"Add this tag to your profile to opt out of our shitty service" is *not* a valid way to run your bot/app/etc.
#NoBots #NoBot #NoTagsBot #HalfMyBioIsGoingToEndUpBeingOptOutsForYourShitServices #FuckBots
@alice It's a form of reverse coercion and should be cause for immediate banning. I don't know what it will take to get some of these humans to understand there's a really good reason to murder with prejudice "services" that make their name on the back of exclusionary convenience.
If they genuinely don't see it as an issue, let them say so publicly so I can adjust my instance residency sooner than later.
This matters. FFS. 🪔🖖
Jun 27, 2026, 10:16 PM@seedsignal @alice if you do not want tags.pub to boost your users' post, you should absolutely block the server. That will quickly stop the boosts.
Jun 27, 2026, 10:33 PMHere's how to block the tags.pub domain in Mastodon.
- Search for anything@tags.pub in the search bar.
- Click on the anything@tags.pub account to load the profile page.
- Click the three-dot menu. Scroll down to "Block tags.pub" (don't just block this account)
- Click the red button to confirm
Screencast attached
@evan@cosocial.ca @alice@lgbtqia.space @seedsignal@mastodon.social yo u kinda messed up here, time to roll it back and rethink some things going forward. primarily concent and respecting digital boundaries. Offer the service, don't assume it.
@evan why do we have to go to extra effort to block your shitty bot you never got permission to run on our posts? take this shit offline and rethink it from scratch.
Jun 28, 2026, 1:58 PM@Athena you don't have to block anything if it's not set up as a relay for your server.
@evan nobody should have to block anything, this garbage should be opt-in on an individual basis
I’m sorry if that’s not HYPERGROWTH for you. tell your clod growth hacking isn’t welcome on the fediverse before you have it extrude “””your””” next idea.
It's really very privileged to offer instructions on your problematic bot, when people are telling you that the very existence of your bot is the problem.
Also, do you not get how enabling this is to stalkers and people with bad intentions, the very people that many are using fedi to escape?
Jun 29, 2026, 8:06 PM@FuturisticRobert Hi, Robert!
We did think about that! tags.pub uses block-respecting boosts to reshare your content. That means that if your server has a domain block or a user block against someone, and authorized fetch is enabled, they won't be able to receive your content. It also means that if you follow a hashtag, and someone posts with that tag that you have blocked, you won't see it.
Jun 29, 2026, 8:06 PMMost relays don't; they use a form of boost that includes all the content in the data packet, so that your server doesn't get a chance to enforce the block.
Jun 29, 2026, 8:37 PM@evan @FuturisticRobert okay, so you respect a block, but the issue still is that you do not respect the lack of consent in the first place.
This "opt out of something you don't even know exist" issue has been recurring and I don't understand how you have managed to evade learning about it, and, if you know about it, how you've managed to not understand that people will be furious and that you'll lose trust.
Jun 29, 2026, 8:50 PM@Mabande @FuturisticRobert We used to use open-registration public relays as a source of content to share, on the theory that people who use those relays want their content shared widely and don't care about controlling which servers the content goes to. We still notified users that their content was being shared, and gave them a chance to opt out.
Jun 29, 2026, 8:51 PMSince people were surprised when the got those notifications, we don't use open relays any more. https://socialwebfoundation.org/2026/06/28/unsubscribing-tags-pub-from-open-registration-relays/
So, now, we're only opt-in. https://tags.pub/#optin
@evan @Mabande there's this prevalence of the "we" in technology now and it's dystopian no matter who uses it.
"We" is a mindset of a collective that "you" the person receiving the message have no say over.
Microsoft's "Please wait while we apply updates and restart your computer" is the most egregious example. This is the antithesis of decentralization and independent, people (see edit note) oriented, empowerment that was promised by the PC revolution, amplified by the early internet, and is being eroded from every corner by big-tech and it needs to stop. Now!
EDIT: I'm making a slight edit here and replacing "users" with "people" because the more I think about it, people is appropriate over users.
Jun 29, 2026, 9:01 PM@FuturisticRobert @Mabande I used "we" because I work for a non-profit called the Social Web Foundation. I'm speaking on behalf of the Foundation.
@evan @Mabande and if you're making changes that impact other people on other systems that you do not control, establishing a "we" and then referring to everyone who is not "we" as "users" is exactly what I'm talking about. It subjugates people as just "users" who simply use as their only expression of agency in the decision-making process. It leads to these outcomes, regardless of organization.
Let that be a litmus test in the future, and stop thinking "users" like the big tech corpos. Start thinking "people.'
Jun 29, 2026, 9:57 PM@FuturisticRobert @evan Sorry, but Evan, what did your answer to me have to do with the current issue of the only way to not be used as content by a bot farm is to opt out of something you're not aware of until it steamrolls you via a command you're not informed of until you find the one responsible for the harassment?
