Btw, this is me testing the limits of kbin's microblog feature, so the following post will be long. I will post a TLDR at the end.
It has been nearly a month since I've first joined #fediverse. Even before the #reddit exodus, I was already growing tired of the site for the fact that despite how large the communities were, they were very cold and impersonal. There was also the fact that for the #queer community at least, we had been siloed off from the rest of reddit, because nearly every topic involving #LGBTQ issues were very often met with hostility by a good amount of users, often followed by a locked topic. It was even getting to the point where I didn't even feel safe in the some of the more socially liberal spaces.
The fact that mods were being stripped of some of the few tools they had to keep their communities hospitable, I knew the writing was on the wall. I tried many reddit alternatives during the blackout, including #raddle and #tildes. But once I figured out how #kbin, #mastodon, and #lemmy worked, I found myself feeling right at home on the fediverse.
I think the main reason why is because many of the people here are misfits from other platforms. Many of the users on mastodon are former twitter users who were driven off by the corporate culture of twitter, and later by Elon Musk and the poisoning of the platform. Others are former redditors like me who found platforms like lemmy, and are in the midst of trying to rebuild the community they once had on thier former platform.
Fediverse definitely doesn't feel "mainstream" like the sites that many of us come from , but perhaps that is part of the appeal, and why I have taken to it far quicker than any other social platform I have tried in the past. I'm just hoping as the fediverse continues to grow and attract new users, that it doesn't lose it's quirky and experimental spirit.
TLDR: I like fediverse. It's weird, quirky, and I feel more open here than I was ever able to be on reddit. Don't ever change.
The fascist government in Italy is removing the names of lesbian couples from birth certificates. What were once loving parents, are now -- in the eyes of the law -- no more than strangers. Whether we are talking about Italy or the US, conservatism hates love.
Hello Fediverse! I am coming before you all today to promote my new instance: blackqueer.life! You may have seen my post on my old account about it a few weeks back. I wanted to wait until I finished migrating my old account over here, got the instance up and running to where I wanted it, etc before promoting it fully.
We all know Fedi isn't always kind to Black users, doubly so for Black queers. My instance represents my attempt to continue the amazing work some folks are doing in the Fediverse to make these platforms more accessible and safer for all users, ESPECIALLY marginalized folks.
When I joined the fediverse, the first thing I was searching for almost from the beginning was an instance dedicated to or centering Black queer people explicitly. While there are a few amazing communities like that out there, many of them are either not federating, offering limited federation only, or are currently closed to new users.
This allows them to have much greater control over the content their users are exposed to, which I have tremendous respect and appreciation for. Hell, I've got alts in some of those places!
However. As a newcomer to Fedi, it was not overly easy for me to find these places and gain access, which I recognize is somewhat by design. Limited or no federation meant the only way to locate them was by word of mouth and extensive research.
This is where BlackQueerLife comes in. I want to build a place where Black queer, trans, and GNC folks can feel safe making a home while also being able to venture out into the rest of the fediverse. I want somewhere they can use as a landing pad. I want as many multiply marginalized Black folks off of corporate hellsites like Twitter and Bluesky as possible. We are not safe being corporate playthings.
Most importantly, I want every Black queer person who joins Fedi to know that they have somewhere they can go. I don't expect that all would necessarily want to join, but I want all Black queer fedizens to know that they are welcome to.
So if you see this, please boost this post to spread the word. If you already boosted the other posts that have gone out about this instance, no pressure. Thanks so much!
@davidkirlewmorris@tillshadeisgone@blackmastodon@BlackMastodon Same here - I would very much like to know too, so I can be a better ally and also help foster a more welcoming environment. 💞
Join our group @allstartrek for updates. I try to post the schedule daily. If you are a voyager fan, that comes on at 11:00 Eastern on the H&I channel. But even if you don’t have H&I you can stream along
To the people trying to invalidate or debate people's anger over the #SCOTUS rulings, let me make something clear to you
People are angry because they're SCARED
Scared for their own safety
Scared for their family
Scared for their friends
Scared for their future
They have EVERY RIGHT to be upset
Instead of sitting there telling them how they should or shouldn't react, why don't you help them feel safe by showing them support and that they're not alone in this fight #Politics#lgbtq
It's here!! I'm so excited?? #RuinousAttraction is out today! You can buy it as an ebook or paperback, or read it on KU.
When Ferdinand accidentally locks himself and Arthur in an ancient enchanted sex dungeon, could passion break down the walls of prejudice and distrust?
⚔️➡️💖 Enemies to lovers
😈 Forced to fuck
✨ Aphrodisiacs
🤬 Bickering
🥺 Angst
🫂Hurt/comfort
🏛 Ancient enchanted sex dungeon
@RubyJones@romancelandia@smutstodon
It is strange to finish an erotica and desperately want a sequel... because of the world building. (Ok, not just the world building, but a big part!) What is going on in these ruins? Why did the Old Ones do what they did? Whom do I need to shiv on the MCs' behalf, precious angels who have surely never done anything wrong in their misbegotten lives? etc. etc.
I know some of the answers, but not all. I am starting to explore the next adventure, which will have a little less sex and more in the way of world-building. Alas, the people to blame are (so far as I am currently aware) long dead... but they might have some more unfortunate artefacts left behind that our hapless heroes might trigger...
Not sure, if this is truly the case. For example, on reddit I was mostly subbed to queer or queer friendly communities. And in my feed only appeared these communities. In how far would this be different in decentralized and federated communities? And apart from that, we all still have to constantly live people being bigoted over here, as everyone has it all internalized. E.g. I'm white and come from a academic context, so I have to make a conscious effort to keep this in mind while participating here. And if someone else writes in any of the non queer-related communities, they are statistically speaking neurotypical and cishet, so I easily feel (and am) excluded in some way.
My point is, it certainly helps to have decentralized spaces, but in order to abolish structural discrimination etc we still have to be conscious about it and make an effort.
Regarding your last sentence, I would guess that generally social media are more attractive to queer or otherwise marginalized people as they can meet likeminded people. See any of the leading social media.
Lemmy is an special case because people here don't seem to grasp the concept of Federation, are choosing servers that aren't for them or not defederating from bad servers (not Beehaw's case) because they think federation is people putting up with their bs or that they have to put up with other people's bs.
I'm mostly talking about mastodon, all the -key(s), pixelfed, peertube, etc. They're populated by marginalized people because the big centralised alternatives promote a hostile environment for them/us.
Also the fact that your feed in Reddit had to be curated specifically to contain only queer subreddits says a lot.
In centralised social media I had to curate my feeds that way, here (fediverse) I can follow different groups and people from different servers that I know I won't encounter bad actors because they're isolated in their own instances
I have sufficient reason and evidence to believe that I was terminated from Rune Labs in retaliation for protected anti-discrimination whistleblowing activity.
Normally, NDA would prohibit me from disclosing this. However, thanks to Washington’s Silenced No More Act, my ability to speak about discrimination, harassment, or retaliation that I have witnessed in the workplace is legally protected.
Today's release: Speculation Publications' folklore/fairy tale anthology - Yule: Tales for the Winter Solstice.
During the cold winter months, we mirror the Earth as she lies quiet, waiting for the return of warm days. We gather around yule fires and perform rituals to lure back the sun. Drinking wassail...
"One of the weirdest and most convoluted Christmas stories that I have ever read, filled with surprises, suspense, thrills, fast paced action, danger, gore and grit... a crazy page turner, a roller coaster of a holiday ride."