Exploding-heads.com is another instance on Lemmy where alt-right MAGA types tend to reside. Some people on this server want us to defederate from them immediately, some people want to save defederation as a last resort. They have 104 active users (more stats below).

It seems that exploding-heads has also experienced a recent botswarm invasion. This is obviously another point in favor of defederating them, assuming you are worried about botswarms, which is currently being discussed here.

My advice to you all is please try to discuss this in a civil manner, we need not allow them to create divisive conflict inside our communities. No matter how the vote turns out, you’re not going to be able to defederate from your fellow sh.itheads so be nice.

I’ve linked many of the previous discussions below so people who are out of the loop can get a general sense of the situation.

https://sh.itjust.works/post/216888 https://sh.itjust.works/post/225714 https://sh.itjust.works/post/281126 https://sh.itjust.works/post/410325

Lemmy.world just recently defederated them.

https://lemmy.world/post/747912

https://lemmy.world/post/577526

Although this could be considered a point in favor of defederation, it actually means even if we vote to remain federated, people have a great alternative in lemmy.world where they can still participate in our communities and simultaneously be protected from exploding-heads.

Ensuring diversity of servers is beneficial to the platform as a whole, but it is also not our responsibility to bear that burden.

TLDR, just wrap up any last points in this thread before we open the vote tomorrow. Please be civil.

EDIT: To clarify, this isn’t the official vote, this is the final discussion. The vote thread will be posted tomorrow and you will only be allowed to make a single comment saying Aye or Nay.

EDIT2: Vote thread is up, this thread is now locked. Very lively discussion thread sh.itheads. Please try to be more respectful next time.

  • abrasiveteapot
    2·
    1 year ago

    It’s not so much about sensitivity, it’s literally decades long experience of what happens when you allow the alt-right to infect a community.

    I’m not the only one on this forum who has been around long enough to see the same old tactics popping up over and over. Experience has proved that people like the explodingheads mods argue in bad faith, their only objective is to disrupt and recruit the naive. Giving them a platform never ends well.

    Both extremist wings (lemmygrad on the tankie left - whose banning seemed to be uncontroversial) act in the same negative way, however I would note that as far as I’ve seen the tankies haven’t sent over minions to disrupt sh.itjust.works

    • goat
      2·
      1 year ago

      however I would note that as far as I’ve seen the tankies haven’t sent over minions to disrupt sh.itjust.works

      I have. they’re mostly on lemmy.ml, if you see an account posting tankie-related or pro-communist content, look up their username on grad, most of the time they have an alt there. There is documentation of this on MeanwhileOnGrad

      • abrasiveteapot
        1·
        1 year ago

        Cool, so defederation worked, we don’t have to see their bollocks here. Sounds like a good case for axing EH to me.

        • goat
          11·
          1 year ago

          No, it didn’t work because they just made alts instead.

          • abrasiveteapot
            1·
            1 year ago

            Really ? So you’ve been seeing tankies on here ? I don’t suppose you can link to any for me ? Because all I’ve seen are a few fash defending hate speech, not so much from the other extremists.

            • goat
              1·
              1 year ago

              By here, do you mean sh.it or the fediverse as a whole? Since I’d be mighty curious to see fash defending hatespeech on sh.it

    • imaqtpieOPMA
      1·
      1 year ago

      (lemmygrad on the tankie left - whose banning seemed to be uncontroversial)

      TheDude blocked lemmygrad from day one, so the situations have no comparison.

      I guess I just don’t ascribe the same level of deviousness (or competence) to the alt-right as you do. In my view, the reality is that they are not very bright and they have latched onto an ideology that assuages their cognitive dissonance.

      I don’t necessarily believe that they are trying to infiltrate our communities, I actually believe that they would prefer to simply have their own space to be conservative/offensive without getting downvoted, banned, and trolled.

      Ultimately, I simply refuse to accept that the users on this server would fall prey to such recruiting efforts. Does this strike you as a naive group? Damn near everyone here has been on the internet for decades.

      That being said, I hear you. I will not be recommending or voting one way or the other, and I wont miss them when they’re gone. I am simply trying to uphold the integrity of the debate.

      • abrasiveteapot
        1·
        1 year ago

        I don’t necessarily believe that they are trying to infiltrate our communities, I actually believe that they would prefer to simply have their own space to be conservative/offensive without getting downvoted, banned, and trolled.

        Cool, so we defederate them and they can go be offensively conservative (is that a new euphemism for fascist now ?) in their own little world, inciting hatred of minorities to their heart’s content, and the rest of us can go on arguing about what ever more rational things we want to argue about - who is the better football team or which linux distro is better.

        • imaqtpieOPMA
          22·
          1 year ago

          Or, we do nothing and the exact same outcome ensues. Hence why I’m not even bothering to vote.