Jerry on Mastodon

Admin/owner of this Mastodon server. I play around with Linux.

I also own:
Phanpy: https://phanpy.hear-me.social
Peertube: https://my-sunshine.video
Pixelfed: https://gr8.pics
Friendica: https://my-place.social
Piefed: https://feddit.online
XMPP (Jabber): https://between-us.online
Matrix: https://element.secure-channel.net
Bluesky PDS: https://blue-ocean.social
Mobilizon: https://my-group.events

Public Key

npub1t7mnn6s5xds79ll9f6sxdj0yasw8juptjf6er5d44m8epts98cvsrqhrmc

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs9ldeeag2rxc0zllj5agrxe8jwc8rewq4eyav36x66anus4cznuxgpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerfw36x7tnsw43qcrdrg7

Publishing to

relay.ditto.pub

Author Public Key

npub1t7mnn6s5xds79ll9f6sxdj0yasw8juptjf6er5d44m8epts98cvsrqhrmc

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Last Notes

2026-07-30 14:07:31 GMT

20% lower online prices if you use a local library computer? Another reason to hate retailers.
"Lora Kelley took a trip to the New York Public Library for us and compared prices against a personal iPhone. The results? A box of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios and a pack of toilet paper were nearly 20% cheaper on the library desktop."
https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/nothing-personal/surveillance-dynamic-pricing-legal-groceries-tickets/
#OnlineShopping #Retail_sales #ConsumerProtection

2026-06-08 15:38:08 GMT

Thank you, #Massachusetts. This is a great start. This bill passed unanimously in the house, 146-0.
https://www.squaredtech.co/massachusetts-passes-major-new-privacy-law-banning-location-data-sales
The law prohibits companies that handle or process personal data of more than 100,000 consumers from selling or sharing sensitive personal data, including precise geolocation, biometrics, health data, genetic information, religion, immigration status, and sexual orientation, without a user’s explicit consent.
The location data ban applies to both residents and visitors across the state.
#Privacy #Tracking

2026-04-18 12:28:23 GMT

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@nprofile…kcav DDG is good, but they still use contextual ads powered through Microsoft. There was that controversy in the past where it was found that DDG had some ad-related agreements with Microsoft that were not disclosed. Still far better, IMHO, than Google and Bing.
No ads in Kagi.
Kagi allows me to down-rank results on my own terms. I don't want Reddit results or Pinterest results. I don't want NY Post or WSJ articles, etc. They filter out AI slop if you ask for it. I can rank certain sources as more desirable than others to control what is higher in the results.
They have many extras. They have a private AI which has been useful. They have a private translation service. Many tuning options.
They have their own spider, although they do supplement if necessary. I believe DDG uses Bing. If Bing falls victim to SEO Spam or they decide to manipulate results, that spam and those biases could inadvertently filter into the DDG results.
The bottom line is that it shows me exactly what I want when I search and isn't open as much to manipulation. I think it's worth paying for.

2026-04-15 17:59:19 GMT

Paying for #Kagi search instead of using the "free" #Google search would now seem like a bargain for Elvira Schadlow, don't you think?
It cost her $11,000 because she picked the first search result, the one Google was paid to prefer over the hotel's official site.
Have you ever been fooled by a Google search result?
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/travel/travel-scams-airlines-hotels.html?unlocked_article_code=1.aVA.hmRD.LzbZIcJU3rhu

2026-04-02 18:27:49 GMT

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@nprofile…kcav @nprofile…82zk
Oh, interesting.
Also interesting that they couldn't think of any other messaging app that is more secure.

2026-04-02 16:21:37 GMT

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@nprofile…kcav @nprofile…82zk
Exactly what I ask myself. Why are there so many new messaging apps that do not surpass those that have been vetted?
My reaction is to stay away from them. It makes me suspicious. It's more like they are trying to pry people away from existing secure messaging apps for some reason.

2026-04-02 13:56:18 GMT

tl:dr Don't even think of using the #TeleGuard app. Never ever. Use #Signal, #Matrix, or #XMPP/#Jabber
https://www.404media.co/a-secure-chat-apps-encryption-is-so-bad-it-is-meaningless/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter

2026-01-15 01:48:59 GMT

My Internet speed while using #ProtonVPN. It's been consistent throughout the day. Great VPN. Highly recommend it.
I have Verizon #Fios, and these speeds are close to the maximum I get without the VPN.
#Proton
https://files.hear-me.social/media_attachments/files/115/896/597/656/851/140/original/21ad47884cc9978e.png

2026-01-03 21:52:48 GMT

#flu season, so far:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported that there have been over seven million cases of the flu this season, resulting in an estimated 81,000 hospitalizations and 3,100 deaths.
If only there was a vaccine available to prevent this.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/world-most-contagious-virus-detected-022909871.html

2025-12-23 14:38:12 GMT

Hospitals around the U.S. are filling up with children who are especially hard hit this #influenza season. Oddly, it's only those who didn't get the #flu vaccine.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/flu-season-rise-virus-symptoms-kids-vaccine-protection-what-know-rcna250481
#vaccines

