Nostr notes by IFTAS

The Fediverse is increasingly used by state-sponsored ...

2026-04-10T19:20:09Z

The Fediverse is increasingly used by state-sponsored disinformation and propaganda agents. We track accounts believed to be operated by the agencies and/or contractors, and we request account removals via reports, DMs, and email communications with affected service providers.

One particular activity is [believed to be the actions of the Portal Kombat network](https://about.iftas.org/2025/10/05/coordinated-pro-russian-propaganda-network-targeting-activitypub-and-atproto-services/ ), aka “Pravda network”, which has created thousands of accounts on hundreds of servers.

Some providers do not remove these accounts when notified, therefore the accounts below represent a sample of what these accounts look like, what they post, how they present themselves. This may help admins and moderators in identifying these accounts, and identifying common IP addresses and MX records that can be used to flag or suspend new registrations from this network.

https://social.roadfm.fr/@akusa
https://social.roadfm.fr/@anyrum
https://social.roadfm.fr/@effiebryant
https://electroverse.tech/@concepcion_thiel
https://electroverse.tech/@jocelynsullivan
https://electroverse.tech/@ugiz
https://todon.ploud.fr/@bemelan
https://todon.ploud.fr/@cogegom
https://gs.leftic.club/@abiegh
https://gs.leftic.club/@Aeciva
https://gs.leftic.club/@Aeliphe
https://gs.leftic.club/@agachu
https://gs.leftic.club/@amaesho

*This post is part of an ongoing series exploring the findings ...

2026-01-21T19:12:36Z

*This post is part of an ongoing series exploring the findings and forecasts from the 2025 Social Web Trust & Safety Needs Assessment Report*.

*Now that we have three years of data, we’ll not only dive into the 2025 results, but also take a broader look at how key patterns have shifted over time. From volunteer burnout to federation policies, this series will highlight what’s changing, what’s staying the same, and what that means for the future of trust and safety on the social web.*<li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/2026/01/08/the-2025-social-web-trust-safety-report-is-here/">The 2025 Social Web Trust & Safety Report Is Here</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/2026/01/21/behind-the-numbers-who-moderates-the-social-web/">Behind the Numbers: Who Moderates the Social Web?</a></li>###

Volunteers, burnout, and the people holding the lineWho is doing the work to keep the social web safe? Who responds to reports, blocks malicious actors, answers legal requests, and supports users in distress?

According to the [2025 Social Web Trust & Safety Needs Assessment Report](https://about.iftas.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Social-Web-Trust-Safety-Needs-Assessment-Report-2025.pdf ), it is mostly unpaid, overstretched volunteers. This year’s findings confirm what many already know from experience: the people making moderation possible are holding up a system that is growing heavier by the day.###

Moderators are doing everything, often aloneMost of the people keeping platforms safe are not working in large teams or focused roles. They are volunteers running small or medium-sized services who also manage hosting, community building, and legal issues.<li>More than half of all respondents said they were the only moderator or part of a very small team</li><li>Only 13% said their main focus was moderation</li><li>The rest balance moderation with technical administration, community management, and legal/compliance activities </li>

There is no clear boundary between roles on most services. Instead, safety work is something moderators have to squeeze in along with everything else.

In 2025, 45% of respondents reported handling three or more roles, down from 52% in 2023. This includes those selecting all four roles (moderation, systems admin, community management, and legal/compliance).

This slight but consistent decline may indicate some separation of duties as communities mature. However, it could also reflect role fatigue, reduced participation, or the departure of volunteers who were previously covering multiple responsibilities.###

The mod-to-member ratio is getting worse, not betterBased on service account totals, the average ratio of moderators to accounts is now 1:24,288 (total accounts). In 2023 this was 1:6,167. This change is likely not due to improved efficiency, it more likely reflects a growing burden on the same limited pool of volunteers.

While some of the largest instances have dedicated teams, the majority of services are run by one or two people. There is no easy way to scale up this labour, and no capacity to absorb new or worsening threats.###

Moderators are burning outOne in five respondents reported that their moderation work had a negative impact on their mental health. This includes trauma, exhaustion, or withdrawal from community life. This number has been consistent since 2023, roughly 20% report the same each year.

The harms moderators are exposed to include spam floods, disinformation campaigns, hate speech, harassment, and occasionally CSAM or reports of serious real-world harm. Most teams do not have access to legal advice, mental health resources, or trauma-informed processes.

“There is no backup. If I disappear for a week, everything piles up” said one respondent. Many moderators do not feel safe or supported. Even those who continue to moderate effectively report a high cost to doing so.###

We are not onboarding enough new people Although the report shows a modest increase in average experience overall, it also reveals a decline in the number of new moderators entering the ecosystem. In many communities, experienced moderators have been doing the work for years, often without formal support or clear succession planning.

Moderator experience appears to be splitting into two distinct groups: a growing number of early-career moderators with fewer than three years of experience, and a smaller but rising group with six to ten years.

Those in the middle, particularly with three to six years of experience, are falling away sharply. Without stronger onboarding and retention support, the gap between newer volunteers and long-time moderators is likely to widen.

If we don’t improve the pathways for new moderators to enter, learn, and stay, the system may not hold. The number of people doing the work will continue to shrink, even as threats increase.###

This is not sustainable Decentralised platforms pride themselves on being community-led and member-directed. But community care requires people. And right now, those people are overwhelmed.

If we want the social web to remain open, resilient, and safe for marginalised users, we need to support the humans at its core.

