Useful info, thanks for checking!

(And, how embarassing that I didn't even do the straightforward checking myself)

@lobingera @stefan

Holy shit I just realized who that account was! They're blocked now.

@stefan

No, malicious or buggy software running on a remote instance absolutely can ignore followers-only and DM restrictions. ActivityPub doesn't offer any guarantees on these fronts. That makes it unsuitable for anything confidential, and it's a good question whether most users realize it.

Then again when infosec and a bunch of other instances accidentally explosed all media in DMs to the world, and when kolektiva accidentaly shared all followers-only and DMs with the FBI, people weren't actually particularly angry about it, so maybe expectations are set correctly,.

@8124 @stefan

Yes, AP has the mechanisms to support it, and I think the specific vocabulary is largely agreed on (there's a FEP, not sure where it is in the process).

It's frustrating that the perception of AP, and current reality of most AP-based software, is so shaped by Mastodon's specific implementation. On the one hand Mastodon's adoption was key to the success of AP, but on the other hand Mastodon's specific choices (also including not adopting C2S) have been less than helpful. Oh well, it is what it is, and hopefully thanks are changing (both with Mastodon and with the broader fediverse)

@stefan @evan

If I understand correctly, the way it's going to work is similar to quote posts, something along the lines of

1) the server hosting the account making the reply sends a request to the server of the account being replied to asking whether it's okay to reply

2) the server with the account being replied to says "ok" or "nope"

Obviously this only works with cooperative software ... but that's also true with stuff like DMs and followers-only posts, so it comes with the territory here. Compatibility with older Mastodon versions, and other platforms that haven't implemented reply controls yet (or do it in a different way) is likely to be challenging -- as it is for quote posts. It's all a lot trickier than it sounds!

BTW, there was a similar transition back in 2016/7 when Mastodon unilaterally unlisted and followers-only posts got implemented. It was quite rocky for a while, but over time things moved forward. Stuff like this is a real challenge with interpoperable software in general, and decentralization only makes things more complex, but the other alterantivve is stagnation -- which is a lot worse. This is badly-needed functionality so it's great that it's happening.

@stefan @8124

@lupus_blackfur fair enough. "no character limits" was the way the suggestion that came in was worded.

GoToSocial has already implemented this. As I understand it Mastodon the worked with GoToSocial to tweak the protocol-level specification, and the Mastodon implementation can build on mechanisms that were put in place for Quote Boosts. Not sure just where it is on on the Mastodon roadmap though.

@stefan @lobingera

True, but https://pdsls.dev/ is a useful hack.

@dec23k @stefan @USelaine

@mildlyunreasonable I included this in one of the new polls at https://infosec.exchange/@thenexusofprivacy/115843662200325736 and so far it's getting 100% agreement!

Bonfire has groups on their roadmap but doesn't currently implement them (although Circles let you do some group-like things). A broadly-available approximation to private Facebook groups would be a huge plus for fedi. Here's a distillation of some requirements-gathering work I did early last year.

Anyhow I included a couple of questions relevant to this in one of the new polls at https://infosec.exchange/@thenexusofprivacy/115843753929752441

• Something to replace "buy nothing" Facebook groups

• Discussions with people in my neighborhood (without Nextdoor's racism)

• Discussions that aren't public for the whole world to see

@hollie @ansate @Matt_Noyes @CaitlinWaddick @edumerco @dphiffer @django @sam @ktoddbrown @MarieVC

Great suggestion. I had to split it into two responses because of the maximum length -- it's the first two in https://infosec.exchange/@thenexusofprivacy/115843753929752441

@ErickaSimone

What are you looking for in social media? (12/12, for now)

Whew, that's a lot of polls. But I'm sure there are options I didn't include, feel free to make suggestions in the responses! And if you're looking for another way to respond, check out the pol.is conversation in the post here

The polls are still open for a few days ... after that, I'll write up the results -- along with (in at least some cases) suggestions about where to find what you're looking for -- and publish them on https://thenexusofprivacy.net

What are you looking for in social media? (11/N)

Another poll in the series ... you can choose more than one response, and if you've got other suggestions please leave them in the replies.

What are you looking for in social media? (11/11, for now)

Whew, that's a lot of polls. But I'm sure there are options I didn't include, feel free to make suggestions in the responses! And if you're looking for another way to respond, check out the pol.is conversation in the post here

The polls are still open for a few days ... after that, I'll write up the results -- along with (in at least some cases) suggestions about where to find what you're looking for -- and publish them on https://thenexusofprivacy.net

What are you looking for in social media? (10/N)

Another poll in the series ... you can choose more than one response, and if you've got other suggestions please leave them in the replies.

What are you looking for in social media? (9/N)

Thanks everybody for the responses so far, here's a couple of new polls including some excellent suggestions that came in. If you've got other ideas, share them in the comments here -- or in the pol.is conversation (which also lets you disagree with stuff you don't want)

@risottobias on https://thenexusofprivacy.net , and I'll shere them here as well

@mildlyunreasonable great phrasing!

@Hawaii hmm I know about #asstodon and @owlsintowels but not sure if there's a #gerbildon or ratsInHats account (etc) yet. Then again it's probably only a matter of time!

What are you looking for in social media? (8/N)

Another poll in the series ... you can check more than one response, and if you've got other suggestions please leave them in the replies.