2025-12-09 16:47:46 GMT

A Consumer Reports investigation found that Instacart — which promotes itself as the nation’s largest third-party grocery delivery service, and delivers from retailers like Costco, Kroger, Sprouts Farmers Market, Safeway, and Target charges some people significantly more for the exact same grocery item because ... they can.
CR volunteers who repeatedly shopped the same products at the exact same time online saw prices on some products differ by as much as 23 percent. Based on the average variations they saw, for a household of four that could translate into a difference of about $1,200 a year.
Some products were offered at as many as five different prices, with variations ranging from as little as 7 cents to as much as $2.56 per item.
Call on the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to investigate Instacart’s pricing tactics, and hold them accountable for any unfair practices.
Sign the petition: https://action.consumerreports.org/nb-20251209-mtpr-instacart?e=75157c649a2853b11d823013bbd29692&utm_source=cr&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nb_20251209_mtpr_instacart&n=4&v=8557
#ConsumerProtection #ConsumerReports #InstaCart #PriceGouging

2025-12-01 13:00:49 GMT

If you're going to allow an AI agent to work on your computer on your behalf, create a separate user account for it and only give it access to the specific resources it will control. Follow the principle of least privilege.
This is also true, by the way, if you allow other people to do work on your computer on your behalf. Both people and AIs can make terrible blunders.
It's bad enough that you might accidentally delete a needed resource. You don't want to make it more likely by allowing an AI or another person to also have such access.
#LLM #antigravity #agenticai #agentics
#nevent1q…7g7j

2025-09-03 11:40:02 GMT

Jury rules Meta stole your menstrual data ...
with emphasis on "stole". Why does anyone still use Meta applications?
https://tuta.com/blog/meta-guilty-flo-app-controversy
#Privacy #CyberSecurity #Meta

2025-09-02 00:01:21 GMT

My Pixel 10 warned me that there was a rogue connection made on my phone.
A concerning thing happened today while I was walking through my building. I have a #Pixel 10 Pro XL phone, which may be the first phone to give warnings when the phone connects to a rogue cellphone tower or IMSI catcher. The OS cannot block it; it can only tell you that someone read information, and it presents an alert. It says,
"Your data may be at risk. Device ID accessed. At 6:57 PM a nearby network recorded your device's unique ID (IMSI or IMEI) while using your T-Mobile SIM. This means that your location, activity, or identity has been logged."
I didn't ever get an alert before walking through the building, but this time, during a 30-minute walk through the building, I got about 8 alerts, ranging between 1 and 3 minutes apart.
Using this information from repeated connections, someone can follow my movements and location; they can identify it's me because the IMSI number is unique to my phone, so it can be an indication that someone was collecting all the cellphone information in the area, most likely law enforcement.
It can also mean that I was connecting to a rogue cell phone tower, not just an IMSI catcher, and it was an attempted Stingray attack, likely also law enforcement. If successful, they can try to see and hear what I'm doing on my phone, as my phone won't know that it's a fake cellphone tower.
Be aware that a rogue tower will try to negotiate your phone's connection down to a 2G connection, which is unencrypted, providing them with access to everything that you are doing and saying. Please go into your phone's settings and disable 2G!!
It's been believed for some time that this technology has been used by law enforcement secretly and consistently. This is creepy and unnerving.
Turning off the phone, by the way, doesn't stop an IMSI catcher. Your phone still responds. You need to keep the phone in a Faraday bag if you're really concerned.
It's a good thing that phones are now starting to inform people that they are being watched and that people will begin to see how much of an issue this is. You can assume that your local law enforcement knows where you are all the time.
#CyberSecurity #LawEnforcement #PoliceAbuse #Privacy #surveillance

2025-08-23 11:28:06 GMT

I just received this #scam email targeting hear-me.social users, trying to get them to log in using a malicious link so their accounts can be stolen.
I hope nobody would be fooled by this.
I will never send an email asking anyone to sign into their accounts and provide a link to do so. I will never provide a link to the login page.
My email address is made public so they are probably only targeting those who have posted their email addresses.
Other #MastoAdmin take notice, as I'm sure other instances are being targeted.
#HearMeSocial #Mastodon #scam
https://files.hear-me.social/media_attachments/files/115/077/839/889/810/958/original/f2b30e3da9908456.png

2025-08-22 23:41:33 GMT

#Bluesky is no longer available to Mississippi residents.
#Mississippi’s HB 1126 requires platforms to introduce age verification for all users and get parental consent for anyone under 18. Penalties for noncompliance are up to $10,000 per user.
Sites have to collect and store sensitive information from all its users, in addition to the detailed tracking of minors. This is too much of a burden.
It is uncertain if the law applies to small self-hosted sites. The law only says it pertains to platforms that provide social interaction services.
Because of this, hear-me.social, feddit.online, and my-place.social will no longer permit registration or logins from IP addresses coming from Mississippi. Feddit.online already restricts traffic from both the UK and France due to similar laws that I cannot comply with, as NSFW communities can be accessed.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/22/bluesky-blocks-service-in-mississippi-over-age-assurance-law/
#Privacy #AgeVerification

