@seachanger@alaskan.social
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

seachanger

@seachanger@alaskan.social

obligate organizer, systems thinker, radical optimist, public good believer, artsy generalist

living in Lingít Aani, my ancestors were quebecois & ukrainian jews

posting ideas at #SocialTech; always boosting #alaska;

⚠️: I’m often wrong

Avi is wild hair blowing in wind, cover is a watercolor I made of a volcano

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

kissane, (edited ) to random
@kissane@mstdn.social avatar

But what is the actual PROBLEM with Mastodon?? Said one hundred dozen people over several months of threads here. So I wrote it up.

It's too long, but we got bad doors, stilt-walking French shepherds, water bugs, a bunch of @/shengokai@zirk.us quotations, What The Fuck Is Up With Bluesky, and more.

https://erinkissane.com/the-affordance-loop

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

@kissane me and the girls shitposting on mastodon...

for real, fun piece. always soothing to see the drama summarized in context

art by Edna Cooke Shoemaker whose absence from wikipedia prompted me to write my only submission there ever

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

It's Friday Night and It's Question Time:

This should be interesting!
Let's talk kids, this is gonna be a combo.

If you have kids, how does it feel? Did you have them on purpose? Would you do it again?

If you don't, do you want them? If you chose not to why, and do you ever regret it?

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

@Loukas @RickiTarr one of my many ideas for projects is a book about aunties as a systems solution to the problem of nuclear families, including info about how different societies have viewed aunts/uncles over the ages.

I think elevating and celebrating aunties and honorary aunties can:

  • help people feel less anxiety about not having kids themselves,
  • relieve stress of over burdened parents,
  • help kids have more support
  • chip away at the hegemony of the nuclear family…
seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

@Loukas @RickiTarr and it hurts to see people who weren’t able to have kids feel chronically depressed or insufficient — this is why I like the frame of elevating aunties as a celebrated role. People should be able to find pride and meaning in non-nuclear family roles that are on par with our society’s veneration of child-bearers.

seachanger, to random
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

ok I was just doing errands on my bike and ended up behind this truck with a stuffed mastodon mounted on top. obviously I chased the driver down to ask for a pic. turns out she’d just found it on the side of the road and liked the way it looked strapped to her truck

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

also the driver (accurately) thought i was a lunatic

seachanger, to random
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

I think mastodon and the fediverse could benefit from a more universal system of clearly classifying server communities by moderation activity and fediblock level. it’s ok for servers to have different priorities, but part of helping people pick the right one has to be helping people easily understand their differences at sign up. I know others have called for this, just add my name to the petition

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

it’s ok for many of us to use a safety tier that has trade offs, as long as we consent to these trade offs at sign up. For example, I’m comfortable federating with mainstream media who are often problematic (NYT or BBC for example) and believe the benefits out weigh the costs. For me, the relative loss in safety is worth the trade off of being able to have a direct relationship with the news source. That kind of trade off should be named and listed in my server’s safety rating

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

Casual users might not know that each server “fediblocks” some other servers for safety. many of us use shared lists of bad servers to block that we manually upload.

What I’ve seen suggested (and what I believe mastodon is working on) is making these fediblock lists part of our moderation interface so we all use the same system.

Which tier we use plus how well we enforce our own rules could earn us a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ safety rating that could also be at least partially generated by user reviews

seachanger, to random
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

for the fediverse to live up to its potential, you do have to report accts that violate rules. when you hit block you have the option of sending a report to the user’s admins, which is what it takes to remove abusive accts.

if someone is invoking systems of oppression in their posts or replies, it’s not just words, it’s harm that causes real stress, anxiety, ptsd etc, all of which are physically unhealthy and/or change a person’s ability to express themselves or seek and find community here

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

PS on these topics all credit goes to Black people who keep holding the mirror up so we can see who we really are here. Not listing (for safety) but if you’re paying attention, you’ll find who to follow and boost. I will credit Mekka Okereke for making the point that it’s not enough to say oh too bad, fedi doesn’t work for BIPOC at scale. Millions of Black and Indigenous and other people need good off ramps from twitter and the fediverse needs to fulfill its promise and become one of them

