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mastodon - Link to source

Yesterday was my first bad day on Mastodon, and what happened to me could happen to you, so let me explain what went down, and how I got blocked by a lot of people.

In March, I wrote a post critical of Musk (picture 1). I then asked another Mastodon user (Harriett) whom I have found friendly, if she would help me translate a Danish phrase to English, and linked to the Musk post where the phrase would be relevant.

But yesterday β€” 4 months later β€” that blew up in my face. Here is how…

1/7

The original post which caused all the trouble. Here I am asking Harriett if she would be so kind to help me translate.
This entry was edited (1 week ago)

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in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

Randahl Fink

You see, yesterday someone discovered that my old post requesting translation help had been mirrored onto Bluesky by the so-called bridge system. And that system had made the VERY unfortunate error of removing my link to the context about Elon Musk, and instead now linked to Harriett's profile page.

So it now looked as if I was not talking about Elon Musk, but talking about Harriett (see picture) β€” as if I was making fun of this Mastodon user behind her back on Bluesky.

2/7

The garbled post linking to the wrong profile.
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mastodon - Link to source

Randahl Fink

A person saw this unfortunate mishap on Bluesky and rightly found it suspicious looking, so that person then warned Harriett about it. She then got upset thinking I was making posts ridiculing her on Bluesky, blocked me, and then wrote about this to all of us here on Mastodon.

I have no hard feelings about that, because the technical glitch really made it seem like I was a bad person.

But then more people got upset, and a whole thread formed where people agreed I should be blocked.

3/7

This entry was edited (1 week ago)
in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

Randahl Fink

And while all of this went down, I was not even here. Because yesterday I hosted a party and was preparing dinner and entertaining guests here in Denmark.

Then late in the evening when the guests went home, I sat down to check in on Mastodon, and all of hell had broken loose.

Because everyone was thinking the Bluesky post came from me, the famous profile Gottalaff now entered the discussion which amplified it to her 33,000 users, and even more people blocked me, called me out etc.

4/7

This entry was edited (1 week ago)
in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

Randahl Fink

The only person who stopped to check if all of this was really true was @Gargron. And he wrote a very helpful post explaining that the bad post on Bluesky was created by the bridge system, which had linked to Harriett's profile and thereby changed the meaning of my original post.

But Gargron's post was very technical, and I am not sure everyone understood it, and I was still getting angry responses, and more people blocked me.

So I was very sad to discover all this late last night.

5/7

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mastodon - Link to source

Randahl Fink

But here is the lesson we can all learn from this: If you see something strange where someone suddenly seems to change their behaviour and do something malicious, it is important to ask questions before concluding what is going on.

In this case, a post which seemed like it was written by me was actually altered by an IT system that I have never given permission to do so β€” and it now seemed like I was spreading hatred.

In conclusion: I blame no one for this incident. I fully understand…

6/7

This entry was edited (1 week ago)

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mastodon - Link to source

Randahl Fink

… why someone saw the Bluesky post and wanted to warn Harriett. I fully understand how Harriett could feel shocked that it looked like I was talking about her on another platform. And I fully understand how Gottalaff would amplify that and try to stop me from harassing Harriett.

So please, do not send any negativity their way. Let us just all learn from this:

Never jump to conclusions about other people. If you see sudden strange behaviour from someone, ask questions before concluding.

7/7

Fou reshared this.

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snac - Link to source

Alexandre Oliva

Never jump to conclusions about other people. If you see sudden strange behaviour from someone, ask questions before concluding.


this, a thousand times this, and then some more πŸ˜‰

sorry this happened to you; such things have happened to me and others as well, and it sucks

the problem is IMHO people who hold the mistaken idea that one can suppress hateful behavior by behaving hatefully in reaction to perceived hatefulness. even if it worked in real cases, the emotional error rate is so high that it ends up amplifying hate. so, everyone, before setting out to react explosively, count to 10 (or to a million πŸ˜‰ and investigate thoroughly, otherwise you may accidentally promote injustice and hatred.

in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

LAUREN

After reading her posts, I do think she was most upset that it carried her account information over to BS, a very public corporate owned and run server. Not your fault but significant in the failure of not opting into the bridge, which she had done to preserve her privacy here, and because we don't just hand our info over to a corporation. It is the reason many people are on the Fediverse and not BS. It is a problem that the bridgy people need to address asap.

In the end technology failed everybody involved.

in reply to Randahl Fink

friendica - Link to source

Martijn Vos

@Randahl Fink

I blame no one for this incident.


I blame the creator of that bridge. You need to be extremely careful not to repost other people's content, while impersonating them and changing the context of the post.

