Epic Worlds

The official blog of Jonathan J. Snyder, the muse's bitch.

You know the internet has reached a breaking point when major news articles are now discussing enshittification and The Dead Internet theory. As someone who remembers as a child when the internet used to scream at you (and you capitalized the letter I), I and many others saw this coming.

The pattern was predictable in many ways. New technology is invented, enthusiasts begin to build communities and connections with technology like Usenets and forums, then corporations are born who say: “Look! Come be with us, we have the innovation, and we can do all the same things. Even better, we'll give it to you for free and do all the hard work.”

Thus, the silos were born, and then, in a matter of a decade, those people who joined the silos became food for the ads and now artificial intelligence.

I think it all came to a head when Elon Musk bought Twitter and destroyed it from the inside out. So many people had sworn Twitter was too strong, too important as a central source to be brought down by one man.

Boy, were they wrong. It is anecdotal, but I remember when everything circulated around Twitter. If you wanted to advertise your book, you went to Twitter. If you wanted to hang out with other authors, you went to Twitter. If you wanted to know anything and everything that was going on, you went to Twitter.

Twitter was a constant part of your life if you had a presence online, and there was always something new or interesting going on. You couldn't go a day without thinking about it or micro-blogging something to share with your author friends.

Now? I haven't had an account since April of 2022. There is no one there I know anymore, and the last time I stuck my head in, all I found were random complaints, racist trolls, and a bunch of ads for fake gacha games.

This isn't unique to Twitter. Google started it when they removed “Don't be evil” from their Code of Conduct in 2018. It was the Reddit Apocalypse when Steve Huffman decided that Reddit being a public company on the backs of unpaid moderators was the way to go, and then crushed the mod and user revolt so efficiently it would have made autocrats proud. Now Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Tumblr and WordPress' parent company Automattic, is going out of his way attacking a trans user and prepping the sale of all user data on both platforms to be sold to Midjourney and OpenAI.

These are just a few of the major incidents that have turned the once green grass silos into hellholes where the users are kept making content for free that companies can sell.

There is a growing trend online from what I can see of people wanting their internet and digital lives back. They want freedom from the system that's enslaved them.

Freedom is Difficult

For many seeking freedom, it's a challenge because companies have made it so easy to find content and get things curated that users struggle to understand how to do that now. If you go through a lot of articles on Mastodon and decentralized social media when Twitter collapsed and burned, people were confused on what to do, and no matter how simple people try to make it, nobody can grasp it.

If it's not the concept of federation, it's the whole curating of their own experience and the fact that they must participate instead of just sitting there and watching what comes in.

The users see the word social media and see social MEDIA when it is more correctly SOCIAL media. I'm not saying that we must give up on these people or that they are beyond hope. The internet is owned by all, and they deserve their digital freedom too. What I am confident we have to do as a community on the Fediverse is try and find ways to meet them in the middle and help them de-program and get their freedom back.

What are the Steps?

I don't have the answers to everything, nor am I stating that I do. I'm not a snake oil salesman writing this up so people think I have the answers. I don't. But what we need to start providing to those is:

  • Work on coming up with explanations that are as simple and user-friendly as possible.
  • A list of instances that are neutral and a good starting place for users to make a home until they get their feet under them.
  • Tutorials on how to live on the Fediverse that aren't overly complicated.

If we don't make this more approachable, then we will never expand in any meaningful way.

Discuss...

Tags: #essay #nonfiction

It has been a while since I have written a blog, but today, I got pretty pissed (if the title didn't give that away) and I wanted to write it out instead of just fuming throughout the house.

As some readers may recognize, my title may allude to something familiar, something you might have experienced yourself: the vermin and filth of the Collectible Card Game world.

What Happened

It was shopping day, and as much as I did not want to leave the house (I'm American and still recovering from Thanksgiving), I had to go get groceries or my children would start screeching again for their granola bars and oatmeal.

While meandering about like a lost puppy due to ADHD, I stumbled across stocked Pokémon cards at Walmart, which was not common due to players and the aforementioned scalpers hitting the racks within hours of delivery.

It had been about three months since I had bought any cards, as I love the game but don't really get much time to play it. I like to keep a low-tier competitive deck ready to go for that one day I might be able to go to a local tournament or something.

I grabbed six sets since they were only $3.78 (normally, at this Walmart, they price them $4.99 like Magic cards) and happily headed home. Once I got the groceries put away, the monsters fed their granola bars, I curled up in my office to take 30-ish minutes to open each one and savor the fun of seeing what's in there and maybe, just maybe, find a V, VSTAR, Rainbow Secret, or even a Gold Rare. I never hold out hope because I know the odds on it.

At the moment, the pull rate for a Gold Rare is 1 in every 82 booster packs of Paradox Rift

When I opened the first container to pull the booster pack out, I noticed that the top had already been ripped. My first thought was: “Dammit, I wasn't careful tearing the cardboard,” but then I opened the second and found the same thing.

That sinking feeling hit as I took the last four, flipped them over, and found that someone had popped the back to pull the booster pack out without damaging the cardboard, sliced open the top, slid the cards out, and checked them. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks and made me quite upset.

Someone had gone through the six packs I had bought already! That meant 1) if they found any of those good cards, there would only be 8 or 9 cards in the pack, and if all 10 were there, they were never any to begin with. That meant that at that very moment, I knew there was going to be nothing in my packs either way.

I still went through and opened each one of them and counted the cards to see, and in this case, each one had their 10 cards plus their basic energy and QR code (I haven't even checked to see if those are working yet).

I got cards, but it wasn't enjoyable to open. The feeling of excitement and mystery that I was hoping for with this rare purchase was gone because someone decided to try and steal the good cards without paying.

They chose profit over the excitement of discovering a wonderful, beautiful card you didn't truly expect.

Whoever it was, that damn scalper stole that feeling from me.

Profit and the Collectible Card Community

If I was a child, I would have cried. The sheer disappointment in my soul had made the inner child weep. I'm not ashamed to admit it. In this life, there are many joys one can have, and cards are one of the few that I have.

Since the Great Plague of 2020 and the mad rush of venture capitalists and those who wanted to make a quick buck started buying up every booster in existence, the true wonder and value of a card has been lost.

