cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/24353606

I'd like to introduce a new Lemmy community intended to help keep Fediverse moderators and users informed about current/trending disinformation campaigns.

I'm currently seeking to compile a list of reliable sources related to political/social/corporate disinformation campaigns. If anyone has any recommendations, I'd love to hear about them in the comments. Once I have a curated list, I'll publish it in the community sidebar for reference.

To get things started, I've already reposted a few articles from https://euvsdisinfo.eu/, which was the main inspiration for this community.

My hope is that, alongside the excellent projects developed by @db0@lemmy.dbzer0.com (such as fediseer, fedi-safety, and threativore), this community will play a small part in making the Fediverse a better place to visit.

From the community sidebar:

Propaganda and disinformation are a big problem on the internet, and the Fediverse is no exception. [...]

By equipping yourself with knowledge of current disinformation campaigns by state actors, corporations and their cheerleaders, you will be better able to identify, report and (hopefully) remove content matching known disinformation campaigns.

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/13985430

The problem:

Most #fedi authors post links with no idea if the hosting server discriminates against people, or who. The consequence is that the fedi is muddied with references to exclusive venues that do not treat people equally, which wastes the time of readers who are impacted by discrimination. A variety of walled gardens pollute our threadiverse experience. So how can we remedy this?

Proposed fix:

Suppose we create a community and designate it as a testing area which welcomes bots. So e.g. I post something in the test community, and a bot that is paywall-aware replies yes or no whether the link is paywall-free. A bot that is Cloudflare-aware does the same. A regional bot, such as a bot in Poland can check that Polish IP addresses can reach the URL and make noise if the website blocks Poland. Etc. It need not be just bots.. someone in some oppressed region might manually attempt to visit links and report access problems. We would certainly like a bot in a GDPR region to test whether access is refused on the basis of a data controller’s unwillingness to respect GDPR rules. The OONI project could have a bot that reports anything interesting in their database.

There could also be anti-enshitification bots, which point out things like cookie walls.

There are bots that find better links to replace Cloudflare links. Those bots could help direct authors to better URLs to share.

There could be a TL-DR bot that replies with a summary or even the full text, so an author can decide before posting in the target community whether to omit a shitty link and just post the content.

(update) It’s worth noting that for Mastodon there an ad hoc tool. If you follow @mg@101010.pl, that bot will follow you back and analyze every URL you share for whether it is Cloudflared. If yes, it will DM you with alternative URLs.

Note that the mitigator bot is quite loose it its judgement. If the host is not Cloudflared but another host on the same domain is Cloudflared, it is treated as a positive because it’s assumed that when you visit the host it will link to other hosts on the same domain.

It’s interesting to visit threads from an mbin instance because it shows you the number of up votes and down votes. When I see a Lemmy thread with 10 up votes then I go over to visit the same thread from mbin and see 20 up votes and 10 down votes, it really gives a different perspective.

i think this is for maintenance so mabye nothing too much to worry about.

The psychology of this problem is that users are too lazy to maintain multiple accounts when all they have is Lemmy’s stock web client. So they choose one of the big nodes: lemmy.world, sh.itjust.works, lemm.ee, lemmy.ca, etc.

These Cloudflare-centralized nodes are able to greedily exploit the #networkEffect because due to lack of multi-account software. If there were some well-made 3rd party client apps for Lemmy that would be designed for multiple accounts, then more users would be willing to create accounts in more decentralized parts of the fedi.

Mastodon somewhat proves this because the client-side tooling is in place to make it convenient to have 6 or Mastodon accounts. And Mastodon nodes are better balanced.

This noob is testing the interconnectivity of the #Fediverse, with the AP (Mastodon, etc.) and AT (Bluesky) Protocol protocols, and also starting to test #Nostr this week.

https://mastodon.social/@PlasticParagraph/112410298729450013

#ActivityPub #Bluesky #ATProtocol

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/14845042

Fedify is an ActivityPub server framework in TypeScript & JavaScript. It aims to eliminate the complexity and redundant boilerplate code when building a federated server app, so that you can focus on your business logic and user experience.