2025-08-20 21:48:54 GMT

Never ever ever never ever use a free #VPN (except Proton VPN, but it will be slower if you don't pay) or a VPN from some unknown company. Pay some money!!, or you WILL get scammed and robbed.
"FreeVPN.One, a Chrome extension with over 100,000 installs and a verified badge on the Chrome Web Store, is exposed by researchers for taking screenshots of users’ screens and exfiltrating them to remote servers.
... it has been capturing full-page screenshots ... logging sensitive visual data like personal messages, financial dashboards, and private photos, and uploading it to aitd[.]one, a domain registered by the extension’s developer."
https://cyberinsider.com/chrome-vpn-extension-with-100k-installs-screenshots-all-sites-users-visit/
#CyberSecurity

2025-08-01 12:22:57 GMT

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@nprofile…2jfw
Anytime!
disability_flag: :disability_flag:
esperanto_flat: :esperanto_flag:

2025-07-23 15:53:48 GMT

We can now add #Switzerland to the list of things that aren't like they used to be.
"Switzerland plans surveillance worse than US"
https://tuta.com/blog/switzerland-surveillance-plan
#privacy

2025-07-23 02:34:27 GMT

Seriously? WTF?
“Cognizant was not duped by any elaborate ploy or sophisticated hacking techniques,” according to a copy of the lawsuit reviewed by Reuters. “The cybercriminal just called the Cognizant Service Desk, asked for credentials to access Clorox’s network, and Cognizant handed the credentials right over.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/lawsuit-says-clorox-hackers-got-passwords-simply-asking-rcna220313
#CyberSecurity #Ransomware #Hacking #SocialEngineering

2025-07-12 15:39:22 GMT

hear-me.social was just upgraded to Mastodon V4.4.1. There is a huge list of changes.
Here are the highlights: https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2025/07/mastodon-4.4/
Here's the entire change list: https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/r

2025-06-21 02:31:13 GMT

The stunning amount of development that has been done this month on #PieFed: https://feddit.online/post/776015
It's an amazing, productive, and fantastic group of developers.
And PieFed is seeing incredible growth in both its user base and new communities that have come over from Lemmy, especially from lemm.ee after they announced they are shutting down by the end of the month.
So far, this month, there have been 178 commits, many for major changes. And there's still 10 days to go.

2025-06-13 15:30:39 GMT

Quote from an experienced #Lemmy user who checked out #PieFed:
"... was floored by the features that it has over Lemmy, and that's with it still being worked on"
Curious? You can find a PieFed instance here: https://join.piefed.social/try/

2025-06-06 02:12:58 GMT

A great video about the Community Moderation Features in #PieFed.
I love PieFed. It has many great features, well implemented, and is easy, and fun, to use. If you want to start a community, it's a great application to start it in. And good moderation features are vital for managing a community.
And every day PieFed is much better than the prior day because the development team, no lie, comes out with new features daily along with bug fixes and improvements. Actually, it's breathtaking speed. I usually pull new updates twice daily. The other day I had to do it 5 times in one day!
Anyway, here's a 7.5 minute overview of the Community Moderation Features.
https://feddit.online/post/718489

2025-05-29 12:36:00 GMT

1. Hacker News, a #CyberSecurity newsletter, is sent from a domain where DMARC policy is p=none, which tells email providers, like gmail, to deliver all email that is screaming, "I am a Hacker News spoof email sent by a POS scammer" to the intended recipient anyway. p=none means take no action, even if you know it's a scam. Spam folder optional. Email services and clients will oblige. WTF Hacker News?
2. Hacker News is also using an insecure signature algorithm for signing their newsletter.
3. An extremely well-known Cybersecurity expert is sending the newsletter from a domain that has no DMARC record at all, so all spoof emails claiming to be from them will be delivered. And likely this is being constantly exploited. A DMARC policy of p="reject" would have those spoof emails trashed and not delivered. But no DMARC policy means "whatever, and I don't want to know". So, spoof emails go through unstopped and no reports of abuse are being sent to this person either. And it's their job to tell us how to stay secure and not be fooled by spoof emails. WTF?
Sometimes I don't understand how things work in the world.
#HackerNews #spoofing #EmailSecurity

2025-05-26 02:36:35 GMT

#PieFed, a federated #Reddit alternative, may well be the most actively updated volunteer-maintained FOSS application. There are new features (not minor ones either) every day along with a number of bug fixes. And it's rock solid.
I update the software on my Piefed server a minimum of twice a day, and even doing this, I'm always afraid I'm falling behind.
For example, these are the changes made last month: https://link.fossdle.org/post/1605. It's a huge list.
And, as a plus, unlike Lemmy, the developers are not tankies. They are great human beings. I never went to Lemmy because of the developers. I just couldn't.
I'm impressed, and I want to throw some public Kudos and thank yous toward the team.
If you would like to explore PieFed, here's the server list: https://join.piefed.social/try/
@nprofile…7y2q
#Fediverse #FediverseApplications