Turning a mere mention of someone's name into a picture of their homepage is completely unreasonable. I don't know why anyone would implement something like that.

in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

Suzanne Aldrich (she/her)

I think I’m going to be avoiding any bridging. I don’t like the idea of an imperfect mapping, or updates that don’t propagate. People should really think through how this bridge thing is helping or harming the situation. Bluesky seems like a bad idea to me. I think we should concentrate on the usability issues in Mastodon rather than building audience over there. I have a placeholder account just like I left my old account on Twitter. Fully expecting lots of socio-technical issues from the centralized but not Bluesky.
in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

Bret Carmichael πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦

It may be worth unfollowing the bridge bot, so your posts can’t be incompletely copied. Croissant is a great cross-posting app that will save you from the content duplication.
apps.apple.com/us/app/croissan…

β€ŽCroissant - Cross-Posting

β€ŽIt's a social network explosion! And you can now post to all of them in one app. Croissant solves that oh-so-2024 problem of wanting to post to all these great new social networks β€” Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon. Now you can, in one shot.
App Store
in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

eanopolsky

You said "that system made the VERY unfortunate error of removing [your] link to the context about Elon Musk", but the screenshot shows the following in blue text: "mastodon.social/@randahl/114..."

Was that not a link, and was it not to your post about Elon Musk? Or is your complaint instead that the embedded preview emphasized the person you tagged rather than the post you replied to?

in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

lord pthenq1

There isn't much you can do about it.

They are going to lynch you because it is what they do.

It is sad because you were trying to build a presence and a community. And they destroyed it for nothing.

The only thing that works, and it worked for me, is to not interact with other community owners and never talk about other accounts, except in text and without generating loops.

And whatever you say in this specific case will be mansplaining.

You are not going to win. The best approach is to move on and learn from your no-mistakes. They bite the same.

This entry was edited (1 week ago)
in reply to Randahl Fink

hubzilla - Link to source

Alexander Goeres π’€―

@Randahl Fink hope this turns out ok and this harriet person doesn't feel too offended by a technical error in the end. this again shows that one should be very wary of these (very popular) appeals to everbody to block certain accounts. and, of course, reading helps. a lot!

luckily , at least in the fediverse, there are no automatic choosing mechanisms to promote such outbreak of ill devised moral orthodoxy by enhancing its reach.

This entry was edited (1 week ago)
in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

xs4me2

A warning to be taken, thanks for posting and being open about it. The trouble with all information we post on the internet is that there is no privacy.
Those of evil intent will always be able to find information and use it against us. I have seen my share in formerly Twitter. I guess the only thing one can do is indeed being open on one’s best intent and consistently share fact checked information and use meticulous reasoning and ethics in whatever one does. Be honest and genuine.
in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

Steve Cuthbert

Sorry to hear this, Randahl. So frustrating for you. Some time ago, I muted the account that blew this up. precisely because of their tendency to jump to conclusions and react like this, seemingly without thought or investigation. I'm not referring to Harriet here.

It will blow over, keep up the good work - you're very much appreciated here!!

This entry was edited (1 week ago)
in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

AkaSci πŸ›°οΈ

As you said, "If you see something strange where someone suddenly seems to change their behaviour and do something malicious, (or write something indelicate), it is important to ask questions before concluding what is going on."

Let's not assume malicious intent. Let's send a friendly query to the guilty party, especially one with a solid reputation, and give them a chance to explain. In most cases, we will resolve the matter peacefully and both sides will feel better and wiser.
πŸ€”

in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

Martin Seeger

Bridging two different social networks always comes with it's own set of problems.

We experienced this the first time in the early 90s during the UseNET days, when we tried to bridge groups e.g. from the Z-Netz (local BBS network in Germany).

@isotopp has a lot of stories about that bridge and it's impact.

Technical compatibility is a trivial issue compared to the one of culture and expectations.

Sorry to see that this has hit you so hard. Thank you for making this so transparent. I hope the rift can be mended.

in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

Petra van Cronenburg

OMG, when shit happens in social media, it gets too fast a deep shitstorm. I hope so much that some mediators who follow you and those affected can put in a word to perhaps re-engage all of you in dialogue.

I'm on Bluesky myself and bridge from Bluesky to Mastodon. But I don't bridge from Mastodon to Bluesky, I would like to warn of this bridge. It can't work exactly simply because of the different post lengths. And much depends on how it is programmed. The best is not to bridge at all

in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

Graeme 🏴󠁧󠁒󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

That's a shame to hear, but it highlights the issue with most "social media". It's un-moderated and very few people make any effort to check stuff before going ballistic...
Mastodon is the only one I use as it's full of mainly sane people! Otherwise I stick to well moderated forums...
The trouble with blocking people is you never get to find out... Really should be a last resort.
Lastly - keep up the good posts!
in reply to Randahl Fink

pleroma - Link to source

Caleb James DeLisle

> Yesterday was my first bad day on Mastodon
Sorry to hear.

