Discussion
Today we're sharing the first in a series of three posts from our leadership team, starting with @mellifluousbox discussing our mission, and priorities for 2026. Stay tuned this week for more.
https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2026/02/connecting-the-world-through-thriving-online-communities/
@Mastodon @mellifluousbox @Gargron Project leaders should commit now to never poison the codebase with this stuff. If individual servers want to implement invasive age-checks (or have to in order to satisfy their local laws), that's up to them, but do not allow such things to fracture the Fediverse. Commit now to never allowing features such as blocking federation from non-age-verified servers.
@Mastodon do not, I repeat DO NOT attempt to implement age verification. You’ll kill the platform. See: Discord.
Decentralised, federated networks are one of the few bastions from which we can fight this. Don’t throw that away.
@Mastodon @mellifluousbox Mastodon could aspire to replace X in Europe (given the current situation in the U.S. and the state of X). It is urgent that it include translation capabilities for this multilingual region
"we’re forming and founding an EU-based non-profit parent entity to ensure Mastodon stays European forever"
"staying European forever" might not strike everyone as the Unalloyed Good Thing you seem to think it is 🌏 🌍
also, "my fellow directors will share more information about their plans" has more than a whiff of the patrician and (worse) *proprietorial* about it
#languagematters
but hey
have fun, it's *your* playground...
Fuck your age verification plans. Don’t be fooled #FaceScan and ID laws are not here to protect children, they are here to enable more #surveillance and #fascist ideologies.
https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2025/05/06/age-verification-wants-your-face/
Fuck that noise! Fuck giving shitheads like Thiel personal information handed to them on a silver platter. #mastodon #oligarchy #privacy #enshittification
@Mastodon @mellifluousbox fym "age verification working group"?
This sounds very nice. 😊
"Second, we’re forming and founding an EU-based non-profit parent entity to ensure Mastodon stays European forever."
@Mastodon @mellifluousbox The part about age-verification is very concerning. Attempting to push "face-scan" or id-requirement would send everyone out of your main instance, but there are two less damaging ways to age-check if you end up really needing to implement it:
* Valve's approach using credit cards to comply where is required (let the banks verify ages)
* Finding exceptions in the law for your organization/platform not needing it (like the Unredacted non-profit on the US)
@Mastodon @mellifluousbox "We are also forming an interdisciplinary age-verification working group, to help us navigate the complex nature of these international laws."
um go fuck yourselves??? what the fuck is this bullshit?????
@Mastodon @mellifluousbox Sounds like a lot of hard work! I especially like this: "we’re forming and founding an EU-based non-profit parent entity to ensure #Mastodon stays European forever."
@Mastodon @mellifluousbox Thanks! Having in-app donations for the official #Mastodon app is long overdue! Also extenstions will be a nice addition, & hopefully the #Fediverse platforms overall will embrace it (it helped make #WordPress popular).
The Age Verification should should also be an extension as well (one better left up to a reputable third party). Not all sites will need it yet—but with 𝕏 causing controversy (with kids & AI) I am not surprised governments are pushing for this.
@Mastodon @mellifluousbox "The Mastodon project is planning a global redesign to improve usability and discovery across the next software versions."
Would be helpful, if you could please elaborate on this or give an example for a better understanding?
@Mastodon @mellifluousbox If Mastodon implements age verification, we leave.
@ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox
the problem isn't mastodon it's your govt
if mastodon servers don't implement age verification in those jurisdictions that make it law, those servers get shut down by that govt
so you're blaming the wrong entity
are you really asking servers to face legal punishment and then get shut down anyway?
don't get me wrong: be angry
*at your govt*
not mastodon
@benroyce @Mastodon @mellifluousbox Compliance with fascist laws is fascism.
@ariarhythmic @Mastodon @mellifluousbox
oh shut the fuck up you edgelord
just leave now then
good fucking riddance
all you're asking is that these servers be shut down and the people running them to face legal trouble
THAT IS ALL YOU ARE ASKING FOR
that is all your ego masturbation drama is good for!
do you have the fucking brains to understand that that is the only way what you're asking for will go?
you're angry about this?
GOOD
so go after YOUR GOVERNMENT you useless fuckwit
@ariarhythmic My guess is that this will depend on your admin to enable? Probably won't affect smaller servers, but I am not a lawyer.
Either way, I think it's good that the Mastodon team is looking into all the legal requirements around this, and other relevant laws, rather than leaving each individual server admin to figure this out on their own.
@stefan @ariarhythmic "Every instance for themselves" would be really bad for a set of services which heavily promote decentralization, yeah. It shifts the goalposts to fewer organizations who have the resources to navigate legal (and other) requirements.
@tehstu Absolutely!
On that note, I really like the approach fediverse has taken when it comes to decentralization. It started with that, and now we can explore ways we can pool resources and share responsibilities, and everything is optional.
The Atmosphere on the other hand pretty much started off fully centralized, and seeing some of the conversations around the ongoing efforts to increase the decentralization, things are already looking a bit rough in terms of how the user experience is impacted.
This is going to be very interesting to watch develop more in the upcoming months.
Wow! We can't wait to be working with you through 2026 and helping Mastodon achieve its mission 🧡
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@Mastodon From a a post from @mellifluousbox
"Their agenda is explicitly not to _implement_ age verification/assurance, neither in the Mastodon software nor in our own servers."
https://mastodon.social/@mellifluousbox/116097028964559387