Issues: privacy

[recently_folded]

This came up as an important issue in greywash's master thread and its comments.

What needs to be kept private and how should it be done? How can fans get durable, reliable separation from meatspace? Are we worried about IP recording? Does fandom participation require a VPN for safety? How can we prevent doxxing as much as possible. What privacy protections should we expect from a new home?

Comments

[prettyarbitrary]

Back when it was alive, Imzy tried an architecture I found pretty revolutionary, even though they didn't pull it off in a way that quite worked: the idea of having a core identity that you create as your account base, but providing the ability to keep it private and isolated from your various online personas.

With a single core identity, this means you can utilize stronger identity authentication when the account is set up, which could make it harder for pornbots, previously banned users, etc. to set up on the platform. It also means the system knows who you are...but you can still keep your identity private from other users, and you can establish multiple personas that aren't connected from the outside.

In a rough sense: like Tumblr's main blog/sideblog system, except when you act as your sideblog persona, it's complete and doesn't visibly connect you back to your core identity. In fact, there wouldn't even be a 'main' blog/'side' blog hierarchy.

This WOULD make IP logging a potential issue, at least if it's accessible by users, because it'd give people a way to connect those identities.

[recently_folded]

I just want to drop in a crosslink to the discussion of the Maciej Ceglowski inquiry and the document of fandom needs that this has generated (that is not related to our efforts here, but covers some of the same ground). This identity structure is one that comes up for discussion in that doc, so that link gives us some ideas and feedback that maybe should be drawn into this.

I also know that Pillowfort has said that they are thinking some of these things over in terms of future development. Right now it's a single identity, but the thinking is that expansion identities would be one of the paid add-ons. I don't know where they might go in developing this, but it's something to watch if they do implement it.

[alchemia]

Imzy was promising- I dont know why they folded without giving it a fair chance.

[prettyarbitrary]

They ran out of money, and were unwilling to string out their developers with promises of pay that might not turn up. Same with Writscrib, which also had promise (and a novel and intriguing funding scheme, if they'd gotten to the point where they could enact it).