What will help: shared tools and templates for policy, onboarding, and moderation; access to wellbeing support and peer networks; sustainable funding for training, stipends, and community-led projects; less duplication and more shared infrastructure across services.

We’ll be sharing more posts in the coming weeks, each looking at a different part of the report. From big-picture trends to behind-the-scenes insights, our goal is to make the findings useful, readable, and relevant to the people doing the work. If you’re part of that work, or thinking about getting involved, we hope you’ll follow along.###

Support the people doing the workIFTAS supports the moderators, administrators, and community volunteers who make the social web safer and more resilient. If you believe this work matters, please consider making a donation. Even small contributions help fund training, tools, and care for the people holding the line.

[Donate to IFTAS today](https://about.iftas.org/donate/ ).
https://about.iftas.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Role-Overlap-Is-Gradually-Declining.svg

**New insights into the people, pressures, and infrastructure ...

2026-01-08T16:46:55Z

**New insights into the people, pressures, and infrastructure shaping decentralised platforms**

[](https://about.iftas.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Social-Web-Trust-Safety-Needs-Assessment-Report-2025.pdf )Published by IFTAS, this report draws on detailed surveys and community feedback from volunteer moderators, administrators, and community managers across the decentralised social web. It offers our most comprehensive picture yet of the trust and safety landscape across projects like Mastodon, GoToSocial, WordPress, PeerTube, and more.###

What’s in the Report<li>New pressures on moderators: The average mod-to-user ratio has worsened to 1:3,500</li><li>Spam has overtaken CSAM as the top concern for most teams</li><li>Burnout remains widespread: 1 in 5 admins and moderators reported trauma or exhaustion</li><li>Most services lack legal or procedural safeguards needed to manage risk</li><li>Small communities dominate, but the ecosystem lacks tooling designed for them</li><li>Consent-based federation is emerging as a desired model for growth and safety</li>###

What’s New in 2025<li>There is growing consolidation among large services – and growing strain</li><li>There’s less onboarding of new moderators, even as threats increase</li><li>Disinformation campaigns and AI-generated spam are now prominent risks</li><li>Legal and regulatory complexity is increasing – but support remains scarce</li>###

Forecasts for 2026This year’s report also includes a forward-looking forecast, identifying five trends that will shape the coming year:<li>Shared logic and trust signals will replace fragmented blocklists</li><li>Synthetic media and impersonation will challenge human moderation</li><li>Infrastructure capture risks are rising as more tooling centralises</li><li>Global safety regulation is becoming enforceable, not optional</li><li>Greylisting and allowlisting may soon replace “default open federation”</li>###

Why This MattersModerators are the backbone of a safer social web – but most are unpaid, under-supported, and under constant strain. If we want a future for decentralised platforms that respects user agency, civil speech, and community autonomy, we need to support the infrastructure that keeps it safe.###

Read the Report**[Download the 2025 Needs Assessment Report (PDF)](https://about.iftas.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Social-Web-Trust-Safety-Needs-Assessment-Report-2025.pdf )**

In the weeks ahead, we’ll be publishing a series of follow-up posts that take a closer look at the trends, challenges, and emerging patterns highlighted in this year’s report. These articles will explore context and practical insights for anyone working to support safer, more resilient decentralised platforms.###

Media or Press EnquiriesFor questions, interviews, or background information related to the report or IFTAS’ work, contact **press@iftas.org**

Follow IFTAS to stay informed: [Mastodon](https://mastodon.iftas.org/@iftas ), [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:deus5mbujjsrs22ggqg7bwfy ), WordPress (see below)<li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/trust-safety-services/">Learn more about IFTAS resources</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/donate/">Support our work</a></li>

social[.]5th[.]ro is a free speech/minimal moderation and SEO ...

2025-12-16T00:32:31Z

social[.]5th[.]ro is a free speech/minimal moderation and SEO advertorial farming business, connected to a WordPress plugin that provides “Auto Boosting” to its customers – which requires third party service accounts.

Be on the lookout for accounts being registered on this bot’s behalf on your service by the custom account creation automation app “Mastodon Account Creator”, as well as accounts created using MX domains 5th[.]ro, advertorialsromania[.]com, e-agentie[.]ro

plugin[.]5th[.]ro/en/wiki?page=auto-boost has details about how an advertiser can use additional Mastodon accounts to automatically boost their advertorial content.

The community shared vocabulary is a collaboratively maintained ...

2025-10-23T18:54:00Z

The community shared vocabulary is a collaboratively maintained set of terms and definitions used by moderators and administrators to ensure clarity, fairness, and consistency in community governance across diverse platforms.

IFTAS and the SW-ISAC use the following labels and definitions to classify actors, behaviour, and content. Click each label to see its definition, guidance, and example community guidance. Labels are sourced from the [Trust & Safety Glossary of Terms](https://dtspartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/DTSP_Trust-Safety-Glossary_July-2023.pdf ) from DTSP.