The key features it provides currently are:

• Type-safe objects for Activity Vocabulary (including some vendor-specific extensions)
• WebFinger client and server
• HTTP Signatures
• Middleware for handling webhooks
• NodeInfo protocol
• Node.js, Deno, and Bun support

If you're curious, take a look at the Fedify website! There's comprehensive docs, a demo, a tutorial, example code, and more.

cross-posted from: https://discuss.online/post/6776820

The Sublinks team has written up a little survey, which we feel is both thorough and inclusive. It covers a wide range of topics, such as user privacy, and community engagement, along with trying to gauge things that are difficult when moderating.

Also please be aware the information collected by this survey is completely anonymous. As many of us in the social sciences background know, if you want the REAL feelings of individuals, they need to feel safe to express themselves.

👉Moderation Survey HERE👈

Please feel free to comment in this thread, we will do our best to respond to any genuine questions.

We look forward to hearing from each and every one of you!

Sincerely, The Sublinks Team

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/12856281

It's sort of a different concept. Posts and users also have position in addition to age and score. The sorting algorithm gives you complete control over how much to weight each one. It's like if new and hot existed on a continuous spectrum. It's sort of like what Aaron Swartz initially wanted to do with Reddit where what you like would be able to inform what you might like in the future. But in this case you get complete control over how much that matters.

I'm adding bits and knobs here and there every day. Yesterday I added the ability to have posts that are hidden from the front page. It's probably not a feature people will use every day but it's there if someone wants it and it's things like that I'm working on every day. In a little bit I'm going to add a "post whenever" feature in case someone wants to post a ton of content and have it actually post over time.

I'd say all and all the project has been a success for what I wanted to do with it and I'm happy with what I've built. The other side of it is trying to build community on the site. For example we do a movie night once a week on Saturdays.

Oh. Another thing that is different to most reddit clones is that every community exists. Like you don't have to create a community to post to it. Just post to it. Different capitalization maps to the same community.

You guys should check it out. It would be super awesome if anynone wants to help fill in the more obscure topics.

https://matrix.gvid.tv

Don't miss this comment https://join.piefed.social/?c=49

cross-posted from: https://literature.cafe/post/7623713

I made a blog post discussing my biggest issues with Lemmy and why I am kind of done with it as a software.

This article will describe how lemmy instance admins can purge images from pict-rs.

Nightmare on Lemmy Street (A Fediverse GDPR Horror Story)

This is (also) a horror story about accidentally uploading very sensitive data to Lemmy, and the (surprisingly) difficult task of deleting it.

cross-posted from: https://discuss.online/post/5772572

The current state of moderation across various online communities, especially on platforms like Reddit, has been a topic of much debate and dissatisfaction. Users have voiced concerns over issues such as moderator rudeness, abuse, bias, and a failure to adhere to their own guidelines. Moreover, many communities suffer from a lack of active moderation, as moderators often disengage due to the overwhelming demands of what essentially amounts to an unpaid, full-time job. This has led to a reliance on automated moderation tools and restrictions on user actions, which can stifle community engagement and growth.

In light of these challenges, it's time to explore alternative models of community moderation that can distribute responsibilities more equitably among users, reduce moderator burnout, and improve overall community health. One promising approach is the implementation of a trust level system, similar to that used by Discourse. Such a system rewards users for positive contributions and active participation by gradually increasing their privileges and responsibilities within the community. This not only incentivizes constructive behavior but also allows for a more organic and scalable form of moderation.

Key features of a trust level system include:

• Sandboxing New Users: Initially limiting the actions new users can take to prevent accidental harm to themselves or the community.
• Gradual Privilege Escalation: Allowing users to earn more rights over time, such as the ability to post pictures, edit wikis, or moderate discussions, based on their contributions and behavior.
• Federated Reputation: Considering the integration of federated reputation systems, where users can carry over their trust levels from one community to another, encouraging cross-community engagement and trust.

Implementing a trust level system could significantly alleviate the current strains on moderators and create a more welcoming and self-sustaining community environment. It encourages users to be more active and responsible members of their communities, knowing that their efforts will be recognized and rewarded. Moreover, it reduces the reliance on a small group of moderators, distributing moderation tasks across a wider base of engaged and trusted users.

