Skip to main content


Last night I made a very obviously satirical post calling for the “forced transition” of cis men – using their actual scare-logic about Trans women but backed up by actual statistics about men. It was very funny if I do, ahem, toot my own horn and, without notification, someone/thing on mastodon.social silently deleted my post.

I know, “just migrate.” But this does not inspire confidence to me. I feel violated as a Trans person.

I don’t even know who to address my issue with. I’m just silenced
This entry was edited (1 year ago)

Jonathan Lamothe reshared this.

in reply to Ryan💋

When will this complaint get taken down? Am I allowed to complain?
in reply to Ryan💋

I boosted you so it'll be slightly harder to silence?...but I don't know if that'll work...guess you'll find out soon enough? Who knows? Not me
in reply to Ryan💋

I’m -pretty sure- I boosted it? My mind is feeble & squishy from years of abuse though. Also old. But onto the topic @ hand. I think it’s a symptom of federation, right? Each instance is a fiefdom unto itself, linked to (most) others. It’s just people running each one & each poster is beholden to their whims.
in reply to Ryan💋

Hallelujah! I am seriously happy to see this outcome 👏👏👏
in reply to Ryan💋

Hmmm, Universeodon.com refuses to open that post under universeodon, which means I can't interact with it. It seems some instances other than your home have blocked the post itself. Shame, since it's very poignant satire.
in reply to Ryan💋

Interesting 🤔. When I click the link, it doesn't open in my app (Tusky). When I click Sign In on the wbpage that opens, nothing happens. And when on Tusky I scroll through your posts to find it restored in your timeline, it's not there. Since I can't get to it to boost it, I screenshot it. La voilà
in reply to paprikapink

@paprikapink @Ryan Houlihan 🐙 I can't boost it either, probably because when it was originally removed, mastodon.social instructed my instance to also delete it as well (because federation) and it doesn't know how to undelete.

I am not an ActivityPub expert, though. This is purely an educated guess on my part.
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

@me It sounds plausible to me 🤷‍♀️
On one hand, it's awesome that full-crcle moderation tools like this exist. On the other hand, it's infuriating how often they are used against marginalized and vulnerable groups rather than in support of them 😡
in reply to Ryan💋

Also! While this first experience with moderation was strange, they *did* email me a notification (it was a Gmail issue)
in reply to Ryan💋

what was the reason for the takedown?
Someone reported it, and a moderator missed the irony?
in reply to n3wjack

@n3wjack I was told it expressed transphobia or something similar and violence
in reply to Ryan💋

@n3wjack

Without having read the notification (obviously), I suspect the reason for the takedown was Poe's Law:

"Poe's law is an adage of Internet culture saying that, without a clear indicator of the author's intent, any parody of extreme views can be mistaken by some readers for a sincere expression of the views being parodied."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law?wprov=sfla1
in reply to Ryan💋

it’s not truly satire until an overworked, underpaid clerk has to read it through to reverse the safety decision of a volunteer clerk.

Badge of Valour, wear it with pride.
in reply to Ryan💋

Every single time I've ever been the victim of a hate crime, it's always been at the hands of a cishet guy.

I rarely am at ease and quite guarded around them. But also aware of exits possible and who potential allies might be (if I need the help).
in reply to Ryan💋

This part about how people on non-mastodon.social instances can't see your post seems like a bug. Do you mind if somebody files one?
in reply to Ryan💋

I'm somewhat annoyed that I can't see an obvious way to boost this post. It doesn't seem to show up on mstdn.social.
in reply to Russ

@theruss The real consequence of “false” strikes
@Russ
in reply to Ryan💋

glad to see it’s back up. The best satire has a bit of bite
in reply to Ryan💋

I boosted your post. It was excellent snark. I’m sorry it was removed but so you know it was already absorbed by people. It didn’t stop existing.
in reply to Ryan💋

the problem with Mastodon is that it's largely a collection of tinpot dictators (but there also are cooperatives, so at least there's some degree of choice on that front)
in reply to Remco van Bree

@blikkie Yeah. Still an improvement but if I didn’t fully understand the appeal this would really send me spinning.
Unknown parent

Ryan💋
@ivo Truly my American adulthood has been discovering that everything is 😓
Unknown parent

Ryan💋
@ivo You’re right 😭
in reply to Ryan💋

Wish I had seen it. Anyway, this is unacceptable. Even if it's against the rules, you should've been notified!
in reply to Ryan💋

it was such a reasonable proposal and everything! That’s really disappointing
in reply to Ryan💋

oh my god I can’t believe I screwed up my own pun 🤦🏻‍♂️.
in reply to Ryan💋

@ivo Masto Social is known to have pretty crap moderation and is defederated by plenty of respectable instances. It's shitty but I do believe there's plenty of better instances out there 🖤
in reply to Ryan💋