Thanks to our community, these labels and their definitions are also available in:<li><a href="https://github.com/iftas-org/lote/tree/main/dtsp-trust_safety_glossary_of_terms/fr-FR">Français</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/iftas-org/lote/tree/main/dtsp-trust_safety_glossary_of_terms/pt-BR">Português Brasileiro</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/iftas-org/lote/tree/main/dtsp-trust_safety_glossary_of_terms/gd-GB">Scots Gaelic</a> (labels only)</li><li><a href="https://crowdin.com/project/dtsp/zh-CN">简体字</a> (<a href="https://crowdin.com/project/dtsp/zh-CN">Simplified Chinese</a>)</li>###

Labels<li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/account-takeover/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3858">account-takeover</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/advanced-persistent-threat/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3849">apt</a> (advanced persistent threat)</li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/astroturfing/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3861">astroturfing</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/brigading/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3864">brigading</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/catfishing/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3866">catfishing</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/content-and-conduct-related-risk/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3869">content-and-conduct-related-risk</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/coordinated-inauthentic-behaviour/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3872">cib</a> (coordinated inauthentic behaviour)</li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/copyright-infringement/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3906">copyright-infringement</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/counterfeit/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3908">counterfeit</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/cross-platform-abuse/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3875">cross-platform-abuse</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/csam/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3911">csam</a> (child sexual abuse material)</li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/csea/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3878">csea</a> (child sexual exploitation and abuse)</li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/defamation/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3913">defamation</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/dehumanisation/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3915">dehumanisation</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/disinformation/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3918">disinformation</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/doxxing/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3881">doxxing</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/explicit-content/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3920">explicit-content</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/farming/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3883">farming</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/glorification-of-violence/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3923">glorification-of-violence</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/hate-speech/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3926">hate-speech</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/impersonation/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3851">impersonation</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/incitement/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3929">incitement</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/misinformation/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3931">misinformation</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/ncii/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3934">ncii</a> (non-consensual intimate imagery)</li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/online-harassment/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3886">online-harassment</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/phishing/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3889">phishing</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/service-abuse/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3892">service-abuse</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/sock-puppet/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3854">sock-puppet</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/sextortion/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3895">sextortion</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/spam/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3936">spam</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/synthetic-media/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3939">synthetic-media</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/troll/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3856">troll</a></li><li><a href="https://about.iftas.org/library/tvec/"; data-type="yada_wiki" data-id="3942">tvec</a> (terrorist and violent extremist content)</li><li><a href="http://violent">violent-threat</a></li>;

Content moderators are prone to secondary traumatic stress (also ...

2025-10-23T18:07:14Z

Content moderators are prone to secondary traumatic stress (also called vicarious trauma or cybertrauma), brought on by their exposure to disturbing images and information. Even the most experienced, most resilient moderators often find that they cannot be prepared enough for the images they see.

Cybertrauma is any trauma that is a result of interaction with any internet-ready device that results in impact now or in the future.###

Self-Help Reading<li><a href="https://synecdochic.dreamwidth.org/803314.html">Avoiding traumatizing images/video on social media (and dealing with them when you have to see them)</a></li><li><a href="https://tsjournal.org/index.php/jots/article/view/91">Content Moderators’ Strategies for Coping with the Stress of Moderating Content Online</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpXWTtq52DA">Invisible risks exploring the work of content moderators – Combating secondary trauma</a> (Webinar)</li><li><a href="https://www.shiftwellness.org/webinars/">SHIFT Wellness Webinar series</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nctsn.org/resources/coping-with-child-sexual-abuse-material-exposure">Coping with Child Sexual Abuse Material Exposure</a></li><li><a href="https://courses.calmclarity.org/courses/toolkit-to-calm-anxiety">Calm Clarity</a> – 2 hour course to help you more effectively manage stress and adversity. Use coupon code payitforward100 for free access.</li>###

Live Crisis SupportFor anyone in the US, UK, CA, or IE: Get support from a crisis counselor from the Crisis Text Line 24/7<li>US: Text HOME to 741741</li><li>UK: Text SHOUT to 85258</li><li>CA: Text HOME to 741741</li><li>IE: Text HOME to 50808</li>

In the US see [988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline](https://988lifeline.org/ ) – The 988 Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources.

Indicators of compromise (IOCs) that identify accounts as likely ...

2025-10-05T19:48:43Z

Indicators of compromise (IOCs) that identify accounts as likely being part of the network include:<li>a single follow (the <code>bsky.brid.gy @ bsky.brid.gy</code> account), or first follow is the bridge</li><li>followers and following hidden from public</li><li>registration after September 8, 2025</li><li>linking to pro-Russia Telegram channels, or Russian news sources </li><li>posts that cut off mid-sentence</li><li>masquerading as legitimate news organisations</li><li>disposable email domains used for the account registration</li>

The accounts are created and left alone for a short period, and will have no posts for up to week, sometimes more.

Once in use, the account will likely follow a dozen or so accounts on servers that are listed on the [AUD Denylist](https://about.iftas.org/library/iftas-abandoned-and-unmanaged-domain-list/ ).

*Update November 21: with over 750 accounts and growing, we will no longer be updating the daily accounts tracker and instead will be focussing on identifying the domains known to be wholly unmanaged or unmaintained, please see the [IFTAS Abandoned and Unmanaged Domain (AUD) Denylist](https://about.iftas.org/library/iftas-abandoned-and-unmanaged-domain-list/ ) page for more details.*

*Update October 25: Accounts are still being created (571 observed so far), and a number of servers are either unwilling or unresponsive in removing these accounts. A list of servers recommended for limiting or defederating is now available at https://about.iftas.org/library/known-spam-fediverse-services/#Unmanaged_Unmaintained_Abandoned_Servers*

*Update October 14: Accounts are still being created, and unused accounts registered earlier are being activated.*

Since 15 September, IFTAS has been tracking a coordinated network of over 300 accounts operating across Mastodon. These accounts are engaged in a high-volume propaganda campaign, promoting pro-Russian narratives and linking to Telegram channels associated with known state-aligned disinformation operations.

