Here the link to previous post: https://www.publish0x.com/chancellor-on-brink-of-second-bailout-for-banks/what-is-the-fediverse-part-ii-of-iii-xrvwzz

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION ON THE FEDIVERSE

Someone will also have the curiosity to understand why the fediverse protects the freedom of expression and could object that even on the fediverse the servers have their own ToS and their moderators so it is possible that there is a censorship as on the centralized mainstream servers. Correct objection. But there are fundamental differences.

First of all, and the ToS of www.freespeechextremist.com prove it, some servers have non-existent ToS. Of course they can ban you from there anyway, anything can happen.

But the most important thing is that you can defend yourself, which cannot happen on centralized social networks. How? Migrating to another server or, even if more demanding, forking the software according to the rules and making your own server. In both cases, given the nature of the fediverse, they throw you out the door but you return from all possible windows: they cannot ban you (except as I tell you later) if you belong to another server and those who followed you before follow you even now (technically you can make a backup of your contacts and transport them from one instance to another! Simpler than what appears). So banning the individual is a blunt weapon.

However, it must be said that at the server and app level, the admin can implement blocks of entire domains; basically at the server level the admin can exclude that their users have contacts with other servers. A classic case is www.mastodon.social which blocks Gab by default (because according to them they are bad rightist guys and above all freespeech ...). So if you are a mastodon user you cannot interact with a user gab or other blocked servers. This is why I don't use instances on mastodon!

Here is the link to mastodon's ridiculous announcement about Gab: https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2019/07/statement-on-gabs-fork-of-mastodon/

and here is the list of servers that mastodon.social is currently blocking: https://github.com/Gargron/mastodon.social-misc

Think that Mastodon was born to favor freedom of expression outside of centralized social networks: as is classic for the left and politically correct people they always forget to say that they protect freedom of expression "in accordance with their ideas"; if the komintern does not consider acceptable what you say you must be purged. A classic!

The funniest thing is that Gab is a fork of ...

Mastodon !! Think how bad they were that their software had been used by what they believe is a dangerous Nazi lair. But this is a feature of open source software: follow the rules and anyone can fork the software, even those who dislike you.

Mastodon, however, is not the only server to block some domain, and in any case it should be acknowledged that they do it transparently by publishing the data which I suspect others do not include, including Gab (strangely the whole fediverse that I see on Gab is 1/3 of what I see on freespeechextremist; how is it possible?); here another example, go to the end of the page; practically everyone would be shot by good left anarchists :-) https://anarchism.space/terms

But in some cases the blocking is not purely political in nature as in the two previous examples but only antispam or pornography as is the case with this server: https://spinster.xyz/about

THE APP FOR THE FEDIVERSE

The mobile apps that allow you to interact with the server are many and you can easily find them on the various stores of the censor giants. For Gab the situation is different. His app was banned by google and apple and the call to arms of the leftists by mastodon (in the link that I had previously mentioned, the apps that had responded enthusiastically to the censorship were mentioned) meant that some apps blocked gab at the software level so if you have a Gab accout you can't use them. It deserves to remember which they are, so you can disgrace and avoid using them:

Tusky for android and Toot! For iOS

But as for the open source server software, which Gab has forked from Mastodon, so the apps for fediverse are also open source and therefore Gab has forked those too :-) and has made its app store. Specifically, the funniest fork is Musky which derives from Tusky the good censor.

However, apart from Musky, the other apps you find on the gab store had no intention of censoring Gab and they simply inserted them for convenience. A special mention goes to febilab app who has publicly refused to join the blockade against Gab (you read it later when I talk about F-Droid). It must be said that Gab works better on a browser than on a mobile phone: the apps do not manage to have all the functions of Gab, in particular groups and chats, so I think they lose a lot of interest. I personally use a Japanese one, Subway Tooter essential but it works well with two accounts here the link to the google store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.juggler.subwaytooter&hl=en_us

Gab's app store is this: https://apps.gab.com/application

To close on the censorship speech and the sites that in my humble opinion should be avoided here I put the link to a delusional announcement of F-Droid, also here theoretically a place for free software and for freedom of expression: https: // f -droid.org/en/2019/07/16/statement.html

It should be noted that in the long post he never quotes Gab: a classic communist or Nazi attitude, make your choice, to dehumanize the opponent.

PRO AND AGAINST AND ADVICE

I hope I have given you exhaustive information to encourage you to use the fediverse. Here I would just like to give practical advice. Freedom is a pro, but it also brings with it cons. Specifically, forget that if you meet an asshole who threatens you, you can be sure to have it removed from the server; the admin perhaps doesn't do it and if you understand how fediverse works, even if they banned him/her you find it again with the same account on another server.  And you can find a lot of servers or posts that have contents really disreputable for you. In the fediverse you have three tools to overcome these situations that could activate in your settings. The first is to mute an account: basically you don't see each other's posts, but it's a soft solution that goes well with those who are perhaps too prolific. The second is to block an account: in this way you prevent the blocked account from following you so it becomes difficult for it to interact with you. The third more general is that you can block an entire server: if for example you do not want to have interactions with thematic servers that only make porn, or communist or Nazi propaganda or something that bothers you, block the domain and many greetings.

But this does not entirely prevent the solution of the problem of potentially dangerous people, so what I recommend, and which in any case should also be done in centralized social networks, is:

- never put your real name or references to your real life (like "wow the ice cream here is really good and it is right under my house" .....);

- activate the account with an anonymous e-mail (usually nothing else is asked except the e-mail): www.protonmail.com is an excellent solution;

- if you are paranoid, access your server through Tor; generally it always works with fediverse servers and you hide your IP.

So good surfing on the fediverse whatever server you are going to use! And i hope these posts can be useful for you.