@evan
Is this the same for the followbackbot? I presume so.
Jun 29, 2026, 9:34 PM@elliek sure.
Jun 28, 2026, 7:57 AM@evan @seedsignal @alice Why do you assume that bureen is on me? How arrogant do you have to be to put all the work on others? This is an absolutely shitty behavior, typical of people who don't give a fuck about other people at all.
It is literally the opposite of any Fedi culture.
Jul 2, 2026, 7:46 AM@s1m0n4
There’s another aspect you should bear in mind: the hashtags aren’t just shared, but are also published on pages such as this: tags.pub/profile/dsgvo. These pages are designed to encourage crawlers to scan them. This means that search engines and AI systems can help themselves freely.
Edit: https://http.app/test/7e81B7jRrpRZol6AYccw
Please correct me if I’m wrong!
@one
I am not an expert unfortunately, but I believe there is ground to file a complaint to the national Data Protection Officer.
All the information in the pictures below is available here:
https://commission.europa.eu/law/law-topic/data-protection/information-individuals_en
So the German, Italian, French, etc instances/ users can write to the Datenschutzbehörde, Autorità per la Protezione dei Dati, etc to report the breach.
One thing is clear: the user must give their explicit consent.
Jul 2, 2026, 8:32 AM@s1m0n4
Yes, I think that’s the case. This has already been discussed several times in the issues: github.com/social-web-foundati…
I don’t really understand why Evan can’t accept this and create a privacy-friendly version. We mustn’t forget that the entire service is operated under US law and is therefore likely to fall under the Cloud Act.
Jul 2, 2026, 12:34 PM@one the service is now opt-in only. We no longer use content from open-registration relays.
Jul 2, 2026, 12:51 PM@evan
Thank you for your feedback; I must have missed that.
What does that mean exactly?
Jul 2, 2026, 1:01 PM@one @s1m0n4 @seedsignal we never scanned anybody's profile. Alice uses a personal hashtag, and they felt that even though there's a disclaimer on the hashtag feed page that it's not associated with any names used in the tag, we should not have a hashtag feed page for their tag.
As with other relays, server admins can connect a whole server. Or, users can use our followback bot.
Jul 2, 2026, 12:37 PM@one there are tens of thousands of such tag feed pages around the fediverse:
https://mastodon.social/tags/dsgvo https://mas.to/tags/dsgvo
https://hachyderm.io/tags/dsgvo
The tags.pub ones are not designed for crawlers, but we should add nofollow/noindex to them.
Jul 2, 2026, 1:10 PM@evan
The difference is that here they have set up a service that focuses exclusively on boosting posts. This content is redistributed publicly.
The relays I was familiar with previously connected servers to one another. In doing so, the posts were not boosted. A bridge was established between server nodes. That is a fundamentally different function.
When they use their links to point to individual Mastodon instances, they give the impression that this is the sole purpose of the software. However, that is not the case. It is a general search that displays terms, search combinations or hashtags. The result is decentralised and is not amplified or presented to search engines and AI crawlers.
Your search, on the other hand, attempts to generate a global result. To this end, you have – so far – captured all hashtags and made them transparent. The purpose of your application is solely to achieve this objective.
Jul 2, 2026, 1:17 PM@one the purpose of our application is to make smaller and non-Mastodon instances viable.
We are a non-profit dedicated to making the Fediverse better for everyone.
All relays use exactly the same ActivityPub boosting feature that tags.pub does. Most of them do not inform the user that their content has been shared, and none of them give individual users a chance to opt in (or out).
There are other hashtag feed services, and people should definitely use them.
Jun 28, 2026, 6:11 AM@seedsignal @alice we already have #nobot that should be sufficent ans explicit enough to include any automated operation
and even its absence is not consent
@seedsignal @alice the only effective means is to deny such #RentSeekers profit.
- Unfortunately Mastodon developers decided against making it easy for moderators & users tobdefend against it, which is a deliberate decision!
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/28605
Otherwise this could be done fairly easily for the users and admins.
@kkarhan @alice I would need to hear their rationale to agree with your assessment and it is not explicated well enough on the link.
If you know of a deeper cut on their thinking, kindly link it, as I suspect they'll not engage when already convicted. It's a human thing, really, but hard to overcome.
On face, I am curious why they would prohibit something that grants admin granularity in controls. Hmm.
Thanks for the pointer. 🖖
Ah, found it.
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/28605#issuecomment-1958673396
A conflation that the authority in question is signalling an unwillingness to discuss further.
Not uncommon. Parsing the rationale demonstrated. More in a moment.... 🖖
Context from community is helpful, but may also be agentic. Still, relevant as present, thus providing:
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/28605#issuecomment-1969062716
Just dotting context through end before adding my thoughts...
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/28605#issuecomment-2662100662
Summary complete here - thoughts following on main.
