T
@mariusor @oranadoz @hongminhee right, but here a description of the icon isn't the same as the binary of the icon itself.
The binary gives you very different data to the description of it, e.g., fetching the binary doesn't indicate where to send replies to or how to interact with it; where as html <-> json-ld generally gives you similar enough representations.
Generally con-neg suggests the same data just in different formats; what you're giving here is different data in different formats.
@mariusor @oranadoz @hongminhee the document describing a resource and the resource itself are not necessarily the same thing. So the response for json-ld for the icon isn't necessarily equivalent to the icon itself.
This has been a long-standing thing in json-ld for ages: is the document describing the resource or is the document the same as the resource.
This is perhaps best described by a document about a person, that's not the same as the person themselves, though that document may be used by that person to describe themselves.
@ikuturso @mastodonmigration @mackuba if you're EU based doing a query from here to each server to determine ASNs might be an interesting research project, maybe you'll get different results?
@ikuturso @mastodonmigration @mackuba for instance, Hachyderm has US based POPs but core infrastructure is all in Germany
@ikuturso @mastodonmigration @mackuba I'm pretty sure deeper research showed that many instances that looked US based were actually using CDNs in front and hitting US based POPs
@mastodonmigration @mackuba right, but arguing about protocol superiority isn't servicing this cause for anyone, and it divides us when we should be working together to tackle these risks
@mastodonmigration @mackuba highly centralized targets.. you mean like this?
Like, if a regulator wants to enforce action, it's easy for them to find targets that would have a chilling effect on the entire network.
We aren't necessarily as decentralised as we may think, and I'll remind again that many platforms are either hosted by Hetzner, OVH, or behind Cloudflare.
You really don't want to draw the ire of regulators, but that's the way things have been going.
@mastodonmigration @mackuba there's literally been a bunch of sex work and adult positive instances shutting down, and a bunch more questioning if they can afford the liability.
One service (bluesky) decided it was safer to avoid legal liability and find ways to work within the laws, this included a protest move to prohibit access from a state with a terrible age verification law (the very same thing Pornhub does).
The other (mastodon), seemingly decide that it didn't want to deal with any of the legal liabilities, essentially leaving admins to fend for themselves, whilst also ignoring the fact that Germany has had age verification requirements for accessing adult content since 2007 or something.
But fighting between us isn't going to win any push back against these terrible laws.
@mastodonmigration @mackuba as mentioned, there's nothing stopping regulators or prosecutors from going after mastodon or other activitypub software for non-compliance. It's probably quite easy too given most servers are hosted in Germany, a country with one of the oldest age verification laws on the books and a right wing politician with a fetish for regulation enforcing it. Seriously, this guy had an entire AI bot built to help prosecute adults in Germany who posted material against his laws
@mastodonmigration @mackuba @wjmaggos@liberal.city so the thing is: mastodon can implement, at a single server level, age verification. Just like there are other apps for bluesky/AT Protocol that don't implement age verification (deer.social, blacksky, others)
Mastodon does actually track IP addresses [ 1, 2 ]. It could do IP geocoding in order to provide integration points to perform age verification.
Yes, I think these age verification laws are terrible, but it is irresponsible for us to claim that age verification laws can't be followed by the software, and this just leaves server administrators liable and at risk, which isn't good either.
1. https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/blob/main/db/schema.rb#L1019
2. https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/blob/main/db/schema.rb#L655
@andypiper @deadsuperhero I'm really wanting all the tribalism to stop, because it really doesn't help anyone, it just invokes anger and negativity.
I still write occasionally, when I have the capacity for it.
@jackwilliambell @j12t so that's the thing, with the ActivityPub API and you publishing to your outbox, and then that notifying others that you have, it's the same as current, but with your data in your control.
You don't need your PDS / outbox to participate in anything global, but it's certainly possible — you'd also have more control than you currently do with the existing Relays that bounce messages around heavily.
@brianfenton @phette23 ”The SSA projects that the current numbering system has enough combinations to last for many generations, specifically for about another 70 years, without needing to change the number of digits or reuse existing numbers.”
cite: https://legalclarity.org/do-social-security-numbers-get-reused/
So, not yet, but maybe in the future! Or they'll change the format of SSNs (e.g., start including characters or extra digits.
Are you a moderator on the Fediverse? A server operator?
If so, you should definitely fill out the IFTAS Moderator Needs Assessment:
(IFTAS doesn't require you to identify yourself, so you can remain anonymous if you wish)