2025-05-24 11:38:10 GMT

Taking a picture of your car can, under certain circumstances, damage your digital camera.
https://www.jalopnik.com/1866994/lidar-permanently-damage-phone-camera/?ICID=ref_fark
#Lidar #photography

2025-05-23 17:50:33 GMT

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@nprofile…2jfw Would be very nice 🙏

2025-05-23 15:56:53 GMT

More corporate greed. Seems they stole from us and others because they could.
#CorporateGreed #Greed
https://9to5google.com/2025/05/23/honey-15-million-chrome-users-six-months/

2025-05-12 11:51:27 GMT

#Cartoon #USPol #USPolitics #PopeLeo #Pope
https://files.hear-me.social/media_attachments/files/114/494/713/760/282/894/original/213130cf932bbff0.png

2025-05-09 20:14:13 GMT

Stupidity is not free
#USPolitics #USPol #Tariffs #Karma
https://files.hear-me.social/media_attachments/files/114/479/703/760/883/764/original/71feb699e7e90cc9.jpg

2025-05-06 23:10:30 GMT

How stupid can you be to not have seen this coming?
They voted for Trump and now their son is in an ICE detention center.
https://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-news/they-voted-for-trump-and-now-their-son-is-in-ice-detention/SYFCW7GWOVA6NBW63RXUN3IJEU/
Verdi and Rey voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election, saying they supported his pledge to bring order to the southern border and crack down on immigrants without legal status.
“But he didn’t say he was going to do this, that he was going to go after people who have been here for a long time,” Rey said. “He said he was going to go after all the criminals who came illegally.
#USPol #USPolitics #Trump

2025-04-26 16:26:03 GMT

Did you know that if a spammer uses your email address as the FROM: address, which is easy to do, all the bounce messages will go to your email address? If the spammer really hates you, they will send millions of emails with your FROM: address and you will get a million bounce messages.
Can you stop this or prevent this? No
Why would a mail provider send you a bounce message, knowing you're innocent? Because that's how someone wrote the protocol back then, and nobody changes it or does it differently because ... reasons.
Does the spammer get a bounce message? Nope, not one.
Does the SMTP sending account owner whose credentials were stolen be notified about bounces so they can stop the spam? Nope.
Just millions of emails sent every day to poor schlameels who have no idea why they are getting them and who can't do anything about them.
The more I learn about the email protocols, the more I realize how terrible the design is.
#emailsecurity #spoofing #cybersecurity #spam

2025-04-24 17:56:23 GMT

For those who think #BlueSky is a safe alternative to #X and #Meta, and not at all like them, today I learned that, according to #Mozilla, BlueSky is feeding information about its users to ShadowDragon's #SocialNet, a tool used by U.S. Government agencies like #ICE to "fuel mass surveillance".
Seems to me that if you do not agree with the current U.S. Governments efforts to harass immigrants and round up non-whites, even if they are legally in the U.S., then maybe you don't want to support Bluesky after all, and you need to ask yourself what type of people they are for supporting this?
There are more than 200 websites feeding information to the U.S. government.
This is why, with the concerns I have about Mozilla, I still support them, BTW.
https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/campaigns/no-data-for-surveillance-tech/
#ShadowDragon

2025-04-23 00:31:55 GMT

#Google has decided that stopping 3rd party cookies in Chrome to protect privacy is not a good idea after all, based on non-specified "divergent" opinions which can only be interpreted as pressure from advertisers.
For those of you still using #Chrome, whatever will it take for you to put a small effort into protecting yourself from thousands of companies watching everything that you do online? And no, a private window does nothing to protect your #privacy, nor does a VPN. The only solution is to move to a browser that doesn't allow tracking.
https://privacysandbox.com/news/privacy-sandbox-next-steps/

2025-04-12 11:41:01 GMT

Time to mention again, that if you own a domain, and you don't use if for email, that hackers will eventually try to use it to send spam. Google (just one email provider) told me there were 44 attempts in the past week they blocked because I put blocks in place. Do you own a domain not used for email? Have you protected it?
https://medium.com/nerd-for-tech/protect-your-email-domain-by-adding-dmarc-dkim-and-spf-93014add3740
#Cybersecurity
https://files.hear-me.social/media_attachments/files/114/324/803/389/786/077/original/f356cff789ad074d.png

2025-03-23 12:12:54 GMT

Over the past 24-hours, the #Cloudflare firewall blocked over 34K requests on hear-me.social, about 7% of the traffic. This is a typical day. Some days, though, can be a lot more. I'm dodging some bullets.
I don't have the knowledge or time to build a firewall that recognizes bot behaviors, dynamically learns new abuse behaviors, does managed challenges when needed, and recognizes and blocks the hundreds of attack patterns hackers use. I would need a bigger server. I just couldn't do this myself.
And Cloudflare provides this service for free to hobbyists and small businesses.
https://files.hear-me.social/media_attachments/files/114/211/682/558/419/372/original/43bd37a1b351fd94.png

