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ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 18, 2026, 4:06 PM
@bazkie
The only change mentioned in this blog post related to self-promotion is that they are going to make the Mastodon logo *less* prominent, and begin showing the instance name/logo prominently.
That said, I am concerned about Mastodon GmbH losing its nonprofit status. I seem to recall there being talk of reincorporating as a nonprofit in Switzerland, but haven't heard of any movement to that effect. Has Masto management decided to forget about that and go full for-profit, or what?
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Replies

ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 18, 2026, 4:17 PM
@bazkie
Looks like the US Mastodon organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit already. https://joinmastodon.org/oc/about
501(c)(3) is the structure for corporations that are “operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition … or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals”.
Not sure where Mastodon fits in there, but evidently it does.
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ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 18, 2026, 4:21 PM
@bazkie
I'm also concerned with how they're talking in corporate speak these days. Not harmful by itself, but not a good sign…
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surely bazkie 👩🏼‍💻bazkie@beige.party
Aug 18, 2026, 4:42 PM
@argv_minus_one yeah to each their own but I don't trust their corpo speech one bit
all talking about bright futures and open web and whatnot
I don't want them to be non-profit.. I just want them to be non-exist
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GunChleocgunchleoc@mastodon.scot
Aug 19, 2026, 5:16 PM
@bazkie @argv_minus_one Mastodon used to be a German non-profit, but then the German tax authority in their jurisdiction decided that they are no longer allowed to be a non-profit. Being officially for-profit is not by Mastodon's choice, it was forced on them.
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ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 19, 2026, 5:20 PM
@gunchleoc
Was it, though? Or did Mastodon gGmbH do something to deserve to lose its nonprofit status?
Did the German tax authority publicly explain the decision?
@bazkie
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GunChleocgunchleoc@mastodon.scot
Aug 19, 2026, 5:31 PM
@argv_minus_one @bazkie Many German authorities still live in the previous millennium and don't get online volunteering.
This is Mastodon's blog post about what happened: https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2024/04/mastodon-forms-new-u.s.-non-profit/#mastodons-non-profit-status-in-germany
The decision was not explained.
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surely bazkie 👩🏼‍💻bazkie@beige.party
Aug 19, 2026, 6:13 PM
@gunchleoc @argv_minus_one this is all very iffy
"Mastodon is bigger than any single entity, but it does need formal structures to operate effectively."
why? the network would run great without these corporate structures.
"The first of these was the Germany-based non-profit (Mastodon gGmbH). The second is now the U.S. non-profit (Mastodon, Inc.). Mastodon product development, user data, trademarks and copyright are in the hands of the German Mastodon gGmbH."
so the product development, user data, trademarks and copyright are in the hands of a for-profit. yay?
"Mastodon, Inc. creates the opportunity to raise funds from U.S. sources for the project at large, as well as build relationships and explore partnerships beyond Europe."
what relationships and partnership? why?
"While Mastodon is firmly based in Europe, we do not want to limit our engagement potential."
'engagement' 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
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ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 19, 2026, 6:23 PM
@bazkie
Uh no, the copyright, on the code at least, is not in the hands of a for-profit. It's in the hands of Eugen Rochko and several hundred other individuals.
Quoth the README: “Copyright (c) 2016-2026 Eugen Rochko & other Mastodon contributors” (and there is a link to a list of said contributors)
There does not appear to be a CLA or required copyright assignment.
https://github.com/mastodon/.github/blob/9fbf5954df1918d6190b38469e52426df20294c5/CONTRIBUTING.md
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/blob/07f91058a096bcfb92797e145bb7183ac5c6168f/CONTRIBUTING.md
@gunchleoc
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ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 19, 2026, 6:26 PM
@bazkie
And no, that isn't going to change in the future. Not unless they somehow convince those hundreds of people to all hand over their copyright to a for-profit, which uh, good luck with that.
The German for-profit does own the trademark, and you do need a corporate structure for that unless you want Rochko himself to own it, but this is FOSS and replacing problematic trademarks is old news (cf. Xorg, Iceweasel, Forgejo, etc etc etc).
@gunchleoc
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ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 19, 2026, 6:33 PM
@bazkie
What *does* concern me is that this for-profit runs the flagship instance with hundreds of thousands of active users. There isn't much stopping them from going full techbro with those users and turning off federation, even if the rest of the network will survive.