People just open packs to see if one of the special cards is in there, and when they aren't, they discard them. They don't take the time to admire each one, including the common cards that get overlooked.

It is so much worse to me to take this to another level and secretly try and steal the cards, find nothing, and leave them on the shelf so that a true lover of cards goes through what I did.

I'm tired of people joining a hobby or participating in a cultural phenomenon just to make money.

Don't get me wrong! I have no problem with true collectors who buy cards and sell them online because the difference is that they're not in this just for the money. They aren't looking for a Hyper Rare to make a hundred dollars but are looking to share that card with others, to find that card a good home.

I do it. I've sold a few of my high-priced cards at a lower price because I knew the purchaser was going to give that card a good place, like their own collection or in a deck where it truly belongs.

This might come off as childish, and maybe it is. It is beside the point. It just made me realize that late-stage capitalism has infected so many things that you can't escape it anymore. Even a hobby that I love has been poisoned, and I don't see any way to stop it. I don't want to have to now examine every single booster I buy for tampering or to see if someone has tried to steal from it. There are signs that it's finally coming to an end, but we'll see.

I just want my hobby back.

Tags: #essay #nonfiction

It has been a while since I have written a blog, but today, I got pretty pissed (if the title didn't give that away) and I wanted to write it out instead of just fuming throughout the house.

As some readers may recognize, my title may allude to something familiar, something you might have experienced yourself: the vermin and filth of the Collectible Card Game world.

What Happened

It was shopping day, and as much as I did not want to leave the house (I'm American and still recovering from Thanksgiving), I had to go get groceries or my children would start screeching again for their granola bars and oatmeal.

While meandering about like a lost puppy due to ADHD, I stumbled across stocked Pokémon cards at Walmart, which was not common due to players and the aforementioned scalpers hitting the racks within hours of delivery.

It had been about three months since I had bought any cards, as I love the game but don't really get much time to play it. I like to keep a low-tier competitive deck ready to go for that one day I might be able to go to a local tournament or something.

I grabbed six sets since they were only $3.78 (normally, at this Walmart, they price them $4.99 like Magic cards) and happily headed home. Once I got the groceries put away, the monsters fed their granola bars, I curled up in my office to take 30-ish minutes to open each one and savor the fun of seeing what's in there and maybe, just maybe, find a V, VSTAR, Rainbow Secret, or even a Gold Rare. I never hold out hope because I know the odds on it.

At the moment, the pull rate for a Gold Rare is 1 in every 82 booster packs of Paradox Rift

When I opened the first container to pull the booster pack out, I noticed that the top had already been ripped. My first thought was: “Dammit, I wasn't careful tearing the cardboard,” but then I opened the second and found the same thing.

That sinking feeling hit as I took the last four, flipped them over, and found that someone had popped the back to pull the booster pack out without damaging the cardboard, sliced open the top, slid the cards out, and checked them. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks and made me quite upset.

Someone had gone through the six packs I had bought already! That meant 1) if they found any of those good cards, there would only be 8 or 9 cards in the pack, and if all 10 were there, they were never any to begin with. That meant that at that very moment, I knew there was going to be nothing in my packs either way.

I still went through and opened each one of them and counted the cards to see, and in this case, each one had their 10 cards plus their basic energy and QR code (I haven't even checked to see if those are working yet).

I got cards, but it wasn't enjoyable to open. The feeling of excitement and mystery that I was hoping for with this rare purchase was gone because someone decided to try and steal the good cards without paying.

They chose profit over the excitement of discovering a wonderful, beautiful card you didn't truly expect.

Whoever it was, that damn scalper stole that feeling from me.

Profit and the Collectible Card Community

If I was a child, I would have cried. The sheer disappointment in my soul had made the inner child weep. I'm not ashamed to admit it. In this life, there are many joys one can have, and cards are one of the few that I have.

Since the Great Plague of 2020 and the mad rush of venture capitalists and those who wanted to make a quick buck started buying up every booster in existence, the true wonder and value of a card has been lost.

People just open packs to see if one of the special cards is in there, and when they aren't, they discard them. They don't take the time to admire each one, including the common cards that get overlooked.

It is so much worse to me to take this to another level and secretly try and steal the cards, find nothing, and leave them on the shelf so that a true lover of cards goes through what I did.

I'm tired of people joining a hobby or participating in a cultural phenomenon just to make money.

Don't get me wrong! I have no problem with true collectors who buy cards and sell them online because the difference is that they're not in this just for the money. They aren't looking for a Hyper Rare to make a hundred dollars but are looking to share that card with others, to find that card a good home.

I do it. I've sold a few of my high-priced cards at a lower price because I knew the purchaser was going to give that card a good place, like their own collection or in a deck where it truly belongs.

This might come off as childish, and maybe it is. It is beside the point. It just made me realize that late-stage capitalism has infected so many things that you can't escape it anymore. Even a hobby that I love has been poisoned, and I don't see any way to stop it. I don't want to have to now examine every single booster I buy for tampering or to see if someone has tried to steal from it. There are signs that it's finally coming to an end, but we'll see.

I just want my hobby back.

Discuss...

Wow. When I sat down this evening to just work on one of my #programming projects, I did not expect to see Snopes start posting on their feed with an absolutely absurd story of how they spent six weeks trying to claw back control of their hijacked #Twitter account. Spoiler alert: the experience involved Grok, probably the dumbest AI out there that was actually able to help.

From their statement on March 9th, 2025, a Snopes employee found themselves locked out of the company’s X account. Their CEO checked the site email and—bam—a fresh message from Twitter: “someone new” had just logged in. Unfamiliar location. Then, moments later, another email: “Twitter two-factor authentication is good to go!”

I know if I got this message, my blood pressure would have been through the roof.

They reported their CEO scrambled to reset the password using the “forgot password” link. Success—sort of. While the password was reset, the hacker had already enabled two-factor authentication (2FA). From what they were saying, it was a good thing they hit the reset password as it appears to have blown the hacker out of the account also before they could do any damage.

And so began the long, painful quest to get anyone at X to actually care.