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

I think what some of the Olde Mastodone types don’t get is that it’s not the fediverse on its face that challenges capitalist social media, it’s our ability to create and sustain communities here. Community, not software, is the opposite of capitalism.

if the platform (and people) allow abuse and harassment to flourish without visibility, we don’t have functional community, we’ve just once again failed to make intentional online spaces any better than our societies irl

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

sometimes reporting a shit account is not enough and we have to get fierce and organize. this is not as fun as posting flowers and many of us may want to avoid centering abuse in our otherwise fun time online. but the Black Lives Matter etc in our profile doesn’t mean much if we aren’t willing to make even basic sacrifices to ensure our communities here are healthy, relaxing, and nourishing for marginalized people

seachanger, to random
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

as someone who’s been DJing an alt-country & folk radio show for 8 yrs I’ll say this about

there’s always gonna be racists using pop country for their fucked up anthems. The measure of our progress as a society is how many white male country and alt-country stars will spend a little capital on condemning Aldean & educating fans about how small town is racist af

Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Brent Cobb and all y’all, this is your moment to speak out or show your racism

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

I also want to arm you with history so you have something good to say when your racist uncle starts whining about Aldean getting canceled

The Dixie Chicks are the only modern country stars to get truly truly canceled and that was because they were right about the Iraq War out loud, the details are in this pod and will SHOCK you

https://pca.st/episode/d96ec1bb-58a6-40c2-8bfe-22971b843fa8

seachanger, to random
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

I don’t mind the discourse on mastodon/fedi because we’re going somewhere with all these conversations and disagreements and questions and complaints. we’re going toward the kind of self-organized, values-based society each of us wants to be part of. the messiness is the vision in negotiation. I think it’s all pretty cool & useful

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

also here’s how the sun looked as it set on my street last night. seems like we got a little more smoke in from Canada

seachanger, to random
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

social media mansplainers often
-enshrine the holy concept of logic as if they alone understand it
-invoke “you should be embarrassed” to shame and silence people
-imply that people are but wayward children who need the guidance of a firm man(splainer)

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

We often shake our heads or mute or block them, but avoid blasting on main because either they’ve gaslit us into second guessing ourselves or because we know that the default is that men’s feelings must always be protected in public and that there may be repercussions for violating that norm. but let’s slice through that here. lets shame them on main

seachanger, to random
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

btw many people object to the recent popularity of the word “tribalism” to describe hyper modern culture war polarization & ideological differences.

yes tribe can mean many things, but if we’re committed to decolonization maybe we listen more to Tribal people whose identity is also rooted in that word and who keep pointing out the reasons to use alternate language

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

I also just don’t use the word “savages” to describe unruly people, even (and especially) as a joke. Think about how this word has been used in our relatively recent history! we have other words!

seachanger, to random
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

I’m thinking again of this interview, and how the author notes how many “lord of the flies” type dystopias end up in school curriculums, even though some of the same authors also wrote utopias. She says dystopian fiction functions to reinforce the idea that our current order is inescapable and therefore correct: anyone who veers off and tries to reinvent will fail so get in line, work your jobs, embrace the relative comfort of capitalism etc

https://pca.st/episode/858a4170-6300-4824-af04-f85b92544fc9

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

I’m thinking of dys/utopian outlooks in regard to the fediverse. My biggest worry here is not that there are harmful actors in the blocked nether regions, but that they will be successfully leveraged against the entire project in the same way that capital has always gone after its challengers.

We do need to fix/improve/replace platforms here but we shouldn’t confuse that with the dangerous assumption that human-powered social media is impossible and shouldn’t be attempted

seachanger, to random
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

I do think it’s worth imagining an alt TL in which influencers of conscience deployed their privilege immediately after the Musk takeover to build and move to a new branch of the fediverse. Could have been a set of new mastodon servers or a new app using activitypub, they had the skills and money to organize either or both.

we’ve lived all the reasons this didn’t happen, but for a moment imagine it did.

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

but imagining a TL where people responded to fascism on twitter by rapidly organizing and building alternative structures for their communities is important. For one it helps us think through the game plan for the fediverse, and for two it helps us think about how to address fascism irl

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

influencers stubbornly believed a fully formed solution had to exist before we could leave twitter, but they also believed they had no responsibility to help with that project and shamed those who advocated for it.