And they sure are talking like techbros these days.
@gunchleoc
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surely bazkie 👩🏼‍💻bazkie@beige.party
Aug 19, 2026, 6:56 PM
@argv_minus_one @gunchleoc exactly, that's my biggest worry as well!
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surely bazkie 👩🏼‍💻bazkie@beige.party
Aug 19, 2026, 6:55 PM
@argv_minus_one @gunchleoc I do not want a trademark to exist at all.
but so, the "copyright is owned by mastodon gmbh" part on their blog is a lie then, great :)
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ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 19, 2026, 7:04 PM
@bazkie
If the trademark doesn't exist at all, a bad actor will register it for you and then sue you for using your own project's name.
That's how Linux became ®'d.
@gunchleoc
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surely bazkie 👩🏼‍💻bazkie@beige.party
Aug 19, 2026, 7:20 PM
@argv_minus_one @gunchleoc ? afaik linux is trademarked by linus
I mean, if you're right, we could just go around and trademark, dunno, grep, or ls
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surely bazkie 👩🏼‍💻bazkie@beige.party
Aug 19, 2026, 7:30 PM
@argv_minus_one @gunchleoc
"Prior Use and Common Law Rights
The “First to Use” Principle
Unlike some countries that operate on a “first to file” system, the United States law prioritizes “first to use.” This means actual use of a name in commerce establishes rights, even if the name isn’t federally registered.
Common Law Trademark Rights
If a business or individual uses a name for their goods or services, they can establish what are called common law rights. These rights are automatic from the moment the name is used publicly in commerce and can provide some limited protection, even without a registered trademark.
(..)
If someone else is using the name actively, they may have common law trademark rights that could block your registration, even if they never went through the official trademarking process."
https://www.etblaw.com/can-you-trademark-a-name-someone-else-is-using-but-did-not-trademark/
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ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 19, 2026, 7:31 PM
@bazkie
Yeah, I didn't say the Linux trademark is owned by a corporation, only that it exists as a trademark.
And yeah, the trademark registration was found invalid by a court, for the above reasons. Linus ended up owning the trademark because the judge awarded it to him.
But not before a costly court battle over the matter. Registering a trademark is cheaper and more reliable.
@gunchleoc
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surely bazkie 👩🏼‍💻bazkie@beige.party
Aug 19, 2026, 7:33 PM
@argv_minus_one @gunchleoc maybe. but linux is linus'. mastodon is everyone's. I still prefer no trademark.
to each their own
* I guess maybe linux is also everyone's, at least somewhat. but I mean it was made as one guy's hobby project, while mastodon was made as a *social* network
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GunChleocgunchleoc@mastodon.scot
Aug 20, 2026, 9:08 AM
@bazkie @argv_minus_one Mastodon was also originally made as one guy's hobby project, only that he did the right thing and no longer owns it personally.
Accusing them of being liars is a bit over the top, don't you think?
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ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 20, 2026, 3:03 PM
@gunchleoc
In this day and age, when nothing is sacred and we're being betrayed at every turn by just about everyone, I hope you'll find it understandable that @bazkie and I are wary of yet another betrayal.
Especially since the betrayals are mostly coming from organizations that started talking corporate first, *then* betrayed, and Mastodon is talking corporate.
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Ozzelot :ai_free:ozzelot@mstdn.social
Aug 19, 2026, 7:01 PM
@bazkie
exactly... linux foundation is a nonprofit. mozilla is a nonprofit. both stink these days.
@argv_minus_one
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ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 19, 2026, 7:15 PM
@ozzelot
Linux Foundation is a 501(c)(6) business league. It is itself nonprofit, but it works to advance the interests of for-profit businesses in a certain industry, and its corporate structure says so.
Mozilla Foundation, however, is a 501(c)(3) charity, and its behavior as of late has been anything but charitable.
Mastodon Inc is also a 501(c)(3). Time will tell, I suppose, whether it truly deserves that designation.
@bazkie
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aburka 🫣aburka@hachyderm.io
Aug 18, 2026, 4:39 PM
@argv_minus_one @bazkie I think showing the instance name is a positive change
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surely bazkie 👩🏼‍💻bazkie@beige.party
Aug 18, 2026, 4:43 PM
@aburka @argv_minus_one yeah nothing wrong with this blogpost or this redesign as far as I can see.