Step one: submit help tickets—”We’ve been hacked” form, “Can’t access 2FA” form—you name it. Silence. Days turned into weeks, and the sound of crickets was deafening. Snopes even shelled out $1,000 for X's Verified Org plan—even though they already had the status for free—hoping it would unlock this mystical “Priority Support.”

Nope.

The actually saving grace here from what they said was Grok. You read that right. Grok of all things. After providing some stupid assistance, it actually pointed them to John Stoll, the head of Twitter's news who actually got to Customer Support and got their account back.

So, what did we learn?

  • Always use two-factor authentication. Convenience isn’t worth six weeks of hell.

  • Twitter’s customer support is a joke. Even $1,000 a month can’t buy you a human response.

  • Networking is useless if no one answers. LinkedIn was a ghost town.

  • Grok is as helpful as a Magic 8-Ball. It spat out obvious nonsense before accidentally pointing to the right person.

  • John Stoll is the real MVP. He seems to be the only person at X actually was willing to help.

In the end, Snopes’ saga exposes Twitter’s abysmal security and support. It wasn’t money, forms, or AI that saved the day—it was a lucky DM to the one guy who bothered to help.

The moral? Don’t count on Twitter to help even if you're a paying customer, even if you're hacked and the Head of News is the only way to get a hold of customer service.

God. They're fucking stupid. If you want to read Snope's full saga, you can do so here with their leading toot!

I know they're called X now. I don't care. Until Space Karen stops deadnaming his daughter, I won't stop deadnaming his company.

When I picked the title for this blog, I knew I was stirring the pot. But you know what? The more I dive into the endless scroll of tags, the more I read about all the new projects popping up, the excitement they generate, and then the inevitable backlash, finger-pointing, and virtue signaling that follow, the more convinced I become that I'm onto something. It's been a wild ride these past few weeks, seeing how quickly things can go from innovative to controversial, from promising to problematic. It's like watching a never-ending drama unfold, with each act more tangled than the last. This whole experience has solidified something in my mind: “I don't think anyone really knows what they're doing.”

The Definition of Fediverse is Subjective

Trying to understand the Fediverse feels like chasing shadows – it's confusing and pretty frustrating a lot of the time. When we talk about the Fediverse, what are we really talking about? Is it just a fancy word for a certain tech trick, or does it include any website where you can connect with others but not through the big-name platforms? And what about the rules of the game – does it only count if it uses #ActivityPub, or do places using the #Diaspora protocol also get a seat at the table?

This confusion isn't just annoying; it's a big roadblock to development. If we can't even agree on what the Fediverse is, how are we supposed to talk about why it's good, what problems it has, or what it could become? Even more, how do we simplify it for those who just aren't techie people? It feels like we're all trying to play the same game but can't agree on the rules. This makes it super hard to explain why people should care about these alternative social media spots.

And this isn't just talk. For people trying to use these platforms, it matters a lot in figuring out what to expect when they log in. For the folks building these platforms, it's about knowing what they're aiming for and who they're talking to. Without a clear idea, we're all just stumbling around in the dark, trying to make sense of a space that could change the way we hang out online.

Have we not seen the most common questions on Reddit? Understanding how it works and there never is a simple explanation.

In a World of Supposed Coexistence, Purist Rhetoric Still Exists

The moment you first get online, it's like walking into a room where everyone knows the secret handshake except you. There's this sense of gatekeeping that's hard to ignore. Inventors and bright minds come forward with fresh ideas aimed at making the Fediverse a better place, but instead of being met with open arms, they're often shut down. It's disheartening, really. Peer pressure mounts, and attacks fly left and right, burying new concepts before they even have a chance to breathe. It feels like we're our own worst enemies sometimes, letting fear of change dictate who gets to contribute and who doesn't. It's always an accusation of: “You're not being respectful to [INSERT SPECIFIC SUBSET OF INHABITANTS].” No solution. Just yelling.

And now, with corporations starting to poke their heads through the door, eager to carve out their piece of the pie, it feels like the gatekeeping is only intensifying. It's as if we're tightening the noose around our own necks, suffocated by our collective apprehension. The irony is thick; in a space that prides itself on decentralization and freedom, we're boxing ourselves in, governed by an invisible rulebook that favors the status quo over innovation. If we're not careful, we're going to strangle the very essence of what made the Fediverse such an appealing alternative in the first place. Our fear of the unknown, of losing control to corporate interests, might just be the thing that holds us back from evolving.

The False Expectation of Privacy

You know what annoys me the most? It's the sheer misunderstanding of what privacy means in this space. Folks flock to the Fediverse, lured by the promise of a haven from the prying eyes of mainstream social media, thinking they've found privacy's secret garden. But here's the kicker: they couldn't be more exposed if they tried.

When you post something to the public timeline on the Fediverse, you're not just whispering in a secluded alley; you're essentially grabbing a megaphone and broadcasting your thoughts in the digital equivalent of Times Square, under the brightest of spotlights. This isn't a cozy, gated community where everyone knows your name and privacy is respected by default. No, it's more like you've set up a billboard with your thoughts, photos, and data, not realizing that this system is designed to keep that billboard circulating far and wide.

And here's where it gets even more tangled. Despite the Fediverse's openness, it seems like not everyone got the memo on how public 'public' really is here. They lay out their digital lives for all to see, then seem shocked when their information ends up in corners they never intended it to visit. That's why the smarter spaces in our Fediverse universe have started to emphasize the importance of private and unlisted features. But even then, it's like pulling teeth to get people to use them.

This brings me to a point I can't hammer home enough: personal responsibility. Everyone needs to start taking their own online protection seriously instead of laying that burden at others' feet. Sure, we're part of a community—a digital society where ideally, we look out for one another. But let's be real; this isn't a utopia where a select few guardian angels manage our safety for us. In the Fediverse, just like in the real world, we've got to work together, yes, but also take charge of our own digital footprints. It's on us to navigate this space wisely, using the tools at our disposal to carve out our corners of privacy. Because at the end of the day, if you're not looking out for yourself, who will?