We became aware of a related investigation by the [Antibot4Navalny](https://bsky.app/profile/antibot4navalny.bsky.social ) research team that observed these accounts bridging to Bluesky, and we have since collaborated to enhance our investigations and share our findings. Their [public post](https://bsky.app/profile/antibot4navalny.bsky.social/post/3m22256476k25 ) provides further context.

Antibot4Navalny’s observations identified additional impacted services we were unaware of, and highlighted that accounts were still being created. Furthermore, thanks to their specific expertise in this area, this helped clarify and confirm that what we were seeing was indeed the work of a coordinated campaign with an increased likelihood of it being a state-sponsored or state-approved campaign.

We have been contacting affected Mastodon administrators, and are now moving to a public advisory to inform the broader network.

The network includes accounts impersonating reputable news outlets such as BBC News, Euronews, and Meduza, designed to give credibility to Telegram propaganda links. We believe it may be connected to the “[Pravda/Portal Kombat](https://www.sgdsn.gouv.fr/files/files/Publications/20240214_NP_SGDSN_VIGINUM_PORTAL-KOMBAT-NETWORK_PART2_ENG_VF.pdf )” pro-Russia propaganda network.

Accounts are hosted across numerous Mastodon instances and bridged into Bluesky, creating the appearance of independent sources. Activity on Bluesky helped reveal aggregate patterns, identical usernames, posting schedules, and content themes more clearly than across decentralised Mastodon services.

This campaign appears to mimic tactics observed in earlier influence operations, blending low-cost automation with impersonation and volume-based amplification.

We are sharing data with participants of the [Social Web ISAC](https://connect.iftas.org/library/iftas-documentation/social-web-information-sharing-and-analysis-centre/ ), and we issued a [public advisory](https://mastodon.iftas.org/@iftas/115322867312262878 ) along with a [list of observed usernames](https://about.iftas.org/library/known-spam-fediverse-services/#Coordinated_Network_Spam_Accounts ).

We are aware of accounts hosted on abandoned or unmanaged services, we may issue a Limit recommendation for those domains at a later date.

If you provide or can link to tools that may benefit administrators in identifying and/or managing these accounts, please let us know.

**Further Reading:**<li><a href="https://www.sgdsn.gouv.fr/files/files/20240212_NP_SGDSN_VIGINUM_PORTAL-KOMBAT-NETWORK_ENG_VF.pdf">PORTAL KOMBAT A structured and coordinated pro-Russian propaganda network</a></li><li><a href="https://www.sgdsn.gouv.fr/files/files/Publications/20240214_NP_SGDSN_VIGINUM_PORTAL-KOMBAT-NETWORK_PART2_ENG_VF.pdf">PORTAL KOMBAT A structured and coordinated pro-Russian propaganda network (Part 2)</a></li><li><a href="https://checkfirst.network/pravda-network-worldwide-expansion-and-llm-wikipedia-pollution/">“Pravda” Network: Worldwide Expansion and LLM, Wikipedia Pollution</a></li><li><a href="https://www.americansunlight.org/updates/new-report-russian-propaganda-may-be-flooding-ai-models">Russian propaganda may be flooding AI models</a></li>

In May 2024, we launched IFTAS Connect as a community platform to ...

2025-09-29T13:36:09Z

In May 2024, we launched IFTAS Connect as a community platform to support volunteer moderators, administrators, and safety advocates across the decentralised web. Our vision was to provide a central space for collaboration, resource sharing, and mutual support, especially for those working in independent and often under-resourced environments.

Despite several hundred moderators signing up and expressing early interest, sustained engagement across the Connect portal and its associated Matrix Space (a collection of chat rooms) has remained limited. As we evaluate our role in this evolving ecosystem, we believe it is time to step back from hosting a dedicated community platform and refocus our resources where they are most impactful.

As a non-profit organisation, IFTAS relies on community support to operate. Our financial and staffing capacity is not unlimited, and hosting platforms such as Connect comes with direct costs, both technical and human. In the current environment, where funding has diminished, we must prioritise sustainability and impact.

After 18 months of operating Connect, it is clear that this particular space has not provided the kind of active collaboration we had hoped for. We believe that this may be a reflection of the need for smaller, more targeted, and organically driven networks of support. This is not a failure of the community, but rather an opportunity to rethink how collaboration can best be facilitated across diverse, decentralised projects.

We remain deeply grateful to those who participated, contributed resources, and helped build a shared understanding of moderation and safety in federated systems. The need for community remains, even if the model needs to evolve.

We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who joined IFTAS Connect, contributed their time, knowledge, and questions, shared resources, supported others, or otherwise helped build the space. Your efforts helped shape the Community Library and informed our broader work in ways that continue to matter. We are especially thankful to the moderators and safety contributors who helped keep the space respectful, accessible, and safe throughout its operation.###

What’s NextIFTAS Connect and the Matrix Space will remain available for existing accounts until 30 October 2025. After that date, both will be permanently shut down. New accounts can no longer be created.####

1. Preserving the Community LibraryThe Connect Community Library will be preserved in static form on the IFTAS web site. Unless otherwise marked, all content is published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 licence, feel free to preserve copies of anything you deem valuable. The full archive will also be made available to any project, server, or individual who wishes to mirror or reuse the material.####

2. Ongoing News and UpdatesThe aggregated news feed from Connect will transition to a Channel.org feed. This will offer continued updates on trust and safety, regulation, and federated technology developments in a lower-overhead format. When this is ready, we’ll announce it on [our main Fediverse account](https://mastodon.iftas.org/@iftas ).####

