9mo ago

Steam and Mastodon.

Mastodon post source.

DOI @infosec.pub

bellingcat @infosec.pub

9mo ago

Steam and Mastodon.

62 comments

Probably to avoid linking to kid diddler instances.
- Steam loves to minimize moderation so you’re probably correct
  
  Given that half the games are anime waifu sims these days, I can only imagine what horrors you'd unleash letting people link to their profiles on anime waifu mastodon instances.
  Actually no, I don't have to imagine it since I've seen the horrors with my own eyes.
  
  I mean have you seen gamers?
- They should use fediseer to accept the top 100 most reputable mastodons
  https://gui.fediseer.com/
  
  I don't think their devs are having a hard time figuring out how to support different instance names...
  
  They probably just wanted a handful so they can slap it in a regex and be done with it.
  
  Website doesn't load
- I doubt that's the case since you can freely link to external sites elsewhere?
- I think you would love 4chan.
The limitations are annoying but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.
- Absolutely! It's representation!
I love this in principle.
I just wish Mastodon instances were viewable without JavaScript. Opening the door to many types of browser exploit and fingerprinting shouldn't be required just for reading.
- I love the paranoia of you nerds. It's valid but idk how you spare the effort.
  
  idk how you spare the effort.
  When you've been building networked systems for longer than JavaScript has existed, it no longer takes effort to spot design choices that put users at risk. When you've watched endless vulnerabilities be exploited over the years, it's not paranoia, but a real-world problem that impacts real people. At that point, the flaws are impossible to responsibly ignore.
  Spreading awareness and showing people how to build safer systems does sometimes get tiring, but I think it's important.
  
  I actually gave up recently for my mental health of all things. Turns out accepting being tracked in just about everything I do but also getting all the benefits of living in the future, without the effort spent on mitigation, is a huge relief. Does Google know my daily routine? Yes. Did they when I had the tin foil hat on? Probably also yes.
  
  It's not paranoid to complain about the unnecessity of javascript when all you want to do is read a public text post on a social media platform. I have javascript disabled on some browsers, and it's annoying to have to whitelist a site that really shouldn't need it.
- Mastodon has RSS built-in. Just add ".rss" to the URL to get the RSS feed.
  
  It also does have an API which can be used by apps, including alternate frontends which don't use JS.
That is so bad. They clearly don’t understand the appeal of decentralized systems…
- At the same time people on here are defending the centralization of PC gaming on Steam so even fediverse users don't understand decentralization
  
  How do you imagine decentralized gaming? Every game comes with it's own launcher?
  
  I think people just prefer Steam to Epic or EA's store fronts. Whenever GoG gets brought up, the only major complaint is is that there's no official Linux launcher, even when there are Linux binaries for the games.
- The instance I'm on isn't federated with every other instance. Why would you expect steam to effectively federate with every instance?
  
  What? I'm not following. Steam isn't federating with anyone. This is about having a link to an external site. Nothing more. Has nothing to do with federation directly.

62 comments