We are a Confederacy

I do not say that to invoke flashbacks to the American Civil War or the antebellum period. I’m referring to the system of government. The definition of a Confederation government is: “political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issues, such as defence [sic], foreign relations, internal trade or currency, with the central government being required to provide support for all its members.”(1)

We are a Confederation.

For example, the #fedipact is an example of one side of the Fediverse trying to answer the question of what to do about Meta. They created a treaty, and a lot of instances signed up for it. Others did not, which is their prerogative. The point was that someone had actually created a plan to try to solve the issue the way they wanted. This gives instances multiple different avenues of approach to handle a situation they think would be the best.

We cannot stop the corporations or the bad actors from coming here. With enough perseverance, anyone can keep showing up. It's only through treaties and keeping each other informed that we can protect our “nation states.”

The digital world doesn't stand still, and neither can we. With entities like Bluesky on the horizon, developing their own protocols to mesh with ours, the stakes are only getting higher. There's a palpable fear that Bluesky might try to dominate, to impose their will and their protocols over ours. Yet, what do we gain from letting fear dictate our actions? If history has taught us anything, it's that fortresses built from fear are the first to crumble.

Instead of drawing battle lines in the sand, it's time for instances, both big and small, to shed the “my way or the highway” mentality and start forging working relationships. Let's learn from Bluesky, meet them where our protocols can mesh, ensuring they respect the sanctity of unlisted and private settings. If Bluesky—or any newcomer, for that matter—aims to take over, they'll find themselves grasping at straws. Why? Because we didn't buy into their proprietary playbook. We took the high road, the smart road, by sticking to our principles without isolating ourselves. We opened the door with rules and, if they behave, let them participate.

In essence, the future of decentralized social media doesn't just depend on our ability to stand firm on our individual islands but on our willingness to build bridges between them. It's about creating a network of alliances, a Confederation in the truest sense, where unity and autonomy don't just coexist but strengthen each other. Now, more than ever, it's time to embrace that spirit of collaboration. After all, in unity, there's strength—strength to adapt, evolve, and withstand whatever the digital tides throw our way.

We Need to Get Along

In the grand, tumultuous world of decentralized social media, if there's one mantra we should all be chanting in unison, it's “Let's get along.” (And no, I'm not talking about the bastards—nazis, TERFs, and other harmful groups that try to get on. We can't stop them, but we can force them to stay in their own holes.)

Think about it—our strength, our very essence in the Fediverse relies on the bridges we build and the connections we forge. Imagine a world where ActivityPub bumps into Diaspora and says, “Hey! I'm ActivityPub. Got something here I need to pass on to your folks. Can you help make it understandable for them?” And vice versa. Picture Bluesky tossing their digital messages into the mix, and instead of a communication breakdown, we have ActivityPub and Diaspora acting like seasoned translators, ensuring everything is clean, compatible, and safe for all parties involved.

But how do we achieve this level of interoperability? By establishing easy digital borders where data isn't just tossed over the fence in the hopes someone on the other side catches it, but is instead carefully interpreted, translated, and handed over in a manner that everyone can understand and appreciate. This isn't just about making nice for the sake of harmony; it's about ensuring the Fediverse remains a vibrant, dynamic space where ideas and information flow freely and safely across platform lines.

Let's face it: corporations are a fixture in our digital landscape. Wishing them away is as futile as trying to hold back the sea with a broom. We can't barricade the doors and hope they'll just disappear. But what we can do, as a digital Confederation, is to set the terms of engagement. We can establish our boundaries, our rules of interaction, that allow us to engage with these corporate entities on our terms. It's about not just coexisting but thriving, by ensuring that when these giants step into our realm, they do so with respect for the values and principles that define us.

Will those be different? Yes. That's the nature of the beast. Some instances will not allow Bluesky or Meta to talk to them, but that doesn't mean they should force that on other instances who want to see their members interact with us.

In essence, building these bridges and setting these borders isn't just an act of defense; it's an assertion of our identity, our autonomy, and our vision for a federated digital world. It's a clear message that while we welcome the flow of ideas and innovation, we do so on the foundation of mutual respect and understanding. By fostering this environment, we not only protect the integrity of the Fediverse but also pave the way for a future where decentralized social media isn't just an alternative but a preferred, respected standard in the digital age.

References

  1. Wikipedia contributors. (2024, February 23). Confederation. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:53, February 23, 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Confederation&oldid=1209828498

I decided it was time for me to write another blog post, though this one is not going to be as long as the others I've written (hopefully). This was a problem that I had been working on for at least a month on and off, which required opening a ticket with Castopod, searching the internet endlessly, and finally consulting ChatGPT to make suggestions. Eventually, I realized what was going wrong.

Installing Castopod

This tutorial is designed around hosting #castopod on an Ubuntu server while using #docker as my method of running it. I utilized the automatic server installation of Docker that comes as an option when installing a server, but I also had to run:

sudo apt-get install docker-compose -y

to also get the other portion needed on the server.

Once you've got that on, go ahead and follow the instructions on the main website:

https://docs.castopod.org/getting-started/docker.html

Once that is done, two possible things will happen. When you go to localhost/cp-install, you'll either see the super user creation screen, or you’ll be greeted by a warning that the program was not able to connect to your SQL database. In the logs, you might see:

castopod-db | 2023-07-14  0:04:00 4 [Warning] Access denied for user 'castopod'@'172.27.0.3' (using password: YES)
castopod-app |
castopod-app | [CodeIgniter\Database\Exceptions\DatabaseException]
castopod-app |
castopod-app | Unable to connect to the database.
castopod-app | Main connection [MySQLi]: Access denied for user '****'@'172.27.0.3' (using password: YES)
castopod-app | at SYSTEMPATH/Database/BaseConnection.php:418

This is where I got really stuck. I spent almost a month scouring the internet, creating a ticket, closing it after two weeks, then creating a new one about the same issue appearing in the Docker installation.

The Castopod developers did not get back to me (which is fine—I understand it's supported by volunteers). So I decided to consult ChatGPT based on the information I had, and it made suggestions that actually fixed the issue.

If you get this issue where the database can't connect due to “access denied,” you'll need to run the following commands:

sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/docker-compose
sudo chmod 666 /var/run/docker.sock

Once that is done, clear out the previously created volumes and start up again:

docker-compose down --volumes --remove-orphans
docker-compose up -d

Once you've done that, you should be good to go!