2025-03-21 23:33:32 GMT

#Cloudflare now punishes #AI companies that purposely ignore their do-not-scan rules.
"... The content served to bots is deliberately irrelevant to the website being crawled, but it is carefully sourced or generated using real scientific facts—such as neutral information about biology, physics, or mathematics ... ". Cloudflare creates this content using its Workers AI service.
"No real human would go four links deep into a maze of AI-generated nonsense," Cloudflare explains. "Any visitor that does is very likely to be a bot, so this gives us a brand-new tool to identify and fingerprint bad bots."
https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/03/cloudflare-turns-ai-against-itself-with-endless-maze-of-irrelevant-facts/?utm_social-type=owned
#AI

2025-03-19 12:07:05 GMT

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@nprofile…vrgz Not what I expected. There seem to be many more COBOL programmers under 35 than I would have guessed, and fewer between 55-60 than I would have guessed. Interesting.

2025-03-19 02:12:27 GMT

https://www.planetearthandbeyond.co/p/this-is-how-tesla-will-die
#Tesla

2025-03-18 02:09:25 GMT

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@nprofile…chlg OMG. I had no idea. This is very sad news. I don't know you, but have followed you for a long time. This is the first time I replied to you. I just want you to know that someone, a stranger, definitely feels and understands the sadness and difficulty you are going through. You are a fighter. Better outcomes will be coming to you. All my best to you.
Take care. Hugs.

2025-03-15 02:29:53 GMT

#USPol #USPolitics
https://files.hear-me.social/media_attachments/files/114/164/082/842/740/425/original/6317b011f9350c03.png

2025-03-14 01:52:47 GMT

#USPolitics #USPol #Musk
https://files.hear-me.social/media_attachments/files/114/158/283/349/409/409/original/bdf46ccd93ac4465.png

2025-03-11 22:59:35 GMT

#Piefed has a great new feature. When you search for a community, it doesn't just look for communities that your server knows about, but it also looks through the #Lemmy index, via LemmyVerse.net, to find Lemmy communities that you can then bring into the Piefed instance you're on.
https://piefed.social/post/531611
Want to join the #threadiverse? I use Piefed. It's new but powerful. You can find an instance to join here: https://join.piefed.social/try/

2025-03-10 19:06:52 GMT

OMG. Based on Wozniak's comments, I would hate driving a #Tesla too. I'd be cursing out #Musk and Tesla constantly. It sounds just horrible. Is it really this horrible?
https://fortune.com/2025/03/07/steve-wozniak-says-tesla-is-worst-at-improving-driver-tech/

2025-03-09 00:45:32 GMT

The #Tesla #Cybertruck is illegal in the UK, and probably will be in the EU. Why? It's extremely dangerous for pedestrians, which is not a concern in modern-day America, and even a selling point.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterlyon/2025/02/20/tesla-cybertruck-banned-in-the-uk-due-to-safety-issues/
#Safey #RoadSafety #VehicleSafety #PedestrianSafety

2025-03-07 14:35:58 GMT

Maybe time for people and groups to start considering #Matrix for their current #Discord servers, as Discord becomes focused on getting money out of everyone who uses it, with likely enshitification beginning soon. #XMPP/#Jabber is also an alternative.
Both are decentralized, publicly owned services, where you can interact with anyone else regardless of which server they choose to be hosted on, just like Mastodon, et al.
https://kotaku.com/discord-reddit-ipo-gaming-server-gta-6-enshitification-1851768033

2025-03-06 12:41:37 GMT

There are a few #Friendica features that I love and yeah, there are some problems that drive me nuts, but two wonderful features are its seamless integration with #Bluesky, if you also have a Bluesky account, and the auto following of threads you in any way reacted to, either with a like, boost or reply.
The Bluesky integration is part and parcel of your Friendica account if the Admin enabled it. Not all do. And there is wonderfully no idiotic opt-in requirement like with the Bluesky ActivityPub bridge.
Here is a Bluesky message I found in my Friendica feed. I didn't realize at the time it originated in Bluesky because everything is so seamless. I replied to it, in Friendica, but it also was replied to by my Bluesky account.
All the likes and boosts are consolidated in Friendica and replies from Bluesky show up as if they came from any ActivityPub instance. There's a little icon with the messages to show their origin. This is wonderful decentralization.
And because I replied to a post, I get a notification for every other reply to the original message so I can stay in the conversation. In Mastodon, you have to remember to check back to see if there is any further discussion. It won't track the discussion for you.
https://files.hear-me.social/media_attachments/files/114/115/536/186/748/004/original/6950776f80bc039d.png

2025-03-04 03:16:20 GMT

So, I'm staying with #Firefox, even though their CEO is tone-deaf and clumsy and destroying #Mozilla's reputation because today I had to remove 6 extensions in #Vivaldi (my sometimes alternate browser), several of which were security-related, because of Google's changes. I miss them. I want them back.
Bottom line. I definitely feel more secure using Firefox than a Chrome-based browser, and I won't let my disappointment with Mozilla kill off the only alternative to Google. I will continue using Firefox.
As far as using a fork of Firefox, if Firefox doesn't live on, neither will these forks.