> what happened to me could happen to you
No it can't, I shitpost enough to make sure that anyone who would block over a silly mistake already has.

> I got blocked by a lot of people
Welcome to the club, I guess... I actually don't know how many people block me, I don't care.

> Bluesky
I HOPE they're blocking me, that place is cancer.

I'm here to have fun, and I'm thankful if unfun people will just block me, rather than bringing bad vibes into my normally very cool notifications tab...

in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

Speed demon πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί πŸ‡³πŸ‡΄πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦

I have had this post :
im.alstadheim.no/@hakona/11330… pinned for a while. Don't know if it helps.

Speed demon πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί πŸ‡³πŸ‡΄πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦ (@hakona@im.alstadheim.no)

I will, at times, post something that seems non-seqiteur, totally missing the point, hanging the messenger, incoherent. And you will be correct in your assessment.
Alstadheim
in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

Ciara

What an awful mess. I'm sorry it happened to Harriet, her shock and distress is understandable. It seems to be a technical flaw that Bluesky turned a tag into a preview to her Mastodon page, as if it were a website.

I've sympathised sincerely with Harriet and hope she can feel comfortable and safe again soon. I took the liberty of mentioning that you are upset for her and about it. I hope all this works out okay soon and I really really hope that technical fault gets fixed.

in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

Trantion

This reminds me of a Tom Scott talk about outrage growing and spreading like wildfire about what someone had supposedly done or said, without them being able to give their side. In the context, most of the people were quite reasonably upset, although some were deliberately pushing the mob too.

I thought it was called The Speed of Outrage, but I've just watched that and it has a lot less to do with The Speed of Outrage than that story. Maybe someone else remembers it?

#TomScott

in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

cherrybombspice

It’s really unfortunate that happened to you Randahl. All kinds of things randomly happen that can make things go so badly. I hope in time people will come to understand this was a misunderstanding and matters will get better.

I will say stuff like this that makes me scared to post anything online. Even comments or dms. Miscommunications and mishaps between humans can be so nerve wrecking. Wishing you a good day 🌼

in reply to Randahl Fink

gotosocial - Link to source

tyzbit

the only culpable party in this is the Bluesky bridge and a very illustrative reason why it is a dead-end solution that should not have been built in the first place. it's central design hinges on impersonation against users' wishes. it's not on you if some 3rd party lies about what you said.

if we substitute in an analog, is it your fault at all if a newspaper copies a quote from your LinkedIn profile but then changes it so substantially that it says something different and totally uncharacteristic? no, they're spreading misinformation.

in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

George Dinwiddie

I hope your relationship with Harriet has recovered, or will.

FWIW, this whole thing has been instructive and helpful to me. When Bluesky first opened up to whomever wanted to sign up, I followed the bridge so some friends there could see what I tooted. I didn't think about the fact that it might republish the info of others, too. Merely replying to a reply tags the other person.

1/2

in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

WesDym

The common but highly poetic English equivalent is, "Pride goeth [or 'goes'] before a fall", condensed from Proverbs 16:18 in the King James Bible (1611). (Full: "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.") This is Early Modern English, which modern anglophones only know from a few sources like this. (The other major one being Shakespeare.) More commonly today, archaic 'goeth' (not used for 300 years now) is replaced with modern "goes".
in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

Ygor

There is an episode of Strawberry Shortcake about that, called A Circle of Friends. People who have been friends for years suddenly turn on each other over a small misunderstanding because they weren't paying attention to some small detail. It happens.

youtu.be/m7fEEF38bQk

#StrawberryShortcake


Berry Bitty Adventures πŸ“ A Circle of Friends πŸ“ Strawberry Shortcake πŸ“ Kids Movies

β–Ί Subscribe for new videos every week! https://goo.gl/CeNgH0Raspberry is distraught when she suspects her friends have copied her design on her lantern for t...
YouTube
in reply to Randahl Fink

mastodon - Link to source

Only Ohm

If you have a GitHub account, you might want to upvote the proposal at <github.com/snarfed/bridgy-fed/…>, which I'm pretty sure would stop the bridge from behaving this way.

AP => AT: if a post ends with a URL, and it gets truncated, link embed to that URL instead of the original post?

Hi, I try to make sure to write my mastodon posts less than 300 characters, so that they will play well with Bluesky as well. However, when including URLs, it seems keeping within the character lim...
s-brekke (GitHub)
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