I have addressed this idea before in some detail although I don't remember where to find my screed. Here's the gist of my ancient long-winded musings.

0. The first line of moderation should not be the instance admin. Each user account should be able to moderate mentions of their ID, or replies to their comments.

1. The top poster of a comment thread should be able to moderate all reply comments under that thread.

2. Instance admins should only delete posts that are clearly designed to offend, hurt, or viciously attack, bully, harass, gaslight, annoy etc. but should never delete a post simply on ideological grounds or heated but honest disagreement or debate. Telling the difference is very simple in almost all cases: tone and mindless repetition being the biggest giveaways of the respondent's intent. If it becomes an unwanted or unproductive argument the top poster should be able to quash replies.

3. Users should be able to click a button to block and entire thread regardless of who posts to it.

These things are not a major problem for me since I'm on a simple instance and I can add users to my personal blacklist via CLI. It would be nice to see this kind of stuff as standard, basic button functions in activitypub and fediverse since not everyone wants to run an instance and use CLI scripts to moderate.

#mastodon #fediverse #moderation #postDeletion #activitypub #social

Actually, here’s what I really think is lacking: a hide post moderation option in Mastodon.

Instead of deleting posts, moderators should be able to hide posts.

Posts that are hidden by moderators should keep their place in the timeline but state publicly that they were hidden by moderators.

(Servers other than the originating server must treat hidden posts as otherwise deleted and remove their local cache of the content. This is no different to the existing social contact for federated deletes.)

The server should also clearly communicate to the person in question (this can be automated) that their post has been hidden and that they can challenge the decision via regular channels by filing an appeal. (And, if they don’t like the moderation, they can move to a different server, etc., as per usual.)

That would feel much better to me than deleting a post outright and it can be combined with a moderation policy that promises not to delete or edit other people’s posts.

It would also allow for an appeal process and the possible reinstatement of a post should it be found that a moderation error has occurred.

CC @staff @haubles

#mastodon #moderation #fediverse #postDeletion #postHiding #authorship #censorship #ownership

RE: veganism.social/@Geri/11653767…

Folks, just a quick warning: If you’re against Israel’s genocide in Gaza, avoid mastodon.online.

They deleted two of Geri’s posts.

Geri is a wonderful activist and an inspiration from the UK who has braved arrest to shine a light on Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.

Do give her a follow on her new account as she lost quite a few followers during the migration.

Also, to our friends in Gaza, please don’t create accounts on this server.

#mastodon #fediverse #moderation #censorship #mastodonOnline #israel #genocide #ethnicCleansing #apartheid #settlerColonialism #Gaza #GazaVerified #StopIsrael #FreePalestine

Totts (new instance)

2026-05-08 07:03:50

mastodon.online - they were criticisms of the the media not mentioning the Muslim being stabbed at that event and thereby framing it exclusively as antisemitism. But hey ho.

I emphasised the abhorrent nature of AS in my post but concluded how further posts may be viewed

Yesterday, we attended the Barclays Annual General Meeting and made a nuisance of ourselves

instagram.com/stories/palestin…

We just upgraded our Mastodon fork on Mementomori.social to support Mastodon Bird UI with Mastodon 4.6.0 theme variations.

Mastodon Bird UI is now at 4.0.0-alpha.8.rc with support for Color scheme and Contrast settings.

New settings in Settings → Preferences → Appearance:

- Use stars instead of hearts for favourites
- Hide Translate links on Finnish posts
- Hide all Translate links

These used to be separate themes; now you can mix and match.

The Theme dropdown is shorter for the same reason: Light, Dark and Contrast moved into Mastodon's own radios just below the dropdown. If your previous theme is gone, pick Mastodon Bird UI and set Color scheme + tick the new checkboxes to match what you had.

Fixes in Mastodon Bird UI:

- Star icon alignment when Reduce motion is enabled
- Sparkle and ring animations now fire in both motion modes
- Notification colors that disappeared when your OS was light but Mastodon was set to dark

If anything feels off, let me or the admins know.

