Blogs are back! At least, they seem to be making a resurgence as we try to disentangle ourselves from the predatory social media platforms that took all the words many of us used to write on blogs. I’ll admit, I started my own tinyletter in part because I wanted to find an audience again that was a little more personal that what gets lost in the algorithmic facebook feed and the firehose that is Twitter. My blog (which is my domain) is kind of an experiment in long-form writing now. I’m working at another Domains school, so we are thinking about how students are using their domains, owning their own data, and writing publicly.
Tag: Reading.am
👓 Man arrested after bomb scare in Pasadena | ABC 7 News
A man has been arrested in connection with a bomb scare that prompted an evacuation in Pasadena.
👓 Gab, Site Where Synagogue Shooting Suspect Posted, Is Suspended | NPR
The alternative social media network that was reportedly used by the suspect in the deadly shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue is now down. Gab.com is a social network that touts itself as an alternative to Twitter and Facebook to give conservatives a platform for free speech. But it also has been criticized for providing a platform for anti-Semitism and white nationalism. The site has come in for increased scrutiny since the shooting.
👓 Twitter to remove ‘like’ tool in a bid to improve the quality of debate | Telegraph
Twitter is planning to remove the ability to "like" tweets in a radical move that aims to improve the quality of debate on the social network.
👓 Bringing blogging to the fediverse | Matt Baer
Matt Baer (Matt)After much trial and error, I've finished basic #ActivityPub support on Write.as! (Though it's not live yet. Create a federated blog here, or enable federation by going to your blog's settings > Enable federation.) I'm very, very excited about reaching this point so I can try out some new ideas. So ...
👓 who is this? | Matt Baer
Matt Baer (Matt)I'm Matt Baer, and I built Write.as.
why?
In late 2014 I was getting more concerned for my privacy both online and on my smartphone. I felt stifled, because I knew social media sites were analyzing my status updates and search engines were cataloging my searches. So I wanted to create an antidote for that feeling, and came up with Write.as.
When I left school and entered the working world several years ago, I started to care less about becoming a millionaire and think more about problems in our world — especially when it comes to technology. I see companies like Facebook exploit our basic desire to communicate, and think there should be better options. I see Apple and Google encourage everyone to fondle glass slabs and think maybe we're losing something, even as we've gained “connectivity.”
👓 Fark Banned Misogyny to Facilitate Free Speech | Motherboard
"Now that we've done it I feel like a complete ass for waiting so long. So will everyone else who makes the same call."
👓 ‘By whatever means necessary’: The origins of the ‘no platform’ policy | Hatful of History
Recently the concept of ‘no platform’ was in the news again when there were attempts to cancel a talk by Germaine Greer at Cardiff University. While there is no doubt that the use of ‘no platform’ has expanded since its first use in the 1970s, the term is bandied about in the media with little definition and understanding of how it was developed as a specific response to the fascism of the National Front (and later the British National Party). This post looks back at the origins of the term and how it was developed into a practical anti-fascist strategy.
hat tip: Kevin Marks
👓 Study finds Reddit’s controversial ban of its most toxic subreddits actually worked | TechCrunch
It seems like just the other day that Reddit finally banned a handful of its most hateful and deplorable subreddits, including r/coontown and r/fatpeoplehate. The move was, at the time, derided by some as pointless, akin to shooing criminals away from one neighborhood only to trouble another. But a…
👓 Deplatforming Works | Motherboard
Alex Jones says getting banned by YouTube and Facebook will only make him stronger. The research says that's not true.
👓 Paypal bans Gab following Pittsburgh shooting | The Verge
The gunman had a history of anti-Semitic posts on the site
👓 PayPal Bans Far-Right Social Network Gab After Anti-Semitic User Kills at Least 11 at Synagogue | Gizmodo
On Saturday, a firearm-wielding man massacred at least 11 people attending Shabbat services at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood and injured a number of others. The Anti-Defamation League described it as likely the deadliest single attack on the Jewish community in U.S. history. Authorities identified the suspect, who was captured after a gun battle with responding police, as 46-year-old Robert Bowers—a vitriolic anti-Semite who allegedly announced the attack on the social network Gab.
👓 Microsoft threatens to take down Gab.ai over hate speech | Quartz
Another company takes a stand for the limits of free speech online.
👓 Gab, the Alt-Right Social Media Site, Gets Banned | NY Mag | Intelligencer
After the Pittsburgh shooter was found to have used the site, it was abandoned by its business partners. What does that mean for Twitter?
👓 gab | Gab.ai
Gab has spent the past 48 hours proudly working with the DOJ and FBI to bring justice to an alleged terrorist. Because of the data we provided, they now have plenty of evidence for their case. In the midst of this Gab has been no-platformed by essential internet infrastructure providers at every level. We are the most censored, smeared, and no-platformed startup in history, which means we are a threat to the media and to the Silicon Valley Oligarchy.
Gab isn’t going anywhere.
It doesn’t matter what you write. It doesn’t matter what the sophist talking heads say on TV. It doesn’t matter what verified nobodies say on Twitter. We have plenty of options, resources, and support. We will exercise every possible avenue to keep Gab online and defend free speech and individual liberty for all people.
You have all just made Gab a nationally recognized brand as the home of free speech online at a time when Silicon Valley is stifling political speech they disagree with to interfere in a US election.
The internet is not reality. TV is not reality. 80% of normal everyday people agree with Gab and support free expression and liberty. The online outrage mob and mainstream media spin machine are the minority opinion. People are waking up, so please keep pointing the finger at a social network instead of pointing the finger at the alleged shooter who holds sole responsibility for his actions.
No-platform us all you want. Ban us all you want. Smear us all you want.
You can’t stop an idea.
As we transition to a new hosting provider Gab will be inaccessible for a period of time. We are working around the clock to get Gab.com back online. Thank you and remember to speak freely.
Andrew Torba, CEO Gab.com
The link to this site is definitely not an endorsement of any sort. I’m researching the idea of deplatforming and in particular Gab’s instance of it after their site was used by fringe groups to incite hatred which helped to fuel the shooting at the synagogue this past week.
My intent is also to archive a copy of the enhanced statement on what is left of their current website.