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/28605#issuecomment-4317246168
@seedsignal @alice np.
In fact, I do encourage people to formulate their own opinion based off facts.
@seedsignal yeah, same for me.
https://mastodon.social/@kkarhan/116827229183968566
@seedsignal @alice I mean, I do the same all the time even if that means I commit #LèseMajesté on Fedi…
https://mstdn.social/@kkarhan/111057008704869394
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A8se-majest%C3%A9
@seedsignal @alice I don't claim to be perfect, but I also see mistakes and how one deals with these as room for improvement and real differenciator.
- Cuz some folks just want to press others into some shit, and sometimes it's an honest mistake with amends beibg done to correct the trajectory longterm!
@kkarhan @alice I'm the last one to talk about could, should, would, because we all know that has simply never been reality and most of us well know the reasons why (and how they aren't changing, and why that is the judgment, too).
I don't bother with claims except when I do. And most of when I am not looks like I am. If this isn't telling you how humans see what they know or fear because that's how we do, I'm wasting my time.
I do not waste time. But I see lots of humans who do.
Feel me? 🪔
@seedsignal @alice yeah…
Too many people are busy being angry at the wrong people and/or for the wrong reasons…
seat the noble goal
center it and magnetize
expel all image
herein the path to success
water makes sand of mountain
💎🩵
@seedsignal It's the difference between:
"Sorry for parking there. I've unloaded groceries and I'm just about to leave the spot"
vs.
"i'll park wherever the fuck I want amd if you dislike that I'll jist claim you're racist for calling a tow truck jist to be able to drive away."
And unless one's an asshole blocking an ambulance or fire truck, I don't see a reason the first one is to be preferred.
M- But I guess #NuancedOpinons are rare today…
Life is literal.
Death is too.
Human etiquette and bias and preference play is not... until it is... but why that is rests in a chair you cannot see until you're as able and willing to remove the "I" as you are the "other".
Any human conflict can be factored to fear or curiosity. It's the first gate. Solve for curiosity and you solve the world.
Everyone wants to solve fear.
Not happening. That's the slow walk to sky promise. Like when I do this:
🖖
@kkarhan Discrimination and bias are* not nuance, but* conditional gaming of a logic circuit in the name of finding a case that provides leverage sought.
Neither use case is preferred. Both are at fault. Both get condemned. The mistake is treating them differently.
Violation that presumes entitlement is the shell to solve; presumes privilege?The pulp to solve; maybe be justified? The root to solve.
Unilateral is the goal.🖖
@kkarhan It's fascinating to me how no one wants the unilateral because it means they "lose" some entitlement, privilege, justification, et al.
This IS the problem. And it's everywhere that we are, because WE ARE IT and it is us.
Evolution is the slow walk solve of xenophobia, from which supremacist and exceptionalist ontology spring.
There is no short cut. If history doesn't prove that by now, then it's a choice, isn't it?
@kkarhan Succinctly - it's not nuance if it's made of straw. 🖖
Jun 27, 2026, 9:59 PM@alice@lgbtqia.space I love the Fediverse for not having to 'opt-out' to features I never wanted to use but it feels meaningless when someone could host a bot account that requires that nonsense for whatever reason.
Jun 27, 2026, 10:20 PM@matty @alice nobody has to use tags.pub. We don't want people who don't want their content relayed to be boosted by tags.pub.
If your server is connected to an open-registration relay server, we take that as a signal that you want your content distributed widely and you don't need control on who sees it.
If that's not the case, you find out about it almost immediately and you have a chance to tell us no.
Informed consent matters. That's why we have notifications and why we let you opt out.
Jun 27, 2026, 11:19 PMnobody has to use tags.pub. We don't want people who don't want their content relayed to be boosted by tags.pub.@evan@cosocial.ca If that is the case, it's much better that it's Opt-in rather than Opt-out. Not everyone is going to know every single bot account in existence and it's unfair to assumed that anyone would with especially how large the Fediverse is.
Jun 28, 2026, 1:10 AM@matty it is opt in by user or by server.
Unlike other relays, if your server admin opts you in and you don't want to use it, you can opt out:
Jun 28, 2026, 9:40 PM@evan Did I understand correctly that it doesn’t work at all unless either the server admin (by adding it as a relay) or a user (by following a bot account) opts in? So it wouldn’t boost any of my posts since I (or the server admin) have not done either of those?
Jun 28, 2026, 9:47 PM@jonne hey. It used to also share content from open-registration relay servers, but I disabled that.
Jun 29, 2026, 8:24 AM@evan That explains why we had a confused person thinking that they were under some kind of bot attack. We blocked the service after that.
Jun 29, 2026, 9:30 AM@jonne that's too bad. If you ever reenable it, you can filter notifications from bots in Mastodon 4.6.
https://socialwebfoundation.org/2026/06/09/bot-notification-filters-in-mastodon-help-tags-pub/