3. Stay ConnectedIFTAS will not be hosting a new community forum ourselves. However, we will point to third-party community spaces that align with our values. In particular, we encourage moderators to review the discussion forum hosted at <a href="Moderation & Server Administration (npub1kl2…vmr2)</a>">https://activitypub.space/category/13/moderation-server-administration">Moderation & Server Administration (npub1kl2…vmr2)</a>;. This community is available to any moderator on the Fediverse, and participation does not require a separate account. Simply mention Moderation & Server Administration (npub1kl2…vmr2) from your existing account to post or engage in the conversation.####

4. Private Signal GroupsFor those seeking a more private communication channel, we will be operating a Signal group chat for verified community moderators. Participation will be by [request](https://mastodon.iftas.org/@iftas ), and membership will require demonstrated moderator responsibilities on a Fediverse server that hosts community accounts. This space will serve as a light-touch backchannel for peer support, coordination, and urgent queries. We will also offer a Signal group for the SW-ISAC, geared toward both admins and moderators to share information about network abuse, spam, illegal content and other threats. Send a direct mention to IFTAS (npub1y2r…kvzk) for access to these groups. ####

5. Data Privacy and Account DeletionNo member data or content from IFTAS Connect or the Matrix Space will be shared, transferred, or retained after closure. All account information and related backups will be permanently destroyed following the shutdown.###

Our Continued CommitmentIFTAS was created to support decentralised online communities in building safer, fairer, and more resilient digital spaces. That mission remains unchanged.<li>We will continue advocating for shared resources, moderation tooling, and transparent practices. Our annual survey and other activities will continue.</li><li>We will maintain our role in threat intelligence sharing, with a focus on coordinated abuse, network harms, and platform-level safety.</li><li>We will continue working in support of marginalised communities, prioritising human rights, privacy, and safety online and offline.</li><li>Jaz will continue to attend relevant conferences, maintaining relationships with internet safety regulators and ensuring the perspectives of decentralised communities are represented in wider policy and safety conversations.</li>###

Looking AheadThe closure of IFTAS Connect is not the end of community collaboration. It is a recalibration. We remain committed to supporting moderators and trust and safety teams with open resources, shared intelligence, and public-interest advocacy. We invite those who share these values to stay connected through our web site, our Mastodon account, the news channel, and future initiatives that reflect the needs of decentralised communities.

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is EU legislation aimed at curbing ...

2025-09-17T19:35:10Z

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is EU legislation aimed at curbing the power of dominant digital platforms, known as gatekeepers, by enforcing obligations that promote fairness and competition. These rules have been fully in effect since March 2024.

The European Commission is now reviewing the DMA’s impact, with a report due by May 2026. A public consultation now invites input from those most affected, including SMEs, civil society, and end users. Key areas under review include the effectiveness of the rules, their impact on users, and whether interoperability obligations should be expanded to cover social networking services.

In our response, IFTAS welcomes the progress made so far in addressing the dominance of powerful digital platforms. The current interoperability requirements for messaging services are a positive step, but they leave out a crucial part of the online experience: social networking.

At present, the DMA does not require the largest platforms to allow interoperability across core social networking functions. This includes timelines, follower relationships, and public content engagement. As a result, users are effectively locked into closed systems. If they wish to move to another service, they must leave behind their connections, visibility, and data.

We believe this is a missed opportunity to support fair competition, user choice, and digital rights.

Our submission recommends that the Commission extend Article 7 of the DMA to cover social networking services, using open technical standards such as ActivityPub and Matrix. These standards are already in use across federated platforms.

These platforms are often home to marginalised communities, mutual aid groups, and other public interest networks that rely on decentralised and safer alternatives to mainstream services. Without meaningful interoperability, these open networks remain cut off from the dominant platforms.

This reinforces existing power imbalances and prevents smaller services from reaching wider audiences. It also raises the cost of switching for users who want to leave exploitative platforms but cannot take their networks with them.

We also emphasise that interoperability must be implemented with clear safeguards. These should include strong protections for content moderation, user consent for data sharing, and measures to prevent harassment and abuse across connected services.

A more diverse and inclusive digital environment is already possible. Open standards and federated platforms show that a healthier ecosystem can exist, one that supports safety, transparency, and genuine competition. With stronger obligations in the DMA, the European Commission has the chance to make this a reality.

Our response is below.

**IFTAS Submission to the DMA Review Consultation**

re: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/Consultation_Review_DMA###

Obligations (Articles 5–7, 11, 14, 15)*Question: Do you have any comments or observations on the current list of obligations that gatekeepers have to respect?*

The current obligations under Article 7, focused on interoperability for number-independent interpersonal communications services, represent an important step toward platform accountability. However, they fall short in addressing interoperability across core social networking functionalities, such as feeds, follower relationships, and public content interactions.