Ending

I know that generative #AI is still a hot-button topic in the #infosec world, but I believe it can be used for good to help solve issues. I wanted to showcase how it helped me find an answer and saved the developers a lot of time and effort.

Of course, I'm not going to opine on AI here in this small article, but I wanted to be upfront about how it helped and how it can benefit the #selfhosting community when it comes to issues like this in Castopod.

Until next time!

Discuss...

Tags: #uspol #politics

Even when I wrote the title for this post, I could feel how much that the sentence failed to capture the feeling everyone who wasn't a fascist was feeling. The 2024 #election did not go the direction that a lot of people thought. I mean, look at how much the #gop was fighting to change laws, to purge voter rolls, and all the other nefarious plans to steal the election. They thought they were going to lose as much as the #Democrats thought they were going to win. Everyone was caught off guard.

Since then, I have watched the hastags on the #fediverse, followed some of the content of YouTubers that I trust and caught up on a lot of the talk on corpo social media. There is a few things I found that surprised me.

Everyone is Standing Together

I think the thing that surprised me the most is that across the internet among the communities I follow, there have been an outpouring of support for the vulnerable groups that are going to be targeted by thew new regime coming in. Support links, advice, mentions of communities they can hide in. I did not see anything like this in the 2016 election.

I'm confident it is because we know what we're getting into but instead of just fury, there is also the helping of one another. That brought me to tears more than the loss of the election.

In a country that I had thought had lost this, I was happy to see that I was wrong. I'm doing better today because of the kindness and camaraderie that I have seen.

All is Not Lost

I know I say this and it has been only three days since the election loss. But I think it is something that needs to be said. We all had a lot of hope that the healing that President Biden had been bringing to this country after the damage Trump inflicted would continue under Vice President Harris. No, she was not the best choice but she was the only choice we had in time and I think the best chance of trying to win. She ran a good campaign and I'm proud of have had a sign for her and voted for her.

The reason I say there is hope in these coming times is because of the following things:

  • Even if the GOP have a trifecta (control of the House, Senate, and White House), the cowardly Republicans are going to still play it safe when it comes to their own seats. They are still at the whim of their voters and things like Project 2025 have been detested by Americans on both sides of the line. I'm thinking that they may start small to see how much they can get away with and we have the ACLU to fight them tooth and claw. (The ACLU is always looking for donations to help the good fight).
  • We only have to wait two years before we can vote again to remove the assholes from power. The House of Representatives come up once every two years and if you remember, the Trump Economy and situation was so bad, that the GOP lost so many seats. Also in the 2026 mid terms, not only are the 435 House seats not back open, 35 Senate seats will also and more than half of them held by Republicans.
  • You are still here. I don't want this to sound hokey but you are still here. We were beaten, we are angry and disgusted at what our fellow citizens chose. But we are still here to fight for the rights of people to be safe, to be themselves, and for women to have full autonomy of their bodies. Right now there is nothing we can do but the time is coming to fight back again.

It will be dark Before it Becomes light

I won't lie to you or ramp my optimism up to 1000%. What is coming is dark and we are about to go through some bad times again. Unlike 2016, we know how bad of a leader Trump and his sycophants are but this time, we're dealing with someone who looks as if they are in the throes of dementia, who cares nothing for anyone but himself, and ready to appoint Nazis to positions of power.

Don't give up! We have been lucky that many of the fascists in Trump's circle are stupid. I mean, they wrote their entire plan out in a manifesto and published it for the world to see. They gave us the blueprint on how to block them.

But even stupid fascists are dangerous. We will need to keep putting pressure on our representatives and senators to make sure they don't stray (or give into their worst impulses if you live in a red state) and continue to point out that we are up against actual Nazis and that we will not accept a Christo-fascist theocracy. I believe in separation of Church and State and it is our right to speak, believe, and live the way we want to.

Hang in there! We'll get through this together.

Discuss...

While perusing the internet trying to decide on what I want to put on this blog (besides the one that was just a basic), I realized there is A LOT of tutorials on how to setup mastodon, what the point of decentralized social media is and so forth.

It was a post on the instance I’m residing that gave me what to write. The nuances of living in this form of social media both as a user and as an admin. So, the first part will be for those who are looking for more information about being a user then for newbie admins, the things that I learned.

For ease as you read the first post, I am going to refer to Mastodon, Friendica, and other platforms as the “Decentralized Platforms” or “Fediverse platforms” and Twitter, Facebook, etc as the “Centralized Platforms” or “corporate controlled”. That way I’m not typing each one out all the time. If I need to make a note of a specific difference, I will then call the platform out by name.

Alright! Let’s get this show on the road!

Decentralized Services ARE NOT clones of the Centralized Services

One of the hardest things I have learned is that the decentralized services aren’t just knock-offs or clones of the major corporate controlled platforms that are available to everyone. The only thing that they share in common is their basic concept. To serve users data and information in a social way that promotes community.

If you are coming from one of the centralized platforms, you are used to having your friends, following the people you want to read and having the company serve you a daily list of interesting things they found for you based on search information you have done. It’s normal for you to be able to login, see what’s going on, and then posting a link or comment and keep going.

It’s great in a way that you don’t have to do the leg work to find new and interesting information but the trade off is that centralized platform keeps tabs on what you are doing. At minimum, they keep a profile on you and their users to help feed their computer program and at most, they then use the data to sell advertising space to other companies to target you with ads.

In short, a centralized social media needs money to run and decided that it uses your data to fund itself and then continue to sell it to make a profit for it’s shareholders. The one that comes first is the company.

A decentralized platform is, for the most part, opposite. Instead of taking care of shareholders and doing business, the fediverse services are designed around the concept of interoperability and being able to work with each other. The basic foundations the internet was built on. Down to the most basic of things, a fediverse server like Mastodon, is built to be run by someone but other things can communicate with it. The basics of interconnected computers.

This type of platform sacrifices one singular location and a helpful algorithm to find stuff and trade it that the user needs to do a lot of the work themselves.

