I am one of the admins of Beehaw and I’m trying to get some feedback on our potential move.
Let’s start out with a little Beehaw history before judgements are passed, please.
A handful of us were beta testing Tildes when we decided to have discussions on a Discord server.
We decided that our ‘Northern Star’ or guiding principle would culminate as ‘Be Nice’ with purposefully vague/flexible interpretations. Our overall goal is to provide a safe space to disenfranchised persons.
We talked for a little over a year and some of our members became impatient. Then someone stepped in to suggest a couple of platforms that we could consider getting started with.
One of those platforms was Lemmy. None of us knew, at that time, anything about ActivityPub.
During the Reddit exodus (surrounding the API outcry and blackout), our instance exploded. We were, initially, crippled by the mass amounts of users seeking refuge.
Thankfully, someone stepped in and volunteered hundreds of hours of work to stabilize our instance and refine it further.
After many hours of talks, it became clear to us that our overall goal could be achieved outside of Lemmy/ActivityPub.
Right now, we feel that Lemmy and ActivityPub have downsides that are limiting us from achieving that goal.
I’m on kbin, but have enjoyed the discussions I’ve had or read on beehaw. I’ve mostly lurked.
You’re clearly trying to get social media right, and I respect that. Obviously it would be a loss for the fediverse if you left, however you are volunteers, it is your community. You owe the fediverse nothing. You should put the safety of your own users first.
If you do leave the fediverse for good, please let us know. I would consider joining beehaw or another forum/community to join/follow some of the discussions I’ve seen on beehaw. Especially discussions on sensitive topics that are harder to have in other parts of the fediverse.
The one thing I will say, is that leaving the fediverse will make you less known/accessible to people who need a safe online community. Of course, I suspect it’ll also keep out some of the people who cause more moderation and safety concerns. So it’s quite a dilemna.
I just want to echo this. Highlight it. Paint it on the wall in giant block letters in red paint. Light it up in neon.
The only way for Beehaw to provide a safe space is to exist in a place that needs a safe space.
*edit:
Interesting attempt at astroturfing here from a hexbear user:
Weak and transparent, but interesting.
Does the hexbear community have beef with Beehaw, or just this one person?
That has a nice ring to it, but honestly it doesn’t make any sense. You make it sound like if beehaw
leaves the fediverse nobody can browse them wherever they go or somehow the fediverse is barred from them. It is not an either/or situation.
HN exists and many here bounce between fediverse and HN without issue.
By that logic the Internet shouldn’t have safe spaces, and i agree with that statement thanks. If you can’t handle something, go somewhere else. I don’t like nazi posting so I’m not on…parlor? Is that a thing or am i thinking of something else?
Beehaw making itself invisible to those who need a safe space is good news for people who need a safe space. Fewer people lying to them that way
This is my biggest fear of beehaw moving - I want a safe place to be, while looking out into a wider sea of content (albeit through the filter of Beehaw’s defederation, which I really appreciate). When the trolls and the assholes get too much, I like to be able to retreat back to just
Localfeed setting and be safe again. If beehaw was to be a separate platform, I’d lose that.Beehaw is a shining beacon in an ocean of content, good and bad. I’d love that beacon to remain, so more people can find safety here if they need it.