I look forward to following you at your new more empowering home ✊
Unknown parent

Ryan💋
@wilbr @Gargron On the hunt for a new home
in reply to wb x64

@Gargron please do better, masto social's reputation is pretty dang low.
in reply to Ryan💋

mind sharing what you wrote directly with me? Kinda curious to see what you had to say.
in reply to Ryan💋

heh that’s gold. Although I can also see how it could be interpreted the wrong way. Context and nuance are important, moderation is a tough cookie. Kudos to @Gargron et al for reconsidering and hearing you out.
in reply to Martijn van Dijk

@martijn_vdijk @Gargron
Yep. Even I (I hate myself for this) felt a bit concerned when reading the post.

Satire requires explicit indication or it's going to be thrown to the hateful, Nazified masses.
in reply to Ryan💋

it was a good post, and in my capacity to speak for all cis men I can vouch that it was neither offensive nor threatening.
in reply to Ryan💋

@stux What is going on here? I just signed up on patreon but I won't stand for this. I need an explanation.
in reply to Ryan💋

Hi, I'm looking into the case. From first glance I can tell you that according to the logs, you did get notified about the post removal, and you have the option to appeal it. There are no other limitations on your account.
Unknown parent

Bill Hooker 😷
@stux
De nada. If it turns out to have been a mistake, well, they happen. If it was policy, I migrate.
Unknown parent

Eugen Rochko
Please check your e-mail inbox for the notification. You can also see all moderation actions taken against your account in the past from the Account area of your settings.
in reply to Bill Hooker 😷

@sennoma uhh, wait what? 😮

Was that on mstdn.social? Because i do not run mastodon.online or mastodon.social :ablobwink:
in reply to stux⚡

@sennoma I think you have the wrong admin here :catblush:

@Gargron is the admin for both mastodon.social and .online :cat_hug_triangle:
Unknown parent

Pat
@Gargron

Yes, you have a right to know the case to be met. You had a right to respond before any action was taken & not be blind sided, as it appears you were not afforded that basic right . If that is the case it is arguably enough to throw the decision out ,based on procedural/systemic unfairness, before merits are ever reviewed. You also have the right to to an impartial ,informed, moderator, but I do not know how that is assured.
Unknown parent

Eugen Rochko
Appeal accepted, post restored. Apologies for the trouble caused.
in reply to Ryan💋

Satire often balances on a very thin tightrope, and you're taking a risk when you make satirical statements.

In a SM environment where your post is exposed to people from many different backgrounds the risk multiplies.

Suggest using a content warning like "satire".

On your instance, I think the admin is @Gargron, and you could perhaps contact them.

According to this https://docs.joinmastodon.org/admin/moderation/#:~:text=Moderation%20in%20Mastodon%20is%20always,the%20affected%20user%20by%20email. you're supposed to get email for moderation activity on your account as whole.
Unknown parent

Pat
@Gargron

I'm an old white fella that grew up in prejudice, loves my kids &cares not their sexuality or whom they love or lust after. None of my business .Their lives, their bodies, their choices.I don't have to be an expert on anything to know we are all human, all feel, none of us like rejection, public harassment or being ostracized simply for being ourselves and no harm to others .It hurts to be hurt for no reason. It happened to me at age 3 as my parents were mixed religion
in reply to Ryan💋

I read it and thought it was funny.
Its disappearance doesn't inspire me with confidence either.
in reply to Ryan💋

Mastodon.social has been known to treat posts from marginalized people as "reverse sexism or racism." The decision to silence them usually gets resolved, but the moderators do not seem to understand the difference between actual bigotry versus commentary about bigots 🤷‍♀️
in reply to imgn

@imgn Adjacent topic (still bothers me some years later), fosstodon.org mods can't distinguish between hate speech (calling someone a nazi as an insult), and calling court-verified German fascist Björn Höcke a nazi. After trying to clear up the context, the reply was "I don't care", in a nutshell.

If you think of migrating, that's an instance I'd avoid.
@imgn
Unknown parent

Tormod Halvorsen
@Gargron

Wait, what? You got into actual trouble for that?

The nubers don't lie, even if they may sting.
in reply to Ryan💋

It was pitch perfect and I’m glad it’s back up!
in reply to Ryan💋

Wow. That is quite stunningly shit. And yeah, unacceptable of the admins.
in reply to Ryan💋

I for one thought is was funny, and irrefutably correct too
in reply to Ryan💋

One of my posts was recently flagged for something and removed, after I Accidentally hurt someone's feelings, (no insults, no hateful language, just a disagreement), and they autoblocked me before I could apologize. Somehow I feel these are not being vetted thoroughly.
Unknown parent

This website uses cookies. If you continue browsing this website, you agree to the usage of cookies.