Technical details: github.com/rollecode/mastodon-…

#MementoMoriSocial #Mastodon #MastoAdmin #MastodonBirdUI #BirdUI

We've successfully upgraded our Mastodon server to v4.6.0-alpha.7+mementomods-2026-05-02, along with Mastodon Bird UI 4.0.0-alpha.7 (nightly).

This update includes today's latest daily build with 207 new commits from upstream since mementomods-2026-04-05.

What's new in Mastodon core - These are the changes Mastodon Team have introduced us in the latest nightly version we are running:

✨️ New features

- Collections continue to mature - per-user maximum number of collections, "Featuring you" tab, "Follows you" badge in lists, federated `Flag` activities, "added to collection" notifications with full context menus, and viewing unlisted collections on your own Featured tab
- New collection editor - final design for account dropdown menu, account search dropdown, accounts editor page, "Must follow" section in suggestions, grouped Combobox results
- Profile redesign keeps polishing - full join date (currently in modal), animated/transparent avatars, illustrations using CSS vars, control over follower/following list visibility, bot toggle in editing, advanced view overflow fix
- Server thumbnail alt text - admins can now define alt text for the server thumbnail, surfaced in the frontend
- Fallback attributes for new and infrequent notification types so no event renders as an empty card
- Keyboard-only modal form submission
- Extended date display for relative times when `feature_approval` cooldown applies, including new `AccountMigration#remaining_cooldown_days` helper
- New `domain_variants` helper on `DomainNormalizable` for IDN handling

🔧 Fixes & improvements

- Several profile bugs - minor visual glitches, gap in fields layout, dropdown blocking missing the confirmation modal, follower/following list error for accounts that never posted
- Custom emoji not appearing in autocomplete
- Stale collections list after deleting a collection, broken client-side collection routes, collection item limit, multiple occurrences of the same user in a collection
- Quote blocked user issue
- Bio line clamping in `AccountListItem`
- Combobox loading state and confusing admin list hover states
- Streaming server uses WHATWG URL API instead of deprecated `url.parse`
- Signature verification fixes carried from previous nightly
- Importing emoji loader statically inside the inline worker (Vite 8 compatibility)
- Hero image radius brought back into repo

📦 Dependency updates

- Ruby 4.0.3 (from 4.0.2), Puma 8.0.1, Vite 8.0.10, Node.js 24.15, Yarn 4.14.1, Sidekiq 8.1.3, propshaft, formatjs, opentelemetry-ruby, and dozens of smaller bumps

🐦‍⬛ Mastodon Bird UI 4.0.0-alpha.7 (nightly)

- Fix duplicate profile buttons after upstream class name change
- Remove padding-top from `account__header__buttons` on viewports under 420px
- Apply `--font-size` variables to display name, form field wrapper, app form link text, and simple_form hints so accessible themes scale them correctly
- Move field list row-gap 5px to all viewports
- Fix follows you badge and pinned badge styling
- Fix familiar followers margin spacing
- Fix profile badge and username spacing
- Map `--color-text-brand` to `--color-accent` for consistent link colors

🔧 Mementomori.social Mastodon fork fixes

- Fixed private mention styles and follow requests styling
- Fixed emoji worker loader using a static import for Vite 8 inline worker compatibility
- Fixed trends alignment and trends counter missing `tagName` after the upstream `FormattedMessage` wrapper removal
- Fixed uncaught `play()` promise rejections on autoplay-blocked browsers

Source code: github.com/mementomori-social/…

As always, if you notice anything unusual or buggy, please reach out to me or any of the admins. Enjoy your time here, and feel free to message me with any questions or thoughts.

If anything feels off, please let us know!

#MementoMoriSocial #Mastodon #MastoAdmin

Das Fediverse verstehen: Wie ActivityPub soziale Netzwerke neu denkt

In den letzten Jahren taucht immer häufiger ein Begriff auf, wenn es um alternative soziale Netzwerke geht: Fediverse. Doch was steckt dahinter? Wie funktioniert das zugrunde liegende Protokoll ActivityPub – und welche Plattformen gehören eigentlich dazu?

Was ist das Fediverse?

Das Wort „Fediverse“ setzt sich aus Federation (Föderation) und Universe zusammen. Gemeint ist ein Netzwerk aus vielen unabhängigen Servern (Instanzen), die miteinander kommunizieren können.