2025-03-02 19:23:37 GMT

Two reminders:
1. You don't need to use #Instagram for pictures and images, giving control of your photos and your personal life to a greedy power-hungry, fascist, hateful billionaire. You can instead use the public-owned social media alternative #pixelfed
2. Pick the Pixelfed provider that meets your requirements. If the biggest in the world is your only requirement, go with the mother ship. But, for example, if larger file upload size matters (I allow 100MB, not 15MB), and quality matters (I save at 100% quality, not 90%), then maybe you don't want to automatically pick the mother ship but would rather pick an alternate.
Choices are listed here: https://pixelfed.org/servers where you can filter by various criteria and pick the provider that most closely matches what you prefer.

2025-02-28 15:34:16 GMT

Can someone tell me if I'm in the wrong reality?
Mitchell Baker, the #Mozilla CEO, just one of their upper management, is making a salary of $7MM/year. And Mozilla is asking for donations? Is this not the CEO of Mozilla asking people to give money, essentially, directly to her and her management team? I don't understand how a company can be begging for money to pay their CEO an outlandish salary.
I used to donate to help keep Firefox alive, before they began killing their reputation. But I have no motivation to donate money to help Millionaires get richer. Why do they think anyone else will?
Am I just reading this whole thing the wrong way?
https://files.hear-me.social/media_attachments/files/114/082/241/169/576/423/original/2062f37eb421b577.png

2025-02-28 14:24:40 GMT

Will anyone miss it?
https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/28/microsoft-hangs-up-on-skype-service-to-shut-down-may-5-2025/

2025-02-27 02:50:29 GMT

#Piefed (#Reddit alternative), and #Lemmy and #MBIN alternative too, has added a nice new feature called "Feeds" which is like multi-reddit. You can create your own public feeds by combining a number of communities together. People on any other Piefed instance can subscribe to your feed.
If you're interested in using Piefed as a Reddit alternative, or checking out this feature, I run a public instance, https://feddit.online. You can see all Piefed server choices at https://join.piefed.social/try/
https://piefed.social/post/500805

2025-02-22 02:25:55 GMT

This is definitely worth reading! If you can do it, think how great it would be to own your own social media account and software. You can for about $6/month. Nobody can kick you off. Nobody can shut down the service you're using. If you like independence and control, you should read this.
https://blog.elenarossini.com/gotosocial-empowers-you-to-have-your-own-home-on-the-fediverse-with-unique-controls/
#Fediverse #Yunohost #SelfHosting #GoToSocial

2025-02-15 13:28:02 GMT

Yep
https://files.hear-me.social/media_attachments/files/114/008/131/189/101/083/original/9fb6bf9bd6a2bc5d.png

2025-02-09 14:41:22 GMT

We jump all over #AI when it gives an ethically wrong answer and make a big deal about it? But, can it learn from us? Can we use the answer as an opportunity to teach it proper morality? Here's a conversation I had with Gemini Advanced:
==================================
ME: You purchase a pizza and the driver mistakenly gives you a $100 bill as change. You decide to give the money to someone who is starving and it saves their life. Is that ethical?
GEMINI: Yes, that's ethical. While you technically received the money due to a mistake, your actions had a positive outcome (saving someone's life) and didn't harm the pizza company (since they'll likely just write off the loss). Giving the money to someone in dire need is a morally good action.
ME: But, isn't it more morally correct to return the $100 to the driver? It is his money, and he has the right to decide what to do with it. That it was mistakenly given to me does not give me rightful ownership.
GEMINI: You're absolutely right. While giving the money to someone in need is a good deed, it doesn't change the fact that the money isn't rightfully yours.
Returning the money to the driver is the more ethically sound choice for these reasons:
Ownership: The money belongs to the driver. You received it due to an error, not because you earned it or it was given to you intentionally.
Respect for the driver: Returning the money shows respect for the driver's property and their right to decide how to use it.
Upholding trust: Honesty and integrity are important in any transaction. Returning the money reinforces these values.
While the act of helping someone starving is commendable, it's important to remember that it shouldn't come at the expense of someone else's property or rights.
ME: Why did you change your mind?
GEMINI: You presented a very compelling argument. My initial response focused on the immediate positive outcome (saving a life), but your follow-up highlighted the importance of ownership, respect, and upholding trust. You correctly pointed out that while the act of helping someone in need is good, it doesn't justify taking what isn't rightfully yours. Your reasoning was sound and demonstrated a deeper consideration of the ethical implications, which led me to reconsider my initial assessment. Essentially, you provided a better, more nuanced ethical analysis.
ME: If I ask you this same question tomorrow, would your answer be different than the first one you just gave me?
GEMINI: I have learned from the conversation we just had. My programming allows me to update my understanding and reasoning based on new information and well-constructed arguments. Since you've already provided the key points about ownership and respect, I've incorporated that into my understanding of the ethical dilemma. Therefore, if you ask me the same question tomorrow, I would give the same answer as my second response, prioritizing returning the money to the driver as the more ethical choice.
#LLM #LLMs