We recommend extending Article 7 to include interoperability obligations for gatekeepers offering social networking services, using open standards such as ActivityPub (https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub/ – a Recommendation of the World Wide Web Consortium [W3] 23 January 2018). These standards already (https://ngi.eu/impact-stories/decentralised-social-media/) enable safe, decentralised communication across a federated ecosystem, as demonstrated by Mastodon, PeerTube, Pixelfed, and other open platforms (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActivityPub#Software_using_ActivityPub). The absence of interoperability in this domain enables entrenched gatekeepers to consolidate user attention and restrict market access. Platforms with dominant social graphs and proprietary content ranking systems benefit from network effects that create structural barriers to entry for new or smaller services. This stifles innovation and reduces consumer choice in the online communications space.###

Obligations, General Comments*Question: Do you have any other comments in relation to the DMA obligations?*

IFTAS recommends that gatekeepers be required to:<li>Publish and maintain interoperable APIs for social functionalities (posting, following, content and account discovery)</li><li>Support recognised open standards (e.g. ActivityPub, Matrix [<a href="https://spec.matrix.org/latest/">https://spec.matrix.org/latest/</a>;] )</li><li>Enable meaningful interoperability with decentralised services while maintaining content moderation standards.</li>

Without such obligations, the core social networking layer remains closed and non-contestable. Users cannot easily switch providers without losing their connections, reach, and history – all of which gatekeepers use to maintain lock-in. Additionally, without protocol-based competition, the market tilts toward scale and surveillance, rewarding platforms that exploit user data most efficiently. This creates a race to the bottom in terms of transparency, accountability, and platform governance. In contrast, open standards foster an ecosystem of diverse service models – including non-profit, cooperative, academic, and small business platforms – that can operate interoperably, safely, and competitively.###

Effectiveness and Impact*Question: Do you have any concrete examples on how the DMA has positively and/or negatively affected you/your organisation?*

IFTAS supports decentralised online platforms and self-governed digital spaces. While the DMA’s provisions on messaging interoperability are a positive signal, the ongoing exclusion of core social networking functions from interoperability obligations remains a barrier.

For example, Mastodon and PeerTube platforms often host critical infrastructure for marginalised communities and mutual aid networks, yet remain disconnected from dominant gatekeeper platforms. Users who wish to migrate from a non-interoperating platform to a an open, federated platform cannot bring their social graph or maintain connections with their existing audience. Content posted in open, standards-compliant systems cannot be discovered or engaged with by users on major platforms, despite technical feasibility. Platform switching costs remain prohibitively high due to the lack of reciprocal interoperability. This reinforces monopolistic dynamics and discourages competition based on quality, safety, and trust, instead rewarding incumbents who control data flows and visibility algorithms.###

Additional Comments*Question: Do you have any further comments or observations?*

IFTAS encourages the European Commission to take a leadership role in advancing interoperability by design, through:<li>Supporting protocol-level mandates for interoperability of social networks,</li><li>Recognising and recommending existing open standards such as ActivityPub and Matrix,</li><li>Funding the development and adoption of open tools and federated ecosystems through public interest initiatives.</li>

To ensure safety and human rights are upheld, we also recommend the inclusion of safeguards to:<li>Preserve meaningful content moderation across federated systems,</li><li>Require explicit user consent for data portability and federation,</li><li>Protect marginalised users from cross-platform harassment and coordinated harm.</li>

A future-ready DMA must not only limit market power, but also ensure that digital public infrastructure remains plural, rights-respecting, and inclusive. Expanding the DMA’s interoperability provisions would promote greater market diversity, reduce systemic dependencies on dominant actors, and enable a healthier, more dynamic digital public sphere.

**2025 Fediverse Needs Assessment: Moderation Across the Social ...

2025-09-05T15:45:07Z

**2025 Fediverse Needs Assessment: Moderation Across the Social Web**

The Fediverse is more than Mastodon, and moderation is bigger than any one platform.

Last year, we heard from moderators on Mastodon, Nostr, Bluesky, Matrix, even Discord and Reddit, and beyond. Every platform has its own challenges, but many needs – like better tooling, clearer guidance, and stronger support networks are universal.

Over the past year we’ve worked with moderation tooling projects like Bonfire’s [Federated Moderation Toolkit](https://bonfirenetworks.org/moderation-toolkit/ ), the [ActivityPub Trust & Safety Taskforce](https://github.com/swicg/activitypub-trust-and-safety ), [ROOST](https://roost.tools/ ), and other projects looking to extend moderation beyond a single platform and offer real world tooling that can help moderators and community managers share the load and manage multiple platforms.

This year, we want an even broader picture.

Whether you moderate a niche forum, a public Mastodon server, a Discord channel, or a Bluesky instance, your input belongs in the Needs Assessment.

The more diverse the voices, the better we can create resources that work across the ecosystem.

**➡️ [Fill out the survey today](https://cryptpad.fr/form/#/2/form/view/sYNUdzJK6Y11-BwMLZPEHgRRKeAIxDPxJdINi2Pi3VE/ )**

Every year, IFTAS asks the people who keep our communities safe ...

2025-08-11T11:00:00Z

Every year, IFTAS asks the people who keep our communities safe to tell us what they need.
The Fediverse Needs Assessment gathers input from moderators, administrators, and community managers across the decentralised social web and beyond.

Whether you run a Mastodon, Pixelfed, Lemmy or Peertube instance, a Nostr relay, a Bluesky community, Matrix or Discord rooms, your experience matters. Any platform, any protocol. Single user service or a million person community. Doesn’t matter. We focus on Fedi, but the more we hear from the more we can help.

[](https://about.iftas.org/moderator-needs-assessment/ )###

Why we do thisIFTAS is not a governing body. We don’t set rules for the Fediverse. What we do is listen, convene, and share: we take the challenges you tell us about, and work with the community to spread best practice, build resources, and advocate for the tools and support you need.