In this vast planet of people, there are those who support either methodology to different amount of extremes. The question you should ask yourself is “What do you want?”

If you want a centralized system, there is no judgment from me and you do not have to keep reading this blog post. If you want to continue towards your exploration of the fediverse, then please keep on reading.

Don’t give up. I threw a lot at you but I felt it was important for you to understand the fundamental difference between the two. This isn’t a “run to alternate Twitter because of what Elon Musk is doing.” This is leaving one ecosystem for a brand new one.

So, you’re here and want to be part of the fediverse. What do you do?

That’s a very good question and you are not stupid in asking yourself. It’s actually one of the first key things as a newcomer you should consider. What do you want to do? Are you looking to make/share videos? Are you looking for a micro-blogging platform to share your thoughts? Are you someone who loves computers and want to get involved?

Those are questions you should answer before you move forward. In my case, I wanted to support decentralization so I’ve delved into creating my own instance and continue researching everything so that I can contribute and provide blog articles like this.

For ease of this post, I’m going to assume that you are looking to find a place to continue your social media experience. It’s the easiest to get started.

I’m going to assume you have found a home for your account. If not, check out this blog article for that sort of information.

So what do you do now? Here are a few things you should know about.

Golden Rule: Treat others as you wish to be treated

This might sound stupid to say out loud but the fediverse is built upon the concept of mutual respect and understanding. Rage culture is unacceptable and trolls are frowned upon. I would never give this advice anywhere else but when you get feedback, actually consider it before you ignore it. It could be a courtesy to help you. You’ll want to think it’s a troll but in this case, take a few moments, and then decide.

Nuance 1: Add context to your links (and use the content warnings)

On a centralized platform, it’s common to throw a link on there because the program would find all the info and display it in a nifty, little card. One of the best things you can do for yourself is to break that habit and add context to any link. Even if your fediverse service you are on has the ability, the ones that may be getting the information or the app viewing it may not.

One of the best things you can do is take the time to provide a small bit of information on what the link is about to give viewers an idea what they’re actually going to be clicking on.

Also, you can put content warnings on your posts. Be considerate. If you think someone may be offended or see something that is triggering, throw the content warning on there. Those who want to see it will click on it.

Nuance 2: Hashtags are not cringy; Hashtags are the backbone.

If you’ve been on social media long enough like I have, you have heard that hashtags are cringy and “they’ve ruined social media”.

In the case of a fediverse service, hashtags are actually the glue that sticks things together. In most every decentralized platform you can join has the ability to search through hashtags or even subscribe to them. The way for you to find new content you are interested in and new people to follow is through those hashtags. They are seen everywhere!

Now, do not go and hashtag every single word but keywords of your post so others who are interested in the same thing can find you.

Nuance 3 – You are your own Algorithm.

Are you not seeing anything in your feed? If not, there is a good chance you haven’t followed anyone because your feed is built of people you follow and in cases those who follow them. You are the one who curates what you can see and what shows up in your feed. Subscribing to hashtags, following users with ideas and thoughts like you are great ways to start filling up that feed with information to your liking.

You should follow indiscriminately and unfollow indiscriminately because that’s the only way you’re going to control what you see.

Nuance 4 – And follower and following count isn’t worth anything.

This is going to be the hardest thing to understand, especially if you are coming from a capitalistic platform where you have built a following.

The ratio of followers to following doesn’t mean shit here on the fediverse and that’s because of what we have talked about. People curate their own stuff so following and unfollowing is the way to get your feed the way you like. There is no value to how many followers you have except to understand that whatever your posting about has their interest. If you move on to a different number and your numbers shift, that’s just people adjusting their feed.

Don’t invest in your follower count. Invest in the engagement across the platform. You have to put emphasis on the social of social media, not the last word.

Ending

There is probably a lot that I am missing and that’s because I am still on this journey too. I have had the advantage of a wonderful group of people engaging with me and helping me make these adjustments and I wanted to pass on and provide that to anyone reading this too.

Until next time!

Tags: #politics #essay

As a writer, I have written a lot of things in my life, and honestly, the thing I hate to write about the most is #politics. I mean, I have always enjoyed the concept of how government works and the application of good faith discussions on what is best for the American people among their elected officials.

I hate to say it, but that time is gone. It died in 2016 when The #republican party decided to sell what was left of its soul to the proverbial devil to maintain what little power they had left over the American psyche.

In this article, I'm going to explain why that is and how we are aiming to become a country where we are a #republic in name.

Cultural Shift & Falling Behind

It started in the 1960s and has been going steadily since then. The American public has been shifting away from the old-style conservatism that is white people being in charge of things. Anyone who takes an honest look at history can see that the United States has always tried to oppress the minority even with high-sounding morals.

Since then, the citizens of the United States have become more inclusive, respectful, and open to new ideas and thoughts that were once considered taboo and evil.

LGBTQIA+ recognition, the inclusion of Black and people of color in voting, the idea that maybe we should help each other rather than being selfish.

This all came to a head with the election of President Obama and the passage of the Affordable Care Act. We were on our way to becoming a country where people of all races, creeds, and colors had a chance at pursuing their happiness.

That came to an end with the election of Donald Trump and the desperate screams of the theocrats whose power had almost dwindled to nothing.

Conservatism in the USA Is Dying

This is a bold statement to make, but there is evidence to prove it. Every election cycle, voters are choosing more progressive candidates to represent them in government. The old white conservative platforms are losing their voters through death or attrition, and the GOP cannot find good arguments to convince the next generation to join them.

There are now more independents in the United States than in a long time. More people are choosing not to be aligned with a specific denomination or religion and are expecting more from their candidates.

These are things that the GOP cannot comprehend or combat against. The basic conservative ideals of male and white superiority no longer hold purchase with the majority of the next generations.

Instead of trying to change their ideals and win voters back to their side, the Republicans and their theocratic leaders have decided it is better to start cheating and stacking things in their favor. They believe it is now time to do everything in their power to remain in positions of authority and force their minority-supported beliefs on the rest of the country.

Do not be fooled: the majority of conservatives' beliefs are not supported by the general public in the United States.