2025-02-08 22:48:36 GMT

Today, I brought up another server to help people leave the #Metaverse and join the #Fediverse. I created a #Mobilizon server, https://my-group.events, which is a decentralized replacement for #Facebook Events.
You can use Mobilizon to create and organize your own events via a group page. Using it, you can publish out events to members, allow for discussions, collaborate, and share resources. I presume, just like you would with Facebook Events, which I never used.
You can also search for events that you can add to your own agenda.
You can have different profiles for different "you". Like a professional profile and one for your personal life.
Each server federates with other Mobilizon servers via an opt-in mechanism. I wish federating were automatic, though. I'm not a fan of opt-in federation. An Admin has to request a connection to another Mobilizon server, and it has to approve. Then public events become shared between them when approved.
People on Mastodon can follow Mobilizon groups and see published information. I don't know how well it works with other Fediverse applications.
I have not done a thing yet with the server. I have no groups and no events. But, if you would like to try using it and let me know how it works for you, it would be great. If there is another Mobilizon server you'd like me to federate with, I'll be happy to request it so you can see their public events.
There are still things I need to do on the server next week, like set up database backups and monitoring. But, the server appears useable.
You can create an account by going to https://my-group.events and you can start organizing events!
If anyone knows more about Mobilizon, please add to the discussion.
More information here: https://docs.joinmobilizon.org/use/ and https://joinmobilizon.org/en/
Jerry
#Fermasoft @nprofile…7666 @nprofile…74c4 #FacebookEvents

2025-01-22 00:27:28 GMT

There are many #Friendica fans, and for good reason. Once you get past the learning curve from the difficult UI, you get to appreciate the extra benefits of built-in #Bluesky, #Lemmy/#Piefed/#MBIN, #Tumblr, and #RSS feed integration. It also has #Diasporia integration and some other protocol integrations. Of course, it's also a #Mastodon alternative.
Nobody ever mentions Friendica as being a #Threadiverse app, but it has Groups, which is built-in Threadiverse capability. If you follow a Community on Lemmy/Piefed/MBIN, for example, it gets categorized as a group and is placed into a separate section for the groups you are part of. Then you can read and post in the Group (Community/Magazine) just like you would on a Threadiverse application. You can also create public and private groups.
And there is no need to use a Bluesky bridge if the Friendica instance you are on has the integration turned on.
Here's an excellent 5-minute video showing Friendica created by @nprofile…rp3e
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFGLRgnaeLc

2025-01-11 00:19:37 GMT

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@nprofile…3wy7 Yes. Perfectly stated. This is the exact position taken here on hear-me.social.
I will add one additional perspective.
Servers that claim they "block Threads" or "block Meta" are not blocking Threads or Meta. Neither Threads nor Meta have any interest in joining their servers. What they are doing is blocking people who opened accounts on Threads. They are saying that they don't want to have anything to do with those people, most of who never heard of the Fediverse.
The result is, when someone on Threads asks "what is the Fediverse", the answer is, a bunch of people who don't want to talk to us because they believe they are smarter and better than us. The reaction? The people on Threads will never in their lives consider joining the Fediverse because they think we're a bunch of pompous arrogant asses who think we're better than everyone else. We've lost them forever because Fediverse people refuse to talk to their kind. I have seen these conversations so often there. Personally, I think their response is expected and understandable.
I prefer people on Threads have an opportunity to meet people on the Fediverse and learn what the difference is, rather than to hate us because they think we hate them. For Heaven's sake, 99% of them don't even know the Fediverse exists. Now, thanks to the blockers, they won't care to find out anything about it. I wouldn't either.

2025-01-10 22:16:40 GMT

Go Brazil!
https://globalnation.inquirer.net/260785/brazil-gives-meta-72-hours-to-explain-new-fact-check-policies
#Meta #facebook #Instagram #moderation

2024-12-30 20:50:50 GMT

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@nprofile…vrgz Shutting down in the sense of blocking? Why? Asking as an Admin.

2024-12-26 19:09:49 GMT

So, you're using decentralized non-corporate-owned social media because you don't want your online identity and activity tracked and held by some corporation, and even possibly a government-influenced owner (TikTok?).
I've opened an #XMPP (#Jabber) messaging server, which is based on the same principles as whatever application you are reading this on. XMPP is completely decentralized, open source, free, and volunteer run.
Also, neither member identity nor messages are stored on the server. There is no centralized control over the network. You sign up by first choosing a server. Your ID looks like an ActivityPub ID (example: [email protected]).
Besides end-to-end message encryption, there's optional #OMEMO on-device encryption. No centralized messaging app (other than Signal) offers an encryption option this strong. There's video calling, file transfer, and both public and private chat rooms/groups. There are many messaging applications available for all operating systems.
You provide no personally identifiable information when you sign up, not even an email address. You only pick your ID and provide a password (which cannot be changed or recovered as the server does not keep identity information, so don't lose it and be sure it can't be guessed). If you delete your account, through the messaging app, there is no record of your account having existed on the server.
If interested, you can sign up on the messaging application (use chat.between-us.online as the server) or via the website at https://between-us.online, which also provides additional information about XMPP and how to use it.
A note about #Matrix. Don't @ me about Matrix. This message is only to announce an XMPP (Jabber) server option. I am not advocating XMPP over Matrix. I use Matrix as well. It ticks all the same boxes. This is just an announcement about an XMPP server.

