Thoughts on Fosstodon

I'm moving to hachyderm.io.  Here's the background...

When I left Twitter for Mastodon in late 2022, I chose fosstodon.org as my home.  I appreciated the open source focus and it seemed like a well-run instance that would be around for a while.  I also signed up as a monthly patron, to support the admin team and help keep the instance sustainable.

In recent days, there has been a minor furor across the fediverse related to one of the moderators at fosstodon. As a supporter, I have access to a group chat with other supporters and the admin team.  I asked about the rumors and reports, and received a nice thoughtful reply from the mod in question.  

He shared that he has a long history as a privacy advocate and FOSS and contributor, and he feels he's being unfairly characterized as a nazi for expressing certain political views.  He also had very reassuring things to say about the neutrality and fairness of the fosstodon moderation process, essentially that all moderation decisions require concensus among mods and that all mods recuse themselves from any decisions where they have a vested interest.  Basically, his politics have never been a factor in any of the moderation decisions there, nor could they be.  Importantly, he also shared that he has stepped down as a mod and would also be deleting his account.

Another shared that the remaining mods were preparing a statement on the matter, though they had low expectations for reputational repair.  I figure a clear statement is better than letting people continue to assume the worst.  Getting the word out about the Fosstodon's fair and trustworthy moderation process seems like a good move.

In parallel, I've heard from many other fosstodon users that they are actively looking for other mastodon homes.  floss.social, hachyderm.io and infosec.exchange are well-known, well-run instances and I see people already making announcements to move there and elsewhere.  I also heard directly from someone on another instance that their mods were going to block Fosstodon, encouraging me to make a move so we could continue to be in touch.

Overall I'm satisfied with the moderation process and neutrality on Fosstodon.  When I asked about current events I received very satisfactory answers.  They could probably do a better job with public communication, but I think it's important to remember that most fedi admins are volunteers and most mastodon infrastructure runs on a shoestring budget.  Most admins are thoughtful, community-minded, and have chosen to support mastodon communities for respectable reasons.  These people deserve some slack.

What to do?  As a Fosstodon user, it's hard to see any future path with the instance that works in my favor.  The court of public opinion has already condemned the name "Fosstodon".  The picture is complete and the paint is dry for many, many people.  Most will never know anything about the name other than "the instance which allowed a nazi mod". While I believe the characterization is 100% untrue and unfair, the die is cast for lots of people.  

If I stay, the likely outcomes are:

  • Limited communication with some other people, because some other instance mods will choose to block Fosstodon 
  • Will have to explain my choices and the highlights of this post any time someone says "eeeww, Fosstodon", occasionally and probably forever
  • Some people will incorrectly assume I hold certain views based on my association with fosstodon, because all they know about the instance is based on rumors

If I move instances, likely outcomes are:

  • Full fedi participation with other users
  • Not having to explain my choice of instances
  • Residual guilt for acting based on public perception, rather than supporting people who I belive are doing the right thing

All in all, mastodon is pretty fluid and it's easy to move yourself around, by design.  It's relatively painless to move from one instance to another.  Given the tradeoffs, I have decided to leave Fosstodon and move my account and financial support to hachyderm.io.  I don't feel great about this decision, and I am particularly sad to leave what I consider to be a well-run instance with good people, because of public perception.  This doesn't feel like living my values. 

However, I think a move gives me the best outcomes as a user.  In addition to the items discussed above, Hachyderm offers some nice benefits:

  • Well-established instance with a respected moderation team and clear ethical positions that align with my own
  • Very transparent "work in the open" admin culture with loads of public docs related to their infrastructure, team, and opinions
  • Core infrastructure is based in Germany and is not subject to US political trends 
  • Some large accounts I admire are hosted on Hachyderm

This isn't meant to be advice for other Fosstodon users.  Everyone has their own calculus.  I am grateful to the Fosstodon mods (all of them, past and present) for supporting the community and being responsive when I asked questions.  Community  development and moderation work is difficult and often thankless.  On the internet, doubly so.      

(Links: my Hachyderm, my Fosstodon)

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