I just don't like Mastodon GmbH, I don't want them in MY communities
MY/OUR, as opposed to THEIR, which they believe it is.
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aburka 🫣aburka@hachyderm.io
Aug 18, 2026, 4:46 PM
@bazkie @argv_minus_one agreed
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ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 18, 2026, 4:48 PM
@aburka @bazkie
Indeed. They may write the code, but that would be meaningless without us. We are the community.
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aburka 🫣aburka@hachyderm.io
Aug 18, 2026, 4:50 PM
@argv_minus_one @bazkie they can't even claim that, it's open source haha
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ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 18, 2026, 5:31 PM
@aburka @bazkie
That trademark policy seems problematic, by the way. A huge number of #Mastodon instances are named something like “mastodon.art” and have been operating for years. They planning on shutting down half the #Fediverse?
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surely bazkie 👩🏼‍💻bazkie@beige.party
Aug 18, 2026, 5:33 PM
@argv_minus_one @aburka no they won't hunt them down retro-actively, only new instances.
but I doubt they can do even that, but I'm not a lawyer. I hope someone challenges them and that they lose hard
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ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 18, 2026, 5:53 PM
@bazkie
Well, those sites calling themselves “mastodon.art” and whatnot (the defendants in our hypothetical court case) are:
* running a piece of software called “Mastodon”
* from Mastodon Inc/GmbH (the plaintiff in our hypothetical court case)
* that prominently displays the plaintiff's name and logo on any site that runs it
* is specifically designed to be run on the defendants' sites
* and has been running on some of those sites for years with the plaintiff's full knowledge.
@aburka
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ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 18, 2026, 5:55 PM
@bazkie
So yeah, this doesn't sound very enforceable.
But of course contact an actual lawyer if you want the opinion of a professional and not just some guy on social media.
@aburka
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surely bazkie 👩🏼‍💻bazkie@beige.party
Aug 18, 2026, 5:56 PM
@argv_minus_one @aburka yeah and honestly I'm not sure if it matters
what matters to me is that they tell people how to behave, and fuck that shit
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deutrinodeutrino@mstdn.io
Aug 18, 2026, 7:16 PM
@bazkie @argv_minus_one @aburka hear hear!!
you might also enjoy maintaining a healthy skepticism toward orgs like IFTAS, which is arguably run by and for Eternal November migrants, and whose founder's bio link points to LinkedIn
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aburka 🫣aburka@hachyderm.io
Aug 18, 2026, 7:21 PM
@deutrino @bazkie @argv_minus_one this is tinfoil hat nonsense IMO
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ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 18, 2026, 10:29 PM
@aburka
The tinfoil-hat crowd has been proven right a distressingly large number of times in the past few years… 😬
And yeah, any centralization of power should be viewed with suspicion by default these days.
But uh, what the heck is Eternal November? I know of Eternal September, but I assume this is different?
@deutrino @bazkie
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aburka 🫣aburka@hachyderm.io
Aug 18, 2026, 10:37 PM
@argv_minus_one @deutrino @bazkie I am guessing it refers to Nov 2022, which to be fair is when I joined the fediverse
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ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 18, 2026, 11:16 PM
@aburka
Is that when Musk bought Twitter?
@deutrino @bazkie
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aburka 🫣aburka@hachyderm.io
Aug 18, 2026, 11:41 PM
@argv_minus_one @deutrino @bazkie yeah
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deutrinodeutrino@mstdn.io
Aug 18, 2026, 7:13 PM
@bazkie @aburka @argv_minus_one see also "The Mastodon Network™" phrasing which has very consistently revealed Gargron's attitude toward the fediverse almost from day 1
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ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org
Aug 18, 2026, 10:22 PM
@deutrino @bazkie @aburka
When did anyone ever use that phrase? I've never heard it before, and neither has DuckDuckGo (aside from one obscure web page that seems to be unaffiliated). https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%22the+mastodon+network%22
The greater network has been called “The Fediverse” for as long as I've been here, including in Mastodon Inc/GmbH's latest blog post https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2026/08/5.0-laying-the-foundation/ where they talk about “letting the fediverse take the spotlight.”
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