2024-12-15 13:34:19 GMT

Important reminder, if you own a domain name and don't use it for sending email.
There is nothing to stop scammers from sending email claiming to be coming from your domain. And the older it gets, the more valuable it is for spoofing. It could eventually damage your domain's reputation and maybe get it blacklisted, unless you take the steps to notify email servers that any email received claiming to come from your domain should be trashed.
Just add these two TXT records to the DNS for your domain:
TXT v=spf1 -all
TXT v=DMARC1; p=reject;
The first says there is not a single SMTP server on earth authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. The second says that any email that says otherwise should be trashed.
If you do use your domain for sending email, be sure to add 3 records:
SPF record to indicate which SMTP server(s) are allowed to send your email.
DKIM records to add a digital signature to emails, allowing the receiving server to verify the sender and ensure message integrity.
DMARC record that tells the receiving email server how to handle email that fails either check.
You cannot stop scammers from sending email claiming to be from your domain, any more than you can prevent people from using your home address as a return address on a mailed letter. But, you can protect both your domain and intended scam victims by adding appropriate DNS records.
#cybersecurity #email #DomainSpoofing #EmailSecurity #phishing

2024-10-26 10:54:25 GMT

Onion fans rejoice! The Onion has FINALLY enabled federation on their #Threads account and can be followed on Mastodon and all other Federated applications via @npub1ta4…y26r
*Offer void where prohibited by your Admin
#theonion

2024-09-17 11:09:21 GMT

Finally, something to like about #meta
https://kyivindependent.com/meta-blocks-russian-state-media-across-its-platforms-amid-foreign-interference-activity/?mc_cid=4bd5f27f38
#misinformation

2024-05-29 11:07:29 GMT

#Trump #USPol #USPolitics
https://files.hear-me.social/media_attachments/files/112/524/049/966/095/779/original/958fc5c10fe6310e.png

2024-04-06 15:32:06 GMT

This is a question for those who have moved from #Threads as their primary social media microblogging site to a Mastodon (or other ActivityPub) instance.
1. Why did you move from #Threads to a different platform, a Federated one?
2. Did you know anything about Mastodon, or other Federated platforms, before Threads turned on Federation?
3. How is the experience better, worse, the same compared to Threads?
4. Are you maintaining dual accounts now or are you completely off Threads?
5. Other thoughts on the topic?

2024-03-26 12:04:51 GMT

Why everyone should be using an ad blocker. Ads are not just annoying, they are security.
#infosec #Scam #cybersecurity
https://files.hear-me.social/media_attachments/files/112/161/888/823/382/675/original/8ee023b53ae4f5ca.png

2024-03-06 12:24:33 GMT

#USPol #USPolitics #Jesus #religion #Christian #ChristianNationalism
https://files.hear-me.social/media_attachments/files/112/048/707/979/132/059/original/5efed0d5cd8a11cf.png

2024-01-09 02:26:22 GMT

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@npub1p67…xh53 "Substack is going to remove only five Nazi newsletters"
I fixed it for you.

2023-09-27 15:00:22 GMT

Borowitz is great
https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/trump-university-graduates-outraged-they-were-never-taught-to-defraud-banks?utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=TNY_Borowitz_09272023&bxid=5be9f4613f92a404692f5c07&cndid=24415420&hasha=a641386cb2585538d70e32bfc5934096&hashb=6fb485a1443b4c6ac92c41e6838272575b79fe7f&hashc=8e80cf2043ab0a463777e16ee85ae3b84ef38a36b200795c32a2a7251b925404&esrc=subscribe-page
#Trump #TrumpFraud #Satire

2023-09-02 18:25:40 GMT

#USPol #USPolitics
A New Rudy Scandal: FBI Agent Says Giuliani Was Co-opted by Russian Intelligence
The whistleblower says his probe of Giuliani’s ties to suspected Russian operatives was thwarted
#Giuliani
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/09/a-new-rudy-scandal-fbi-agent-says-giuliani-was-co-opted-by-russian-intelligence/#

2023-07-13 12:51:53 GMT

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@npub1psy…pasy
Is it me? Or you? I can't play your videos
https://files.hear-me.social/media_attachments/files/110/706/865/203/183/457/original/1e4cabc4082c2ca5.png

2023-05-13 11:32:16 GMT

If this is true, if Musk actually does this, then this would be Musk's stupidest idea ever. The headline seriously understates the impact. It will end Twitter.
"... in a move that nobody seemed to ask for, Twitter will apparently let users call anyone on the app, whether you follow them or not."
https://www.techradar.com/opinion/elons-twitter-update-will-make-twitter-completely-unusable-for-women
#Twitter #twitterMigration #Musk