Im Gegensatz zu klassischen sozialen Netzwerken wie Facebook oder X (Twitter), die zentral betrieben werden, ist das Fediverse dezentral organisiert:

Jeder kann einen eigenen Server betreiben
Jede Instanz hat eigene Regeln und Moderation
Nutzer können instanzübergreifend miteinander interagieren

Das Ergebnis ist ein offenes, vernetztes Ökosystem statt einer einzelnen Plattform.

Das Herzstück: Wie ActivityPub funktioniert

ActivityPub ist ein offener Standard (W3C), der definiert, wie Server im Fediverse miteinander kommunizieren.

Im Kern basiert ActivityPub auf zwei Konzepten:

1. Akteure (Actors)

Jeder Nutzer, jede Gruppe oder auch ein Bot ist ein sogenannter Actor.
Beispiel:

@user@server.de
2. Aktivitäten (Activities)

Alles, was passiert, wird als Aktivität beschrieben:

Post erstellen → Create
Folgen → Follow
Liken → Like
Teilen → Announce

Ein einfaches Beispiel

Angenommen, du bist auf Server A und folgst jemandem auf Server B:

Du klickst auf „Folgen“
Server A sendet eine Follow-Anfrage an Server B
Server B bestätigt diese
Neue Beiträge werden automatisch an Server A übertragen

Das Ganze passiert über HTTP und JSON – technisch ähnlich wie moderne Web-APIs.

Inbox & Outbox Prinzip

ActivityPub nutzt ein klares Kommunikationsmodell:

Outbox: Hier sendet ein Nutzer seine Aktivitäten
Inbox: Hier empfängt ein Nutzer Aktivitäten anderer

Jeder Server verwaltet diese Strukturen und verteilt Inhalte an andere Server.

Vorteile von ActivityPub
Dezentralität: Keine zentrale Kontrolle
Interoperabilität: Verschiedene Plattformen können zusammenarbeiten
Datensouveränität: Nutzer wählen ihren Server selbst
Ausfallsicherheit: Kein Single Point of Failure

Bekannte Plattformen im Fediverse

Das Fediverse besteht nicht aus einer Plattform, sondern aus vielen, die miteinander kompatibel sind:

🐘 Mastodon
Microblogging (ähnlich wie Twitter/X)
Der bekannteste Vertreter des Fediverse
📷 Pixelfed
Fokus auf Bilder (Instagram-Alternative)
🎥 PeerTube
Dezentrale Videoplattform (YouTube-Alternative)
✍️ WriteFreely
Blogging-Plattform
💬 Lemmy
Link-Aggregator (ähnlich Reddit)
🎨 Funkwhale
Musik-Streaming im Fediverse
Warum das Fediverse gerade jetzt relevant ist

Viele Nutzer suchen nach Alternativen zu großen Plattformen – aus Gründen wie:

Datenschutzbedenken
Algorithmische Kontrolle
Kommerzialisierung von Inhalten

Das Fediverse bietet hier einen anderen Ansatz: offen, gemeinschaftlich und unabhängig.

Herausforderungen

So vielversprechend das Fediverse ist, es bringt auch Herausforderungen mit sich:

Komplexität für Einsteiger
Unterschiedliche Moderationsregeln
Teilweise fragmentierte Nutzererfahrung
Fazit

Das Fediverse ist mehr als nur eine Alternative zu bestehenden sozialen Netzwerken – es ist ein grundlegender Perspektivwechsel.
Mit ActivityPub als technischem Fundament entsteht ein offenes Netzwerk, das Vielfalt und Kontrolle zurück in die Hände der Nutzer legt.

#Fediverse #ActivityPub #Dezentralisierung #OpenWeb #SocialMedia #Web3 #Internet #DigitaleSouveränität #OpenSource #Protokolle #WebStandards #APIs #JSON #HTTP #SoftwareArchitektur #Mastodon #Pixelfed #PeerTube #Lemmy #Funkwhale #WriteFreely #Datenschutz #Digitalisierung #Netzpolitik #AlternativeSocialMedia #Community #Bloggen #TechBlog #DigitalTrends #Internetkultur