Groupthink among the twitterati relied heavily on the assumption that “someone else” would just build it for us if it were truly needed. Despite being anti-capitalists in the tweets, that group has been neoliberal in tthe sheets: the market will deliver! Well it did not

seachanger, to Alaska
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

“A new study says Alaska’s predator control programs — aimed at boosting moose, caribou and deer populations for hunters — do not work.

The state Division of Wildlife Conservation disputes that.

But the study’s lead author, Sterling Miller, spent two decades at the Division of Wildlife Conservation and says the state’s predator control programs are driven by politics, not science.”

for public media

https://alaskapublic.org/2023/07/20/alaska-predator-control-doesnt-result-in-more-moose-harvests-according-to-a-study-of-one-game-unit/

seachanger, (edited )
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

Recall that State of wildlife staff shot and killed 94 brown bears from helicopters earlier this year.

https://www.adn.com/opinions/2023/06/15/opinion-alaskas-recent-brown-bear-massacre-is-an-historic-disgrace/

seachanger, to random
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

when someone lets you know you’re unwittingly participating in systems of oppression consider it a gift! it was named and can be learned from!

in that moment we feel many things: confusion, shame, discomfort, embarrassment. but I’m convinced we can change culture by making the choice to feel and process those emotions in our bodies.

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

social media is tough because we add an audience to our learning which triggers the fight or flight chemicals in our bodies and makes us feel reactive and edgy.

still, our work is to process all those feelings and notice our own internal dialogue without getting immediately defensive or going on the attack. not easy for a lot of us, it takes practice!

I’ve been there and will be there again I’m sure.

seachanger, to random
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

I’ve been stewing about this and I think it’s actually the fuel we need to push for tree ordinances & tree commissions in conservative communities. if you live in a trump town (I do) this is 🔥 for public testimony. Dems should take this at face value and run with it honestly

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna94836

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

like the republicans are correct, we need as many trees as possible to be storing and sequestering carbon in the coming decades. there is no reason we can’t join that push while also fighting fossil fuels. There is no better carbon storage tech than TREES and to leverage them at scale we do also need to keep them standing in communities that do not currently regulate tree removal on private property.

charliejane, to random
@charliejane@wandering.shop avatar

I wrote a newsletter about why I'm deleting my Twitter account once and for all:

https://buttondown.email/charliejane/archive/if-you-see-me-on-twitter-its-not-me/

I'm sadder than I thought I would be. But I explain why it's no great loss, in the end.

seachanger,
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

@charliejane lots of good points here but this is one I’ve really thought about since ditching twitter for mastodon in particular. having had a year here to develop two-way relationships, I really appreciate that this is a forum where relationships, not just follower numbers, are what boost your posts. the human algo difference!

seachanger, to random
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

deleted_by_author

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    seachanger,
    @seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

    what I couldn’t help but draw from the pod is how white supremacy and patriarchy are systems that individuals use for the purposes of power and control, yes, but also that these systems live—warped and distorted—deep inside our emotional selves where they can inflict oh so much damage on the people around us (and in Thomas’s case, an entire nation)

    seachanger, to random
    @seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

    deleted_by_author

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    seachanger,
    @seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

    maybe some of the concepts Stalenhag painted could now be replicated via AI with the way it can mash up themes instantaneously. but I like living in a world where humans are the mashers! something about taking the art through the human body. something about the time it takes a mammal to process iconography and produce new relationships seems… important. consumer capitalism tells us there is never enough time, but each human life is such a series of infinite moments! we have time to paint art!

    seachanger, to random
    @seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

    deleted_by_author

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    seachanger,
    @seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

    the opposite of capitalism is community and community needs good vibes to survive and thrive, just sayin 💃🏻

    seachanger,
    @seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

    we spend a lot of time critiquing the fediverse because we have problems to fix but let’s remember this project is driven by our love for community & connections to one another ❤️

    seachanger, to random
    @seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

    Ok just heard @genex interviewed on NPR about getting his X handle snatched by Elon while he was at a pinball tournament😂 Thanks for the mastodon shout out Gene! maybe you can get NPR on here?

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