Today we're sharing the first in a series of three posts from our leadership team, starting with @mellifluousbox discussing our mission, and priorities for 2026.
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@dalias @vervain @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox
if you look elsewhere in this thread i'm advocating for using credit cards for verification like valve does with steam
so the server doesn't have to deal with ids. they just run a $0 check
additionally, it allows your cc to be attached to your profile, so donations are a breeze
not enough donate. and unless more people do, you and i butting heads here will just all evaporate some day
reality my friend
idealism is for lost fools
@benroyce @vervain @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox What are you going to do with existing users who don't have credit cards? And can't get them? Or who have credit cards but whose safety might be put at risk by having their legal identity tied to their account and past writings?
Yes, for capitalist services that are going to obey age verification mandates, they absolutely should be offering "charge my credit card" as an option. I would even pay a one-time $20+ fee for this, anything to be able to continue using the service without submitting to face scanning or ID.
But non-capitalist things like Mastodon instances treating this as a harmless way to obey is NOT a good idea. It will exclude exactly the people we need to be including.
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@benroyce @vervain @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox What are you going to do with existing users who don't have credit cards? And can't get them? Or who have credit cards but whose safety might be put at risk by having their legal identity tied to their account and past writings?
Yes, for capitalist services that are going to obey age verification mandates, they absolutely should be offering "charge my credit card" as an option. I would even pay a one-time $20+ fee for this, anything to be able to continue using the service without submitting to face scanning or ID.
But non-capitalist things like Mastodon instances treating this as a harmless way to obey is NOT a good idea. It will exclude exactly the people we need to be including.
@benroyce @vervain @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox One solution to the ills of verify-by-card, but also a reason I don't think the powers that be will let verify-by-card persist, is that I could just make a credit card with a $0 limit and share the number publicly for everyone to use until the card gets canceled, then repeat or have someone else do the same, until everyone who needs to get verified has done it.
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@benroyce @vervain @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox What are you going to do with existing users who don't have credit cards? And can't get them? Or who have credit cards but whose safety might be put at risk by having their legal identity tied to their account and past writings?
Yes, for capitalist services that are going to obey age verification mandates, they absolutely should be offering "charge my credit card" as an option. I would even pay a one-time $20+ fee for this, anything to be able to continue using the service without submitting to face scanning or ID.
But non-capitalist things like Mastodon instances treating this as a harmless way to obey is NOT a good idea. It will exclude exactly the people we need to be including.
@dalias @vervain @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox
so you're advocating for donations, because you're not a fool, and you understand hosting services need to be paid
and at the same time, you're castigating me for asking for credit cards
work through the contradiction you just presented to me and get back to me
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@ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox
the problem isn't mastodon it's your govt
if mastodon servers don't implement age verification in those jurisdictions that make it law, those servers get shut down by that govt
so you're blaming the wrong entity
are you really asking servers to face legal punishment and then get shut down anyway?
don't get me wrong: be angry
*at your govt*
not mastodon
@benroyce
I’d boil this down to, you can’t solve a social problem with technology. You can mitigate some of its effects but the underlying social parameters are still there. Nothing is going to save us from bad law except good votes.
@ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox -
@benroyce
I’d boil this down to, you can’t solve a social problem with technology. You can mitigate some of its effects but the underlying social parameters are still there. Nothing is going to save us from bad law except good votes.
@ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox@suzannealdrich @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox
THANK YOU
are you listening, toxic idealists?
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@suzannealdrich @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox
THANK YOU
are you listening, toxic idealists?
@benroyce
Also, and I’ll repeat this for those at the back:
Changing the system takes a lot of time and energy. There is no quick fix. The winner will always be the one that is more effective at networking and communication.
@ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox -
@benroyce
Also, and I’ll repeat this for those at the back:
Changing the system takes a lot of time and energy. There is no quick fix. The winner will always be the one that is more effective at networking and communication.
@ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox@suzannealdrich @benroyce @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox and willing to get their hands dirty
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@suzannealdrich @benroyce @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox and willing to get their hands dirty
@macacator @suzannealdrich @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox
anyone who thinks we can just sing kumbaya and solve all of our problems is a fool
the dirty path always also needs to exist, even just in reference to put fear in the fascist's heart and force them to listen
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@benroyce @Mastodon @mellifluousbox Compliance with fascist laws is fascism.
@ariarhythmic @benroyce @Mastodon @mellifluousbox Anybody that wants to operate their business in a country has to abide by the laws of that country. It's why Proton has been subpoened and had to hand over logs. It's the whole reason Signal collects as little data as possible, so they don't have anything to give but can still obey court orders. The alternative is for them to just leave that country entirely and abandon users who live there.
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@ariarhythmic @benroyce @Mastodon @mellifluousbox Anybody that wants to operate their business in a country has to abide by the laws of that country. It's why Proton has been subpoened and had to hand over logs. It's the whole reason Signal collects as little data as possible, so they don't have anything to give but can still obey court orders. The alternative is for them to just leave that country entirely and abandon users who live there.
@gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox
toxic idealists don't listen
they barge in, make impossible purity demands, then get angry and call us the enemy just because we live in reality
effective resistance is having a big heart. *and* having a brain. know when to fight. know when to scram if it's a suicide mission or ineffective
toxic idealists harm the left
they poison our convos with impotent anger and brittle perfectionism, stifling effective resistance and not offering shit
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@gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox
toxic idealists don't listen
they barge in, make impossible purity demands, then get angry and call us the enemy just because we live in reality
effective resistance is having a big heart. *and* having a brain. know when to fight. know when to scram if it's a suicide mission or ineffective
toxic idealists harm the left
they poison our convos with impotent anger and brittle perfectionism, stifling effective resistance and not offering shit
somewhere along the line too many people forgot that you shouldn't let perfection get in the way of progress.
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somewhere along the line too many people forgot that you shouldn't let perfection get in the way of progress.
@maya_b @gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox
it's so prevalent and so obvious it has to be a psyop from the right
of course some people are just that foolish
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@maya_b @gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox
it's so prevalent and so obvious it has to be a psyop from the right
of course some people are just that foolish
@benroyce @maya_b @gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox It likely is, but the Left has done this before organicly in France, look at how big a deal Sartre, Boullivard, Camus once were and look at French left party enrollment since and look at the philosophers from France since, fighting with each other for smaller pieces of purity.
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@benroyce @maya_b @gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox It likely is, but the Left has done this before organicly in France, look at how big a deal Sartre, Boullivard, Camus once were and look at French left party enrollment since and look at the philosophers from France since, fighting with each other for smaller pieces of purity.
@Scrimshaw9 @maya_b @gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox
the essential problem on the left
i didn't say with the left, because some of this infighting is achieved with agent provocateurs and right wingers cosplaying because it's so easy. but, yes, some of it is organic to the left
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@benroyce @maya_b @gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox It likely is, but the Left has done this before organicly in France, look at how big a deal Sartre, Boullivard, Camus once were and look at French left party enrollment since and look at the philosophers from France since, fighting with each other for smaller pieces of purity.
@Scrimshaw9 @benroyce @maya_b @gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox The right unite in hate and corruption; the left divides because of different ideas of the purity vote (which can never exist, it can only ever be “is this going in the right direction).
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@Scrimshaw9 @benroyce @maya_b @gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox The right unite in hate and corruption; the left divides because of different ideas of the purity vote (which can never exist, it can only ever be “is this going in the right direction).
@CStamp @Scrimshaw9 @maya_b @gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox
well you mean the left direction
🤭
(i'm just kidding you, i know what you mean. stupid english language)
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@CStamp @Scrimshaw9 @maya_b @gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox
well you mean the left direction
🤭
(i'm just kidding you, i know what you mean. stupid english language)
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@Scrimshaw9 @benroyce @maya_b @gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox The right unite in hate and corruption; the left divides because of different ideas of the purity vote (which can never exist, it can only ever be “is this going in the right direction).
@CStamp @benroyce @maya_b @gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox The right unites bc it is a death cult and the left is in check because the left can't meme... i dont mean make dumb little funny pix w words, I mean they cant generate cultural shifting slogans bc they are frankly quite dumb. "Defund the police" and "Abolish ICE" have to be 2 of the dumbest pol marketing slogans ever. Saying dumb ish like that givez the other side a 2x4 to beat you with. Easy to call the left lawless
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@CStamp @benroyce @maya_b @gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox The right unites bc it is a death cult and the left is in check because the left can't meme... i dont mean make dumb little funny pix w words, I mean they cant generate cultural shifting slogans bc they are frankly quite dumb. "Defund the police" and "Abolish ICE" have to be 2 of the dumbest pol marketing slogans ever. Saying dumb ish like that givez the other side a 2x4 to beat you with. Easy to call the left lawless
of course Kelly won't be pure enough, but answers all the "lawless" stuff and he's not Newsom.
Senator Mark Kelly says he will 'seriously consider' running for president
The former Navy captain and astronaut says "we're in some seriously challenging times".
(www.bbc.com)
Anyway, I'll be watching from Canada shaking my head more often that I'd like I suspect.
@CStamp @benroyce @gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox
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@CStamp @benroyce @maya_b @gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox The right unites bc it is a death cult and the left is in check because the left can't meme... i dont mean make dumb little funny pix w words, I mean they cant generate cultural shifting slogans bc they are frankly quite dumb. "Defund the police" and "Abolish ICE" have to be 2 of the dumbest pol marketing slogans ever. Saying dumb ish like that givez the other side a 2x4 to beat you with. Easy to call the left lawless
@CStamp @benroyce @maya_b @gerowen @ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox Gimme James Carville "It's the economy, stupid" ftw. The left or center or anyone besides the right needs guys that can meme like that again.
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