Gregory's Server@feditips Can you stop using your huge platform to spread crazy misinformation? Like, nothing like this has ever been even close to substantiated, and these sorts of bull---- rumors are regularly scaring newer users who aren't versed in the latest fedi dramas enough to know the authors are making it up.
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34 comments
ocdtrekkie
@feditips Okay, Tucker Carlson. Just asking questions, got it. Like seriously please step back and look at your behavior in light of your popularity here amongst newcomers. Take your conspiracies elsewhere. 
Cameron
@ocdtrekkie @feditips asking if something is true or false only after it's been proven true or false seems somewhat redundant...
ocdtrekkie
@bitflipped @feditips Eugen has already said it's false, see the link elsewhere in the thread.
ocdtrekkie
@bitflipped @feditips If there's no secret deals, and there are no non-secret deals... there are... no deals.
Cameron
@ocdtrekkie @feditips ok good, we have established that there are no deals. Now I'd like an answer to the question that @feditips asked.
ocdtrekkie
@bitflipped @feditips ...It's been answered already. The dude is running a company and writing the software and dealing with running like two servers under massive load. I imagine Eugen has better things to do than dance every time someone invents some conspiracy nonsense.
Cameron replied to ocdtrekkie
@ocdtrekkie @feditips companies tend to need to deal with PR issues on occasion... 
Fedi.Tips 🎄
He said "I'm not aware of any secret deals"... that is not the direct answer you're claiming. His attitude to funding seems to be that it is fine to take money from whoever as long as there are no direct strings attached: https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/discussions/18759 That is what I am trying to ask, whether he has taken money from Meta the way he currently takes money from casinos.
Nour Agha :popos: replied to ocdtrekkie
@ocdtrekkie @feditips @bitflipped Even if we assume he's taken money from Meta, as long as there are no direct strings attached (which he apparently says), where is the problem? Meta contribute to tons of open source projects and organizations, including the Linux Foundation, Blender and many more. I hate Meta, but the narrowminded perspective of Meta = bad is wrong, because they give back and there's a lot of good work they have done and still do. Things aren't always black or white.
Cameron replied to Fedi.Tips
@feditips @ocdtrekkie agreed. I think it's safe to say that we are all greatful for the Mastodon project, but putting the rumours to bed would help quell the unease that a lot of people are feeling right now.
ocdtrekkie replied to Cameron
@bitflipped @feditips He tried and now it's "not clear enough" because conspiracy theorists will always look for a way their wrong beliefs could still technically be true. This is an *embarrassing* thread for feditips to have propagated. Doing a Tucker Carlson needs to be a bannable offense, imho.
Fedi.Tips 🎄 replied to ocdtrekkie
I'm concerned in the same way many have been concerned about Mozilla's relationship to Google. Eugen himself brought up this example in the thread I linked to, did you read it?
ocdtrekkie replied to Fedi.Tips
@feditips @bitflipped And in that thread he... said anyone could donate to Patreon just like anyone else... and that conveys no authority, influence, or strings. So unless the Patreon income has hockey-sticked way more than just "Mastodon is super popular this week", I'm not sure what you're on about, and even if they did donate, it wouldn't impact... anything?
ocdtrekkie replied to ocdtrekkie
@feditips @bitflipped But it's good to know you're "concerned": https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/concern_troll
Lonsfor replied to ocdtrekkie
@ocdtrekkie @feditips @bitflipped "you are not allowed to use the word 'concerned'" actually deranged
Fedi.Tips 🎄 replied to ocdtrekkie
If you receive money from an organisation, you will naturally tend not to want to criticise that organisation. That's how political lobbying works. That's why companies donate vast sums to political parties, even without any direct deals or demands. Donors make parties dependent on them, so that the parties naturally tend to not tread on donors' toes.
Lee Fife
@feditips @ocdtrekkie I just had dinner with John, John Mastodon, and he personally assured me that no payments have taken place. I was so pleased to hear this that I bought him dinner... Seriously, with a large platform comes responsibility. Please be more careful. Do better.
