This is an admin post, intended for blahaj lemmy users. Top level posts from members of other instances will be removed.
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Edit - Hexbear announced plans to deferedate from us.
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~~After recent events, it feels to me that sentiment has shifted and more people are asking for defederation of hexbear than previously~~
~~I've been doing my best to try and mend bridges and keep us connected, as it's my hope that we can maintain trans solidarity and work with them, despite the friction, however, ultimately, I feel that this is an issue for the blahaj lemmy community to decide, not the admins alone~~
~~So here's what we're going to do~~
~~We're going to leave things as they are for a week. That will give time for things to calm down whilst we see if we can work together. After a week, I'll put up a vote and get a feel for where the community is at in regards to our continued federation with hexbear. That poll will run for a week. If there is a strong will to defederate (a clear majority), then that's what we will do~~
I'm going to use my last post here before the vote to say, it was massively irresponsible to federate with these trolls before consulting with the community you administrate. I'm sure they spun you a good sob story but they've hurled abuse at your users that you're apparently happy to let go unanswered. And you say they deserve a second chance. Wait staff gets your order wrong? That deserves a second chance, restaurants are chaotic and shit happens. Person shows up to work late? So much shit happens in the Dat to day, you can't possibly plan for everything, absolutely give a second chance. A bunch of tankie trolls use your instance as their entertainment? Absolutely fucking not. You get a second chance for a mistake, not active malice. I'd buy into the "Trans solidarity" lie if they didn't admit in their own instance this was about "dunking on us". They're here to recruit and make fun, and they made no bones about it on their own server. Not to put too fine a point on it, you fell for the first nazi at the bar. For the tankies, I know you're not nazis, you just use the same style arguments and are equally as tolerant of people who dont share your beliefs.
Long story short, I could not give less of a shit what Hexbear does on their own server but they've been extremely detrimental to our own communities and that not being considered a factor at all is beyond absurd
As an admin you have a duty to those you administrate and you've essentially told them that the abuse they've suffered is inconsequential in the face of Trans solidarity The same Trans solidarity Hexbear uses to abuse your users, willfully and maliciously. That's not good enough for me.
That's how federation works. We are on a blacklist system, which means we federate with anyone and everyone unless they are added to a blacklist, and you don't add good faith communities on to the black list without exceptional circumstances.
Whether this is exceptional enough to add them varies depending on who you ask within our community, and that is why there is a vote
That's my wording, not theirs
I have users telling me that they want to stay federated, I have users telling me I shouldn't federate. There is no path I can take that keeps all of the community happy. Which is why I am administrating, talking directly to their admin, pushing for changes in their rules and behaviour, and putting the final decision up for a vote.
I'm pushing for change, and then making sure that the choice is still there.
That's what's involved in administration.
I don't think admins owe anyone a vote on federating in good faith. I have no critique of your others points, as they are all your opinions and my disagreement with them is simply my opinion. But I think calling out an admin for trying to grow the Lemmiverse (federate with a new instance) is asinine. It's on them to take proper action as needed after, not before.
Acknowledging full well that I have no say in whether an admin consults their user base before federating or not, I don't think this federation was done in good faith; and I'd easily put forth the conduct of the instance they federated with as evidence. There's nothing wrong with trying to grow the lemmiverse but federating with an instance of known trolls is absolutely silly. I acknowledge the fact that Ada may not have known before, but afterwards the trolls came out in force and it doesn't sit right with me that we're being asked to give the people who tore up the landscape so recently another chance, with no sort of caveat, given that the only change on their policy was to lay off meta posts specifically. I'm objecting specifically to the way they've shat up the instance, so the fact that their only concession is to lay off meta posts is no comfort at all.
Edit: fixed a mobile-ism
What communities exactly have they been detrimental to?