posts. Few because I also let my posts expire after a short time. Is it as bad as corporate honeypots like eX? Well, it’s nearly as bad now as Twitter was before it got musked. And this aggravation is intentional; it is how they silence women’s voices, Black voices, trans voices, queer voices. I miss the days when I felt comfortable sharing my thoughts freely, instead of constantly worrying just how much and how often to share. What can you do to help? Simple: be an ally: maintain and enforce zero-tolerance not just for racism, misogyny, and abuse, but also for people simply being jerks. Block, and if they broke a rule on your server, report. No, you can’t teach them or change them or fix them. No they don’t deserve a second chance. U less they just created their account an hour ago, they have already had dozens of chances. All you are doing is wasting your time and amplifying their message. Block early and often. Report when appropriate. Yes, it is socially acceptable in the Fediverse to mention to your followers when you block someone. Even if their jerkery does not rise to the level of a reportable offense, others may want to take a look at the malefactor and consider their own actions. And, now I get to take some time away from the fedipub as the inevitable wrack floats back after this post encounters freeze-peachers.