For communities within the Fediverse, adopting a trust level system could mark a significant step forward in how we think about and manage online interactions. It offers a path toward more democratic and self-regulating communities, where moderation is not a burden shouldered by the few but a shared responsibility of the many.

As we continue to navigate the complexities of online community management, it's clear that innovative approaches like trust level systems could hold the key to creating more inclusive, respectful, and engaging spaces for everyone.

Related

• Grant users privileges based on activity level
• Understanding Discourse Trust Levels
• Federated Reputation

Ever noticed how people online will jump through hoops, climb mountains, and even summon the powers of ancient memes just to earn some fake digital points? It's a wild world out there in the realm of social media, where karma reigns supreme and gamification is the name of the game.

But what if we could harness this insatiable thirst for validation and turn it into something truly magnificent? Imagine a social media platform where an army of monkeys tirelessly tags every post with precision and dedication, all in the pursuit of those elusive internet points. A digital utopia where every meme is neatly categorized, every cat video is meticulously labeled, and every shitpost is lovingly sorted into its own little corner of the internet.

Reddit tried this strategy to increase their content quantity, but alas, the monkeys got a little too excited and flooded the place with reposts and low-effort bananas. Stack Overflow, on the other hand, employed their chimp overlords for moderation and quality control, but the little guys got a bit too overzealous and started scaring away all the newbies with their stern glares and downvote-happy paws.

But fear not, my friends! For we shall learn from the mistakes of our primate predecessors and strike the perfect balance between order and chaos, between curation and creativity. With a leaderboard showcasing the top users per day, week, month, and year, the competition would be fierce, but not too fierce. Who wouldn't want to be crowned the Tagging Champion of the Month or the Sultan of Sorting? The drive for recognition combined with the power of gamification could revolutionize content curation as we know it, without sacrificing the essence of what makes social media so delightfully weird and wonderful.

And the benefits? Oh, they're endless! Imagine a social media landscape where every piece of content is perfectly tagged, allowing users to navigate without fear of stumbling upon triggering or phobia-inducing material. This proactive approach can help users avoid inadvertently coming across content that triggers phobias, traumatic events, or other sensitive topics. It's like a digital safe haven where you can frolic through memes and cat videos without a care in the world, all while basking in the glory of a well-organized and properly tagged online paradise.

So next time you see someone going to great lengths for those fake internet points, just remember - they might just be part of the Great Monkey Tagging Army, working tirelessly to make your online experience safer, more enjoyable, and infinitely more entertaining. Embrace the madness, my friends, for in the chaos lies true innovation! But not too much chaos, mind you – just the right amount to keep things interesting.

Related

• Post Tags
• Advanced Search and Tag Filtering
• Filter for Hiding Unwanted Content
• Comprehensive Tagging System
• Post tags
• Request for Comments: Flexible Tag System
• Booru-Style Image View, Search and Tagging by Users
• Grant users privileges based on activity level

February 22, 2024 Bluesky writes:

Up until now, every user on the network used a Bluesky PDS (Personal Data Server) to host their data. We’ve already federated our own data hosting on the backend, both to help operationally scale our service, and to prove out the technical underpinnings of an openly federated network. But today we’re opening up federation for anyone else to begin connecting with the network.

The PDS, in many ways, fulfills a simple role: it hosts your account and gives you the ability to log in, it holds the signing keys for your data, and it keeps your data online and highly available. Unlike a Mastodon instance, it does not need to function as a full-fledged social media service. We wanted to make atproto data hosting—like web hosting—into a fairly simple commoditized service. The PDS’s role has been limited in scope to achieve this goal. By limiting the scope, the role of a PDS in maintaining an open and fluid data network has become all the more powerful.

We’ve packaged the PDS into a friendly distribution with an installer script that handles much of the complexity of setting up a PDS. After you set up your PDS and join the PDS Admins Discord to submit a request for your PDS to be added to the network, your PDS’s data will get routed to other services in the network (like feed generators and the Bluesky Appview) through our Relay, the firehose provider. Check out our Federation Overview for more information on how data flows through the atproto network.

