I should deep dive the Mastodon code base. Was wondering how bans worked. Are bans fediverse wide? Do they perma-ban the IP or the signup email address? If bans are based on email address, would the old gmail . trick work?
It's interesting how users coming from Twitter to Mastodon want a global unique ID system. Yet no such system currently exists, only unique IDs within walled gardens. You can get a new email address, new phone number, even new Gov ID number. A good ban system isn't perfect, but it will 86 lazy trolls.
@postmodern Unique IDs are important for social profiles, as they aren't just random, interchangeable addresses or ID numbers, but a representation of a person and a node in a network of trust. Followers are not just neutral subscribers, but social capital you don't want to lose when switching servers.
Permanent, instance independent IDs add a second layer of decentralisation, as it makes changing instances much less costly.
@fxneumann but how does one maintain globally unique IDs without a centralized database or without some cryptographic master key which can be stolen or lost?
@postmodern Here are some ideas: https://github.com/tootsuite/mastodon/issues/177
I like the Blockchain approach, but there are some much easier concepts in this thread like adding a kind of forward header to the GNU Social protocol.