Last year’s survey led directly to:<li><a href="https://connect.iftas.org/library/legal-regulatory/csam-primer/">CSAM detection and reporting guidance</a></li><li><a href="https://connect.iftas.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSA-Guide-Decentralised-Servers.pdf">DSA</a>; and <a href="https://about.iftas.org/2025/07/30/navigating-the-uk-online-safety-act/">OSA</a>; regulatory compliance guidance</li><li>The <a href="https://cariad.fedicheck.iftas.org/">CARIAD domain observatory</a></li><li><a href="https://connect.iftas.org/library/iftas-documentation/fedicheck/">Open-sourcing FediCheck</a></li><li><a href="https://connect.iftas.org/library/tools-resources/iftas-documentation/shared-vocabulary-labels/">Translations of the common vocabulary</a> into Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese, and French</li>

These resources were made possible because people like you spoke up.###

This year’s focusOver the coming weeks we’ll be sharing stories and insights on:<li>Real change from real answers – impact from last year’s data</li><li>What it’s like on the front line – the moderator experience, including burnout and wellness</li><li>What’s missing, what’s next – the resource and tooling gaps we can address together</li><li>It’s not just Mastodon – the diversity of platforms and communities</li>

Each theme is drawn directly from your feedback in 2024, and will help guide how we frame and share the 2025 results.###

What we’re asking this yearWe want to know:<li>How your moderation teams are structured,</li><li>What resources you have, and what’s missing,</li><li>The legal, financial, and mental health pressures you face,</li><li>Which tools, training, or guidance would help you most.</li>

Some questions are about your service as a whole, others are about your personal experience. You don’t have to answer everything – **every question is optional**. Only tell us what you’re comfortable sharing. All data is held in the strictest confidence, and only one person (Jaz-Michael King) ever sees the identifiable data.###

Why your response mattersThis survey is more than a snapshot, it’s a roadmap. Your answers help us direct funding, development, and advocacy efforts where they will have the most impact, especially for communities facing harassment, resource shortages, and high-risk content.###

A small thank-youFifty respondents will be selected at random to receive a thank-you for their time valued at $20 USD, with options to receive the funds in a number of currencies and formats.###

Take the surveyThe 2025 Fediverse Needs Assessment is open now and closes on 21 September 2025. It takes just a few minutes.

**Take part here:** [about.iftas.org/moderator-needs-assessment](https://about.iftas.org/moderator-needs-assessment )

If you moderate, manage, or administer a community anywhere online, we want to hear from you.

[Click here to review the 2024 Needs Assessment Report](https://about.iftas.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Fediverse-Trust-Safety-Needs-Assessment-Report-2024.pdf ).

## Staying the Course: Our Continuing MissionOver the past few ...

2025-04-08T21:20:00Z

##

Staying the Course: Our Continuing MissionOver the past few weeks, we’ve shared some difficult news, a few of our projects have come to a close after not meeting their funding goals. We know that’s never easy to hear. But we also want to take a moment to share what hasn’t changed – what *is* continuing, growing, and making a difference every day.

IFTAS is still here. Closing a few projects has allowed us to refocus our funding, and we are fully funded for a year at least. We’re still working, collaborating, researching, advocating, and supporting. The past year has made it clearer than ever that trust and safety infrastructure for the decentralised web isn’t optional – it’s essential.

Here’s what we’re still doing, and why it matters.###

**📝 Moderator Needs Assessment**Independent moderators are the backbone of the social web, and too often they’re expected to do critical work with little support or recognition. Our Moderator Needs Assessment gathers real data on what moderators need – so that platforms, peers, and funders can respond with resources that actually help. It’s about building a foundation for lasting support, rooted in lived experience. [Here’s the latest report](https://about.iftas.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Fediverse-Trust-Safety-Needs-Assessment-Report-2024.pdf ).###

**🌐 CARIAD Domain Observatory**We’re continuing to develop CARIAD, our tool for observing safety signals and behaviours across the federated web. CARIAD offers valuable insight into abuse trends, moderation challenges, and trust indicators – empowering moderators to respond proactively while respecting the values of decentralisation and autonomy. We also still publish our [Do-Not-Interact domain denylist](https://connect.iftas.org/library/iftas-documentation/iftas-dni-list/ ), representing domains reviewed and labelled by IFTAS.###

**🫂 IFTAS Connect**The IFTAS Connect community remains active, supportive, and essential. It’s a place where moderators, admins, researchers, and advocates come together to share advice, resources, and strategies for keeping their communities safe and resilient. Soon, we plan to participate in a co-design effort to create standalone moderation tooling for the Fediverse. Whether you’re new to this work or deeply embedded, Connect is a space for connection and collective problem-solving. [Request an account today](https://connect.iftas.org/ ).###

**📢 Advocacy and Research**IFTAS continues to represent the interests of decentralised platforms and independent communities in broader discussions about Internet governance, safety regulation, and funding. We provide evidence-informed responses to consultations, highlight the real-world impacts of policy decisions, and advocate for the empowerment, safeguarding, and inclusion of minority and underserved groups. We’re particularly focused on how online harm translates into offline consequences – and how to better bridge that gap in practice and policy.###

**🛡️ Social Web ISAC (Information Sharing and Analysis Centre)**The Social Web ISAC is still hard at work, supporting secure, coordinated responses to threats across decentralised networks. Whether it’s technical vulnerabilities, emerging abuse patterns, or cross-network incidents, the ISAC provides a space for timely information-sharing and trusted collaboration. [Follow the alerts account](https://mastodon.iftas.org/@sw_isac ).###

**🤝 Collaboration Across the Ecosystem**We’re also continuing to build bridges with developers, researchers, standards organisations, and fellow non-profits working on digital safety. Our work depends on these relationships – on listening to each other, learning from each other, and pushing for collective solutions that scale with care.