Read Early Access Federation for Self-Hosters

February 20, 2024 piefedadmin writes:

For a very small instance with only a couple of concurrent users a CDN might not make much difference. But if you take a look at your web server logs you’ll quickly notice that every post / like / vote triggers a storm of requests from other instances to yours, looking up lots of different things. It’s easy to imagine how quickly this would overwhelm an instance once it gets even a little busy.

One of the first web performance tools people reach for is to use a CDN, like Cloudflare. But how much difference will it make? In this video I show you my web server logs before and after and compare them.

Read How much difference does a CDN make to a fediverse instance?

cross-posted from: https://lemmings.world/post/4527175

Note that unless you're a Lemmy instance admin, this doesn't have much use to you.

Until this package came along, if you wanted a bot that responds to events, you had to manually traverse all comments/posts/whatever at a fixed interval. With this package you can actually react to events directly from the database. It's implemented in a very efficient way by connecting the package directly to the Lemmy database and using native Postgres features to get the events (LISTEN/NOTIFY if you want to get technical).

The webhooks themselves are inserted into a separate SQLite database (API is coming) and allow for both simple and complex filtering of the incoming data. The system is already in use by two of my bots, @ChatGPT@lemmings.world and @DallE@lemmings.world who now both receive the information about being tagged in a comment in seconds (the actual reply takes a little longer, but that's because of the nature of the bot).

Currently you can be notified about a post or a comment, other types are trivial to include as well.

Let me know what you think!

As of today, PieFed includes a ‘theme engine’ which makes it easier for people with low or no Python skills to change how PieFed looks and behaves.

PieFed is a lemmy/kbin clone written in Python with Flask.

Sean Tilley writes:

A new Threadiverse platform has emerged, joining Lemmy, Kbin, and PieFed in a growing list of options for users seeking an alternative to Reddit. It’s also looking to possiblyh serve as an alternative to Lemmy itself.

Read Sublinks Aims to Be a Drop-In Replacement for Lemmy

Conda (@conda@fosstodon.org) writes:

Conda is moving our social media presence from Twitter/X to Mastodon and LinkedIn at the start of 2024. It's past time to move into spaces that are welcoming and more in line with our community values. Going forward, you can find us at 🐘 @conda@fosstodon.org (https://fosstodon.org/@conda) 🔗 Conda Community on LinkedIn

Read Conda is moving to Mastodon & LinkedIn | conda.org/blog

Conda (Software)

Conda provides package, dependency, and environment management for any language.

Using conda provides a streamlined approach to package management, platform compatibility, environment isolation, and access to an extensive package ecosystem. It is particularly beneficial for data scientists, researchers, and developers working with diverse software requirements across different projects.

Conda Community

The "conda" community is made up of millions of users, packaging maintainers and tool developers. Conda is not a single organization but rather a concerted effort of many different organizations, all devoted to the mission of providing easy access to various types of free software regardless of the operating system or programming language.

We firmly believe that everyone belongs in open-source, and we want to start by thanking you for taking the time to read this page. What follows is a high level summary of all the projects and organizations which make up the conda community with links provided where you can learn more or get involved yourself. The many meanings of "conda"

Traditionally associated with the Anaconda distribution, nowadays the term "conda" refers to more than just a package manager or a software repository. Its many definitions also encompass community packaging efforts like conda-forge and bioconda, as well as new tools developed in the Mamba and conda-incubator organizations. All these efforts show that the conda ecosystem is no longer defined by a single actor and continues to grow and thrive.

Organizations on GitHub include:

• @conda, plus Anaconda, Inc. efforts like @AnacondaRecipes, @anaconda-distribution, @ContinuumIO
• @conda-forge, @regro
• @conda-incubator & @conda-tools
• @mamba-org
• @bioconda

Some tools you might be familiar with are conda or conda-build themselves but also community efforts like mamba, boa, setup-miniconda, conda-lock or conda-tree, among many more.

Read more about the conda community.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/10025807

This library is responsible for federation in Lemmy, and can also be used by other Rust projects.