Why do they do this? Why do they think that taking away the people's power and calling for the end of democracy is the correct choice? It's simple in their minds: moral superiority.

The Insidious Disease of Moral Superiority

The Republican leaders and those who support them have come to the conclusion that their beliefs on the Bible and their take on Christianity are the correct choice, and that it is their job to spread that belief to the country, even if their actions are morally questionable or downright illegal. Because they believe that their belief is right, it excuses any and all actions that they take.

It was summed up perfectly by Jack Posobiec at #CPAC in his opening speech: “Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely. We didn’t get all the way there on Jan. 6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it and replace it with this right here (Makes fist like a half-hearted Nazi salute).”

They have lost the public vote, confidence, and support, so they have decided that because they are right and the rest of the country is wrong, the only way to ensure that we behave the way they want is for democracy to end and autocratic rule to take over.

They are simply saying: “You all are wrong, so you shouldn't have a say. Just do what we tell you to do.”

There is no way to fight against an insidious belief like this, as logic and reason do not work. They are in a cult and are fanatics who believe they are right and that their will must be established in this country at all costs.

Is It Over for the USA?

Not yet, but we are getting close. The blame cannot be laid just at the feet of the religious fanatics like Jack Posobiec, Mike Johnson, and others.

Their actions are supported by politicians who will do and say whatever it takes just to stay in power. No, they don't believe what the #MAGA right is saying, but it's what they feel they need to do to stay in power or to stay relevant.

All the actions of these people are funded by millionaires and billionaires for one simple reason: greed. If inclusivity continued the way it was going, the writing was on the wall that they would, at minimum, be made to pay a fair tax, or at maximum, find their ill-gotten gains taken from them and used to help the people of this country improve.

To invoke Godwin's Law, look at Hitler's rise to power. He was fully backed by the religious and the industrialists. They only turned on him when the war was lost, but by then, it was too late.

We Are in a Precarious Time

We are now at a time where people who are open Nazis are mingling with members of the GOP, where foreign intelligence agents are helping members of the US government subvert the upcoming election and sow enough discord and mistrust that they can declare the election rigged.

January 6th failed because they didn't have popular support. They're not going to make that mistake a second time.

So, I call upon any #republican, #democrat, and #independent to look at the state of things and vote to stop it. I'm not asking anyone to give up on specific beliefs, but to unite and understand that we're facing a time where people who are supposed to be our elected leaders are trying their best to stay in power and make us do what they want us to do.

Let's vote together to get every single Nazi and sympathizer, every religious zealot who thinks what they believe God told them is more important than their fellow man.

Let's get rid of them and return to a time where we worked together in good faith and helped our country grow strong.

The only other option is the loss of our fundamental freedoms and the rollback of our rights, just as we saw happen in Russia, Hungary, and Poland.

We are the only ones who can stop it. If we don't, then when everyone inevitably wakes up, it'll be too late.

The dictators are here, and we're holding the door wide open for them. ```

Episode 3: The Basement

Tags: #pemberton #comedy #shortstory

The Pembrooke Mall was an odd place. Its reputation, nestled in the middle of nowhere and shaped like a double H, had become legendary among the few who dared to enter. It was home to a motley crew of store owners, each weirder than the last. And, as the new manager, Alex Taylor’s days were a peculiar blend of bureaucracy and bizarre encounters. Today, his mission was to locate the elusive supply closet in the basement, as dictated by the faded notes left by his predecessor. It was supposed to be a well-lit room stocked with the mall’s most expensive supplies, a sanctuary of sorts for the beleaguered manager. The problem was the notes also mentioned the basement was a labyrinthine maze that he never really explored.

It was one of the few things that he had not had a chance to do yet. The old manager had told him that this mall had been built on a failed project. An underground parking garage of all things and that the first two basement floors were used by the mall. The manager was also clear that they were only to use the first-floor basement and avoid the second floor as much as possible. She never did explain why.

Alex, armed with his flashlight, descended the cement stairs to the first-floor basement. The air was cool and a lot nicer than he had anticipated. The floors were cement, but they were well kept and clean. It almost felt like an office space with the rooms down each corridor. One would have thought he was in a skyscraper if it hadn’t been descending into the bowels of the Earth. The fluorescent lights flickered intermittently though, casting eerie shadows that danced along the walls.

‘I don’t want to spend too much time here,’ Alex thought to himself as he pocketed his flashlight. There was enough light down here.

As Alex reached the bottom of the stairs, he sighed and chose a hallway to go down. There were a lot of rooms and there weren’t any instructions on which held the expensive fluorescent lights he needed. He fumbled with his keys, trying each one, and was met with varying degrees of success. Some doors opened to reveal nothing more than forgotten inventory – old boxes of vinyl records, discarded mannequins, and a collection of broken shopping carts. Others, however, yielded more peculiar sights: a room full of vintage bowling trophies, another with a collection of porcelain cats, and one particularly unsettling space filled with nothing but taxidermied animals dressed in tiny, ill-fitting clothing.

“Why does this place have so many weird rooms?” Alex muttered to himself, his eyes skimming over a particular rabbit in a bowler hat. The silence was deafening, broken only by the distant hum of the basement lights. Every step he took seemed to echo through the hollow basement. It was just plain weird down here.

A flicker of movement caught Alex's eye. He froze, his heart pounding. Why had the basement gone to feeling creepy and that someone was out to get him? It was bright down here but the entire place had taken on an eerie feeling.

‘Why did I ever agree to this job? I should have taken that desk job at the insurance company.’ He thought to himself.

It was at the end of the corridor Alex noticed that the lights were not working and out of it a figure emerged. Alex squinted, his breath catching in his throat. The figure stepped into the light; its identity became clear. Relief washed over Alex, but it was quickly replaced by bewilderment. What on earth is Jean-Luc doing down here?

Jean-Luc Dubois was known for his outlandish taste in fashion – the kind that made him look like he had raided a circus wardrobe and then vomited on a thrift store. Today was no exception. Neon green blazer, check. Polka dot trousers, check. Mismatched socks – one orange, the other purple – double check. His ensemble was a visual assault that made Alex's eyes hurt just to look at.

‘Seriously, does he dress in the dark?’

