Is there a way to shop around for a Lemmy instance based on how many instances are blocking it and how many instances it’s blocking? For example, I noticed that the lemmygrad.ml instance is relatively popular, but it seems like a lot of other instances block it. It also blocks a bunch of other instances. So, if there are any communities on there that might be relevant to me then I would be missing out. I guess I could just create an account on a walled instance, but I would prefer not to keep creating accounts. I’d like to just find one instance that maximizes my access. Is the answer to just run my own instance?

  • salarua@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    2·
    2 years ago

    Some folks think that defederation is a bad thing. OK.

    Here’s a little experiment you can try at home.

    1. Stop using GMail, Hey, or whatever email service you’re currently using.
    2. Set up your own mail server (there’s instructions on the internet).
    3. When the instructions say to use a Remote Black List just ignore them.
    4. When the instructions say to validate domains, ignore those too.
    5. When the instructions say to set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC just let those slide.
    6. Try to send / receive email
    7. Also try to read your inbox. For added benefit turn on all notifications for received mail.

    Voila. Now you have an unfettered email experience.

    And this, class, is why defederation is useful.

    Please send your comments to the overworked TA in the back of the room.

    — Craig Maloney

    • RedMarsRepublic@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      What a ridiculous false dichotomy, obviously subs which are just creating outright machine spam should be blocked but the current policy is just creating complete echo chambers where the orthodoxy of the admins isn’t challenged.

      • salarua@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        1·
        2 years ago

        probably not, but you’d get the same amount of horrible stuff as you’d get if you turned off all the security precautions on an email server. the point i’m making here by quoting Maloney is that blocking is a security precaution. less is more, and by joining an instance that doesn’t block anyone, you’re exposing yourself to a lot of terrible stuff. besides, instances that don’t block get blocked themselves, so horrible stuff would be all you’d see

        • CrimeDad@lemmy.oneOPEnglish
          0·
          2 years ago

          If instance ‘A’ has already blocked instance ‘B’, what does it matter to ‘A’ whether or not any other instances have also blocked ‘B’? Would the admin have to go far out of their way to block the instances that don’t block ‘B’ or is there a way to do it automatically?

          • salarua@sopuli.xyzEnglish
            1·
            2 years ago

            they would have to go out of their way, but it’s bad practice to block because of guilt by association. most instances have internal federation guidelines that are somewhat looser than their own rules, but still include a baseline level of decency. so an instance that doesn’t allow nsfw content would federate with an instance that does (even if they wouldn’t allow images to federate) as long as they don’t go all freezepeach or harass everyone

        • zkikiz@lemmy.mlEnglish
          11·
          2 years ago

          Edit: apparently lemmygrad is much worse than I realized

          The only caveat I have to this is that being communist shouldn’t be an automatic block. Lemmy.ml doesn’t block lemmygrad and I see no reason why it should, the posts I see are like “wow capitalism is fucking us up” not like “Tiananmen did nothing wrong and let’s repeat it x1000” so it really doesn’t seem comparable to proactively blocking Nazis. If you block “both sides” of a violent conflict like, say, the war in Ukraine, you’ve suddenly blocked everyone with a useful opinion.

          • sarsaparilyptus@lemmy.mlEnglish
            3·
            2 years ago

            Have you read Lemmygrad’s sidebar at all? They describe themselves as Tienanmen Square truthers, are openly pro-DPRK, and fully support genocide in the name of Communism. They exemplify everything bad people say about tankies and they take great pride in it.

            Wanting to cut out tankies and Nazis is NOT being a radical centrist who wants to “both sides” every issue, it’s just being a normal human being who doesn’t have bees in their head.

            • zkikiz@lemmy.mlEnglish
              2·
              2 years ago

              Ahh no I access Lemmy via the mobile app. Thanks for the information, I’ll be blocking them.

          • scoobford@lemmy.mlEnglish
            3·
            2 years ago

            I saw a lot of tianamen didn’t happen, CCP worship, etc on there for the first few days after I registered, which is a bit problematic.

            I wound up blocking them after a couple days, more because I don’t care about a tiny fringe movement (in my country), and don’t have any interest in their content.

          • salarua@sopuli.xyzEnglish
            2·
            2 years ago

            Lemmygrad isn’t blocked because of their views, it’s blocked because it’s a massive troll farm. the posts that you see don’t include the replies they make to posts which they deem not communist enough, where they sealion and argue in bad faith until the op is driven out

            • RedMarsRepublic@lemmy.worldEnglish
              03·
              2 years ago

              And that doesn’t apply to liberals and every other ideology on this site? Every person has a political view which affects their opinions

              • salarua@sopuli.xyzEnglish
                4·
                2 years ago

                if a liberal/anarchist/not-ML instance popped up and started behaving like Lemmygrad does, they’d get mass-defederated too. like i said, it’s not their views they got defederated for, it’s their behavior

                • RedMarsRepublic@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  11·
                  2 years ago

                  Behaviour like what though? Disagreeing? I don’t even know what ‘sealioning’ means, it basically seems like just saying ‘this person has different fundamental assumptions to me therefore they’re acting in bad faith’.

                • RedMarsRepublic@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  11·
                  2 years ago

                  To be fair it’s not like I know what lemmygrad does, I only joined yesterday, but it just seems like typical ‘tankiephobia’, I don’t exactly agree with MLs on everything either but some of what they get accused of is just beyond the pale. I mean generally if someone is a western liberal they don’t get endlessly accused of being a mass war crime apologist even though that’s basically what the ‘war on terror’ was.

          • Kichae@kbin.social
            1·
            2 years ago

            lemmy.ml is also run by communists, as are quite a few other instances, I imagine. No one’s really saying that communists should be blocked.

            But lemmygrad is specifically a vanguard edgelord site. Even those of us who are communists don’t necessarily want to deal witih /c/GenZedong.

            Plus, I left the instance I host for me and my friends open to lemmygrad, and I had people from the server create accounts and just bulk subscribe to communities there.

            It’s not the communism people are blocking it for.

  • Ada@kbin.social
    2·
    2 years ago

    tbh, there is no such instance. Not blocking any other instances is often a reason to be blocked by other instances.

    An instance that blocks no one is in effect a “free” speech instance that prioritises the right to be bigoted over the need to provide safe spaces for folk. And that means that instances that value the need for safe spaces over “free” speech are going to block the instances that don’t block anyone else as a means of creating and maintaining that safe space.

  • 7eter@feddit.de
    1·
    2 years ago

    U might want to take a look at the federation map. It might be a bit overwhelming but in the settings on the bottom left you may chose blocked and allowed in order to get some insights on who federates with whom.

  • balderdash9@beehaw.org
    1·
    2 years ago

    I don’t have the answer but I share your sentiment.

    One thing I hated about reddit is the mods would ban you for participating on certain subs. For instance, I got banned from r/WhitePeopleTwitter for commenting in a r/Conservative thread. (I was actually disagreeing with someone, but that’s neither here nor there.)

    The Fediverse feels like a worse version of that phenomenon. Entire communities are blocked off from each other by the admins of the instance. I fear that Lemmy might become a disjointed group of echo-chambers. Some might argue that reddit already is.

    • RoaringSilence@kbin.social
      1·
      2 years ago

      I don’t think that your concerns will happen. As the fediverse could be easy replicated and it is no problem to run an own instance federating with whatever you want AND be part of the rest.

      My guess is that we will see more instances with different tastes if I may call it this.

      By using tools like kbin you are also free to assamble the fediverse you want without the need to follow a single instance only.