#Tootaverse
#ActorTypesToFediBlock
Any government-type institution either federal, state, provincial, county or community.
The Ministry of Silly Walks might mean well but as soon as they are allowed onto a public instance then the real nasty actors (worse than #SpookGate) could be next.
To be fair to all institutions they all have to be barred.
They have enough money to run their own Mastodon instances.

social.MinistryOfSillyWalks.gov.uk bring it on!

#Tootaverse #Fediverse For anyone who might be interested.

Taking some points from my #SpookGate rant I'm going to use #ActorTypesToFediBlock for some probably controversial opinions on what type of actors should be precluded from joining public instances.
These are really long term issues that should be discussed thoughtfully, respectfully and with great care.

I didn't want to use hastag Fediblock as that is used to report actual accounts/instances people might wish to block.

I had intended to send one Toot about #SpookGate but it turned into a rant.
Some people who are passionate about free and open source software (FOSS) are often just as passionate about protecting free speech, privacy, democracy and civil rights.
The entire Mastodon software stack is FOSS.
I was hoping for something better.

It would be wrong to assume that the actions of a single individual are representative of an entire community.

Hopefully the #Fediverse will not become too fragmented?

#SpookGate #Fediverse
There does not seem to be anything from this server's privacy policy that would preclude spooks from joining the server.
There are policies that preclude bigots and harassers but nothing about spooks.

So it seems that permitting spooks in the system does not violate any policy.
It doesn't feel right.
The admin does what he wants as ultimately he pays the bills and runs the system.

https://universeodon.com/@edfoss/109390206591351906

#SpookGate #Fediverse
Quote from this server privacy policy:

"We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our site, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, ..."

#Fediverse To be clear #SpookGate doesn't have much to do with
joinMastodon.org.

It is an implementation issue specific to one sys admin.
However it raises many questions about what a service provider can do with the data you generate with every Toot.
I do not understand the admins motivations.
There were better ways to improve the security of any system than the perception of permitting spooks onboard.
It might be a good idea to check with the server sys admin you are currently with.

#SpookGate #Fediverse
Quote from joinMastodon.org
"Social networking that's not for sale.
Your home feed should be filled with what matters to you most, not what a corporation thinks you should see. Radically different social media, back in the hands of the people."

I guess spooks are people too?

"Not for Sale
We respect your agency. Your feed is curated and created by you. We will never serve ads or push profiles for you to see. That means your data and your time are yours and yours alone."

#SpookGate #Fediverse
I was fairly sure that businesses would want to jump onto the Mastodon band wagon as soon as the #Tootaverse got big enough.
I'd like to see companies on the web with their OWN Mastodon servers.

I was expecting just about every government organization to eventually have their OWN Mastodon servers.

I did not expect to see spooks being permitted on the same server with the punters like myself. #CamelHeadInTent

They have more than enough money to run their own instances.

https://social.polymerwitch.com/@polymerwitch/109388193302230207

#SpookGate #Fediverse

Do you believe that all Mastodon service providers should update their policies to clearly indicate if government agencies and businesses from any part of the world are permitted to be users of the service?

#SpookGate #Fediverse
IMO, regardless of what happens to the users at infosec.exchange all Mastodon users all over the world need to pay attention to this issue.

Many long term issues to be addressed.

It must be a shock to anyone coming from BirdSite who was told that Mastodon is better.
My apologies #MastodonMigration.
Actually Mastodon could be and should be better.

Who has access to the data?
It might be a good idea to get some policies clarified before moving to another server.

#SpookGate #Fediverse
I have no issue with any server admin soliciting government contracts and running any server for such clients.
I have no issue with a government agency reading public Toots.

Everyone needs to make a living so the server admins are free to do what they want with the systems they manage.

However IMO punters like myself deserve to know what is going on.

I do not have an account on that server.

#SpookGate #Fediverse
Can anyone confirm that infosec.exchange has an IP address from Berlin?
My whois skills are rusty.

So a USA government agency is being permitted access to a server in Germany?
There are many Mastodon servers in Germany.
Do you think users of any service provider deserve to know if government agencies or businesses have a presence on a server and who has access to the database files?
The people who run the servers and pay the bills call the shots.

https://social.polymerwitch.com/@polymerwitch/109388193302230207

#InstanceBlocking #SpookGate
I've been here two weeks.
I hope the #Fediverse doesn't fall apart anytime soon.
I suspect that this issue is going to be a mess.
Will every instance end up blocking every other instance?

CISA has enough money - so why don't they have their own instance?
They can view any public toot.

https://mastodon.online/@polymerwitch@social.polymerwitch.com/109388197091047623

Original
https://social.polymerwitch.com/@polymerwitch/109388193302230207

A response
https://mastodon.online/@jerry@infosec.exchange/109388310672118661