D.B. Galeli đź”±
There’s literal evidence that #Meta invited stakeholders for an off the record meeting as per @kev https://fosstodon.org/@kev/110592625692688836 In light of that it’s not a reach to assume @Gargron was invited too, and to then subsequently ask for confirmation that no payment has been received and will be accepted
ocdtrekkie
@thattridentdude @feditips @kev @Gargron Invited to a meeting, absolutely! Meetings happen all the time. It's absolutely a stretch to start inventing wild conspiracy theories because people from two groups *talked to each other*.
ocdtrekkie
@thattridentdude @feditips @kev And there are two key things here: - Eugen has already said there are no secret deals he knows of, which would presumably include anything that happened at said meeting or anything involving Mastodon gGmbH.
ocdtrekkie
@thattridentdude @feditips @kev We have gotten to truly toxic disinformation levels, and I truly believe we need to start cutting out parts of the fediverse who use "rumors" to create drama and build followings based on fiction, especially when that fiction causes panic and real harm. We lack a Fact Check feature here, so here it is: This particular feditip escapade is bullpoop.
D.B. Galeli đź”±
@ocdtrekkie @feditips @kev @Gargron It’s neither a stretch nor wild imho, meetings have a purpose and it’s entirely plausible that the purpose of this meeting was to come to a financial agreement Asking for clarification in the form of unequivocal statements that no payment has been made and none will be accepted is fair and trying to cast it as some weird conspiracy does nothing to further the truth If drama is the disease then the statement is the cure
D.B. Galeli đź”±
@ocdtrekkie @feditips @kev @Gargron What decidedly doesn’t help is throwing oil onto the fire by acting like everyone with a concern is some weird tinfoil conspiracy crackpot in a bunker instead of actually engaging in good faith and trying to address their concerns What also doesn’t help is making a half hearted attempt at brushing off concerns by saying “yeah XMPP might have suffered by an EEE strategy, but who cares only a bunch of nerds cared about that, lol”
D.B. Galeli đź”±
@ocdtrekkie @feditips @kev @Gargron And what certainly doesn’t help is rushing to unilaterally kill a discussion that questions the practices of accepting money from questionable sources https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/discussions/18759 Maybe you do not care about these concerns, and maybe it generally angers you that people voice these concerns because you genuinely see them as unfounded FUD in an attempt to tear the community apart
D.B. Galeli đź”±
@ocdtrekkie @feditips @kev @Gargron But even so, it’s in your best interest to take these concerns seriously and engage with them on a good faith basis, because acting like it’s all just a crackpot conspiracy theory isn’t going to convince anyone and will only generate more “conspiracy theorists”
D.B. Galeli đź”±
@ocdtrekkie @feditips @kev @Gargron I personally had the attitude of “we’ll see what happens”, until I too starting to have questions after reading the blog post that feels rather tone deaf, which was exacerbated by the hastily closed GitHub discussion Now I too am wondering if there’s a there there, especially considering how easy it is to nip these questions in the bud and how easy it is to acknowledge concerns
D.B. Galeli đź”±
@ocdtrekkie @feditips @kev @Gargron If that’s objectionable to you and makes me a conspiracy nut job, then by all means sign me up as the king of tinfoil head wearing conspiracy nut jobs I’ll wear it like a badge of honor, just like I wear the badges of socialist and communist with honor, given to me by people here in the US just because I deign to suggest that everyone should be able to live a dignified life
ocdtrekkie
@thattridentdude @feditips He has TOLD YOU there's no agreement. The statement was made. The disease is conspiracy theorists spreading misinformation.
ocdtrekkie
@thattridentdude @feditips Yeah, I'm just gonna save myself some time and throw a block now. You specifically say "plausible that the purpose of this meeting was to come to a financial agreement". But "there is no agreement" isn't a good enough answer, because, you know, could be something else. You're moving the goalposts because that's what concern trolls *do*. |
@ocdtrekkie
This isn't misinformation, this is a request for information.
Mastodon used to be emphatically anti-Facebook, now they're suddenly "this is no big deal".
It would be nice if they could confirm this isn't due to any kind of payment.