“Jean-Luc?” Alex managed to get out. “What are you doing down here?”

Jean-Luc smiled at Alex, his face breaking into a wide grin. “Ah, mon cher Alex! What a delightful surprise to see you down here in the bowels of Pembrooke Mall!”

‘Great, even in the basement, he can't dial down the drama.’

“I... I could ask you the same thing,” Alex replied, trying to steady his voice and regain some semblance of composure. “Why are you here?”

Jean-Luc chuckled, a high-pitched sound that echoed eerily off the basement walls. Of course he laughs like a supervillain. If anyone else didn’t know who he was, they would have thought he was an escaped serial killer. Jean-Luc was the sweetest man anyone could have met in this life.

“Ah, my dear Alex, the basement is a treasure trove of forgotten wonders! I come here to seek out the peculiar and the bizarre, the things that others have abandoned but which still hold a certain... charm.”

Alex's mind was still reeling from the sight of Jean-Luc's outfit, but he couldn't deny a growing curiosity about what other oddities this basement might hold. “I see. Well, I'm looking for the supply closet. The one with the expensive stuff. Have you seen it?”

Jean-Luc’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Ah, the elusive supply closet! But, my dear Alex, you must tread carefully down here. There are rules, you know. Very important rules.”

Alex raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued. “Rules? What kind of rules?”

Jean-Luc leaned in, lowering his voice to a dramatic whisper. The neon green of his blazer still blinding. “First, always bring a flashlight. The darkness down there can be quite deceptive.”

“Down there. You mean the second-floor basement,” Alex asked. “The one the previous manager told me to avoid at all costs?”

“Oh! You heard of it! Excellent!”

That was not comforting.

“Second,” Jean-Luc continued, his eyes wide with exaggerated seriousness, “never speak above a whisper. The echoes down here have a way of attracting... unwanted attention.”

“What are you—-” Alex replied with a raised eyebrow. For the first time, Alex was reconsidering Jean-Luc of being harmless. Maybe it was good he had the flashlight.

“And finally,” Jean-Luc’s voice dropped to a conspiratorial murmur, “ignore the female voice asking you questions.”

Who knew what this guy was smoking in his store that was only open Tuesday and Thursday at weird times.

“Just trust me, Alex. It’s best not to engage. The basement has its quirks, and some are best left undisturbed.”

“Right. I guess I’ll take your word for it.”

Yeah. Jean-Luc also missed the sarcasm.

“Good, good!” Jean-Luc said, clapping his hands together. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some fashion reconstructions to complete.”

With that, Jean-Luc strutted off down a corridor, his mismatched outfit a beacon of bizarre fashion. Alex watched him go, still trying to process the surreal encounter. Alex watched him go and make the turn for the stairs and then glanced back down at the paper in his hand.

He did need these expensive neon bulbs to fix up one of the arcade store lights the blew up. He wouldn’t have done it, if Hana Mizuki and Aiko Tanaka, the local magical girl cosplayers, hadn’t batted their pretty eyes at him.

‘You’re a sucker for a pretty face, Alex Taylor.’

He decided to explore the second level, despite the warnings. With a final glance down the hallway to make sure Jean-Luc wasn’t sneaking up on him for a prank, Alex searched for the door to the second level basement.

The building manager found it and it was not welcoming. It was an old, rusted steel door that looked like it had been installed haphazardly and there was a large padlock on it. It took him a few minutes to find which key opened it on the keyring.

Descending to the second basement, the air grew noticeably colder as he went further into the depths of the mall basement.

The second basement was a different beast altogether. The lights here were dimmer, casting long shadows that seemed to move of their own accord. Alex’s flashlight flickered, and he tightened his grip, feeling the weight of the darkness pressing in on him. The first thing he noticed was a door, its frame adorned with cobwebs and dust. It was slightly ajar, and a faint light spilled from within, a tantalizing glimpse of what lay beyond.

Swallowing his fear, Alex pushed the door open and stepped inside. The room was small, with a single light bulb swinging from the ceiling. Shelves lined the walls, stacked with supplies – expensive paper, top-of-the-line cleaning products, and even a few high-end snacks, their packaging pristine. Alex’s eyes widened in relief. He had found the supply closet quite easily.

Just as he was about to relax, a chilling breeze swept through the room, and the light bulb above him flickered violently. The silence was suddenly broken by a soft, echoing voice, like a whisper carried on the wind.

“Who’s there?” it giggled.

Alex froze. He spun around looking for the voice but could not pin it down. Was Jean-luc messing with him again? It didn’t quite sound like the fashion designer.

“Uh…just me. Getting supplies.”

“Whose me?”

“Um…”

What the hell was going on? He shifted on his feet and slowly turned around completely but saw nobody. There was no place in this walk-in closet to hide.

“I’m Alex.”

The voice responded, softer this time, the humor still in its voice. It sounded closer.

“Why are you here, Alex? What do you seek in the darkness?”

Alex’s skin crawled. He had to fight the urge to run.

“Our supplies. Like I said. And if this is you Jean-Luc, I’m going to have a long talk with you.”

“Oh, I’m not him. I’m someone else entirely.”

“Who?” Alex demanded, the anger overriding his fear.

There was no answer. The light bulb above him flickered one last time before it popped, plunging the room into darkness. Alex stood there, his flashlight beam the only source of light in the encroaching gloom. He quickly gathered the supplies he needed, his mind racing with the eerie encounter.

As he made his way back to the stairs, the basement seemed even stranger as if the shadows were slowly reaching out to him. He hurried up, every step on the stairs echoing in the stillness. When he finally reached the main floor, he felt a sense of relief wash over him. Alex’s first thought was to wait for Jean-Luc to come up so he could beat him for giving him a scare like that. After a few minutes when the strange man did not show up, the manager gave up and made his way back to his office.

Back in his office, Alex sat down, his heart still pounding. He took a deep breath, trying to shake off the unsettling experience. He had the lights he needed to replace and he also survived what was down there.

Wait. Didn’t he break the rules about talking? The manager shook his head. It didn’t matter since it was Jean-Luc messing with him. Right?

Yeah. He was going to have an extra beer tonight.

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