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carl marks (@tillshadeisgone@blackqueer.life)
blackqueer.lifeHello 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!
@blackmastodon@a.gup.pe @BlackMastodon@chirp.social
#BlackMastodon #BlackFedi #BlackFediverse #BlackQueer #BIPOC #QTPOC #LGBTQ
What; if anything; are you doing to prevent the instance from becoming an echo chamber? I’ve noticed a lot of black first instances tend to fall victim to the same traps of racism and hatred that instances that center on other races do.
Like the linked post discusses, Black queer people are the recipients of a lot of harm. They’re perfectly entitled to a space where they won’t be harassed, doesn’t matter if that space is an echo chamber or not. The moderation and community of that instance can decide for themselves how they want to be structured — it’s not really anyone else’s decision but theirs. If we, as remote users, don’t like how they do things, no one’s forcing us to use their site, federate with them, etc.
What exactly do you mean by the phrase “same traps of racism and hatred”? I’ve seen few if any instances centering on other races, so I can’t really establish that there’s any pattern there.
…Exactly nobody said or even implied that they were not entitled. Please do not inject or infer unwritten meanings into my questions.
This question is asking if instances of racism will be moderated evenly; with no tolerance of racism towards any race
The answers to these questions will probably determine whether or not I will source the instance as a valuable source of respectful perspective of persons of color. I know I can trust this Beehaw community to be moderated that well; but I wanted to know what the further intentions of the instance admins are.
If they seek to be too permissive when compared to this community on Beehaw; I’ll avoid it.
I hope that clarifies the question appropriately. I do not expect such an instance to cater to other racial interests; I just want to understand what their Code Of Conduct is intended to be like without trying to guess at it based on what is written and posted.
Hi @Melody - I think it might help to clarify that some of the questions that you are asking (what about their racism) are going to potentially be seen as racist dog-whistles. To be clear: I’m not accusing you of this, but the optics of coming into a minority-focused community on a post talking about a safe space for black and queer and asking questions like that are poor at best.
I think the best approach in a situation like this, if you have doubts about how a community will be operated, is to lurk quietly and find out. If the community/instance vibes with you, then great! If not, then it’s probably best to make a quiet exit rather than quizzing it’s creator in a way that can be seen (intentionally or not) as problematic.
Again, I hope that you don’t take anything I’m saying as accusatory. I just want to point out that the way you’re going about it here is going to put folks on their guard, and that it might just be best to disengage and observe quietly.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me via DM to discuss more.
This is a form of channel switching. The post is about black queer folks and providing them a space. “What are they doing about other forms of racism?” is a distraction technique. It’s akin to shouting “all lives matter” when someone says “black lives matter”.
This comes after you start your discussion by questioning their intent and usefulness, surely you can see how someone black or queer might be left thinking you’re entering their space to attack them?