Our charity mission is to improve knowledge sharing across microblogging platforms. To do that, we're introducing for-good organisations, who have the power to educate others, to the open social web.

If you want to help us, get in touch. We'd love to hear from you.

#Fediverse#SocialWeb#Community#Mastodon#SocialMedia#Learning

A common question, often misunderstood. This new IFTAS Connect Library article breaks down what free speech really means (especially in US contexts), how it's often misapplied in moderation debates, and why community boundaries matter.

Read it here: https://connect.iftas.org/library/community-management/responding-to-calls-for-free-speech/

#FreeSpeech#Moderation#TrustAndSafety#Fediverse#IFTAS

From updates in moderation tools to community-led initiatives across the Fediverse, here's what’s been happening, and what’s ahead.

Catch up on the latest from the IFTAS Connect community:
https://connect.iftas.org/news/connect/april-2025-connect-community-round-up/

#Fediverse#Moderation#TrustAndSafety#IFTASConnect

I believe that #Mastodon and the #Fediverse represent some of the most important advancements in social networking design and technology. They have the potential to reverse the harms wrought by the monolithic social media platforms of yesterday.

But even more than that, Mastodon and the Fediverse can be so much more than what we are against. We have so much potential. I believe in all of our power to build and change the world. We start by building and convening in healthier online communities because our strength together is far more than the sum of our differences. I believe in building technologies that help bring out the best in humanity; I believe in the amazing things we can do and be when we work together.

I love Mastodon. I love what we are and what we will be. Now let’s build a better world together 💞

https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2025/05/evolving-the-team/

I had a call with @kev and @mike yesterday. They took me through the admin workload and whoo. It's A LOT. It's seriously impressive how much they do in order to keep Fosstodon running, nice, and safe. They will stay on for a bit to help train successors. K&M THANK YOU again for all the hard work 👏👏👏

It's not going to be easy, and it will take a team, but it's doable. Immediately after this toot I'll post what I'll need and next steps! 1/2

#FediAdmin#FediMod #moderation#Fediverse#FediBlock

> The article … investigates challenges experienced by #Mastodon instances post-#Musk, based on 8 interviews with admins and moderators of 7 instances and a representative of @iftas, a NPO that supports Mastodon content moderators

by @charlotte & @talestomaz, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society #HIIG

👉 https://doaj.org/article/c2016dd9b017479d96b1da33dd90e834

#Fediverse#SocialMedia#SciComm#WissKomm

#fediverse#AskFedi

That's why we believe that the focus should be on building community. Groups of people who can come together under the shared banner of an interest, a location, or a belief.

Thanks to the power of the open social web, these communities can not only span across the world, but across platforms.

We're giving you the ability to build community here. Stay tuned 👀

#SocialWeb#Fediverse#SocialMedia#Society#Mastodon

There’s a simple solution:

✅ Exempt small, safely run blogs, forums and fedi instances
✅ The government can do this now

The duties start TOMORROW – Write to your MP ⬇️

#SaveOurSites 🌐

https://action.openrightsgroup.org/save-our-sites-write-your-mp

#onlinesafety #onlinesafetyact #fediverse #netplurality #mastodon #ukpolitics #ukpol #tech

⚫️ Check if they have UK users

⚫️ Do a risk assessment on whether kids might access the content, or if CSAM or terrorist material might be posted in the comments

⚫️ Put themselves at the risk of fines, and even prison sentences, if they fail to comply with Ofcom’s future directives

#SaveOurSites 🌐

#fediverse #onlinesafetyact #ofcom #netplurality #mastodon #onlinesafety #tech

This lack of clarity over whether blogs with comments are exempt will push small sites to shut down completely.

We need the UK government to tighten up the definitions and exemptions in the Act.

Read our explainer for more detail ➡️ https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/save-our-sites-deadline-17-march/

#fediverse #onlinesafetyact #ofcom #netplurality #mastodon #onlinesafety #tech

Here's a screenshot from another verifying that @reiver's robin.live -- as demo'ed yesterday at the #FediverseHouse developer meetup hosted by @socialwebfdn
-- ignores consent.

At a session I led at #FediForum last year there was talk about how unfortunate it is that we keep having blowups when developers ignore consent. As I pointed out, fediverse influencers with big platforms could help here by highlighting how many people in the fediverse value consent, and that there are some obvious steps to take to avoid a firestorm -- like, y'know, RESPECTING PEOPLE'S ALREADY-SET PREFERENCES.

But no. https://privacy.thenexus.today/consent-for-fediverse-developers/

@jaz@reiver.bsky.social

#fediverse #consent #swf

It's early-stage and the ORCID following function is not publicly available yet. We're seeking community feedback on functionality and safety aspects. Read more at https://encyclia.pub or follow @encyclia for news!

#fediverse #fedidev #scicomm #wisskomm #academicchatter

https://lu.ma/bvump3m6

#SXSW#Austin#SoftwareDevelopment#OpenSocialWeb#Fediverse#Flipboard#FediverseHouse

"On social media, Mastodon is managed and run by the community (e.g., https://neuromatch.social is a server run by neuroscientists) and is robust by design."

https://www.thetransmitter.org/policy/science-must-step-away-from-nationally-managed-infrastructure/

When rogue players multiply, single points of failure are worse than just a gamble.

#openscience is best on the #fediverse

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230207

We've burned through reserves and are at a crossroads.

It's the classic FOSS funding problem: use and adoption are at an all-time high, wealthy companies and countries use it, and secure decentralized comms have never been more important. And yet we can't pay our bills.

YOU have a role to play in shaping what comes next: https://matrix.org/blog/2025/02/crossroads/

#Matrix#FOSS#OpenSource#IndieWeb#Fediverse

I have argued a few times that for all practical purposes, the global south does not exist for Mastodon, and for the rest of the Fediverse. But many people I interact with do not quite understand how this works in practice.

This series of posts is an effort to illustrate that mechanism.

(continues)