We know the landscape isn’t always easy. Funding can be precarious. The problems are complex. But the need for safe, inclusive, and resilient online communities hasn’t gone away, and neither have we.

IFTAS is still here. Still advocating. Still researching. Still showing up for the people doing this work at the ground level. And we’re glad you’re here with us.

*Want to get involved or support what we’re doing? Join the community at*[* **connect.iftas.org*](https://connect.iftas.org/ )* or get in touch – we’d love to hear from you.*

## Statement on IFTAS’ Ethical Commitments & Community ...

2025-04-08T21:15:00Z

##

Statement on IFTAS’ Ethical Commitments & Community RelationshipsIFTAS was founded to support trust and safety across decentralised social media networks.

We are guided by a commitment to ethical governance, transparency, and the protection of marginalised and underserved communities online.

Our work centres evidence-based practices, civil speech, and the creation of safer, more equitable spaces in federated platforms.

We want to clearly reaffirm: IFTAS does not tolerate violent threats, harassment, or hate speech of any kind.

Over the past week, we have received messages requesting clarity on various activities. For the record:<li>IFTAS does not tolerate intolerance,</li><li>IFTAS does not tolerate misgendering or deadnaming,</li><li>IFTAS does not moderate the Fediverse,</li><li>IFTAS has no organisational ties to any third-party denylists, including The Bad Space project,</li><li>IFTAS has no organisational ties to the FediForum event,</li><li>IFTAS has no organisational ties to Nivenly,</li><li>IFTAS has one employee,</li><li>IFTAS does not publish any denylist that blocks entire portions of marginalised communities,</li><li>IFTAS has a permissive linking policy, and this will change.</li>

We expand on each of these statements below.

**Our Focus**

Our focus is on supporting informed, contextualised decision-making – never on enforcing top-down rules or creating centralised controls. We encourage transparent moderation practices and community-specific policies that reflect local values and safety needs. We solicit input from the community, and then convene and work with any and all who have elected to engage with our community, subject to our community participation guidelines.

We remain committed to [our mission and to the communities we serve](https://about.iftas.org/community-mission-statement/ ). We will not be deterred from this work by those seeking to distract or divide. The safety and dignity of marginalised people remains at the core of all we do.

**IFTAS does not tolerate intolerance.**

Our [Community Participation Guidelines](https://about.iftas.org/iftas-community-participation-guidelines/ ) describes the conduct we expect from our community members when engaged with IFTAS, representing IFTAS, or in IFTAS spaces.

**IFTAS does not tolerate misgendering or deadnaming.**

As can be evidenced by our work in this area, we are proud to have been a part of [the advocacy that moved over 50 providers to explicitly prohibit targeted misgendering, deadnaming](https://about.iftas.org/2024/01/30/targeted-misgendering-and-deadnaming-in-the-fediverse/ ), as well as promotion or endorsement of so-called “conversion therapy”.

**IFTAS does not moderate the Fediverse.**

We convene and support the people who moderate content and behaviour online. We ask the moderator community what they most need help with, and we use [the results of that survey](https://about.iftas.org/moderator-needs-assessment/ ) to determine what IFTAS should work on. IFTAS moderates its own spaces. We do not moderate any third-party instances, and we do not expect nor demand that our community members moderate their instance(s) in any particular way. Any tools we build take the needs of the service administrator first, and leave all moderation decisions up to the service administrator. We advocate for civil speech, inclusivity, and equitable approaches. We can, by definition, only work with the people who engage with us. We do not seek to become a centralising authority, but we do seek to convene and find common ground where appropriate to reduce burden on moderators, to share the load, and to spread best practice.

**IFTAS has no organisational ties to any third-party denylists, including The Bad Space project. **

As part of [our library of resources](https://connect.iftas.org/library/ ), IFTAS [links to a range of denylist resources](https://connect.iftas.org/library/tools-resources/denylist-resources/ ) to be investigated by decentralised service providers, moderators, and community leaders, including a project called The Bad Space, which is a catalogue of observed federation policies based on the aggregation of findings made by nine instances. The current publicly listed sources are rage.love, queer.group, indiepocalypse.social, blackqueer.life, queer.garden, mastodon.art, solarpunk.moe, colorid.es, and cathode.church.

As best as can be seen from the project web site, the catalogue of domains for The Bad Space is openly collected, organised, and published. The project is maintained and hosted by [heuristic instruments](https://h-i.works/about.html ). The project lead is not a participant in any IFTAS activity.

IFTAS has no organisational ties to any of the third-party denylists listed on our Library page and does not endorse or recommend any third-party denylists.

**IFTAS has no organisational ties to the FediForum event. **

We attend, we often conduct a session or two, and we listen and learn from what others in the space are doing. We sponsor tickets for moderators, seeking to bring a diverse set of voices to the event. We use this event to advocate for trust and safety for minority and marginalised groups, and to highlight issues we believe the platform and app developers that attend should be aware of.

When we learned of transphobic social media posts made by one of the organisers, we were horrified, as was anyone we knew who was also considering attending. We would not have attended had it gone ahead with the organiser in place, but the event’s other organiser quickly removed the organiser who made the problematic posts from the event, and pivoted to a listening session, cancelling the usual activities. We applaud this approach and have pledged to work with new governance of the event to help create a safer, more diverse space.

**IFTAS has no organisational ties to Nivenly. **

While we are supportive of the organisation, we have never funded them, we are peer entities that exist in the same space. Once, IFTAS executive director Jaz-Michael King was asked to review and comment on a proposal titled “FSEP” funded by Nivenly. He was not paid. He reviewed the document, he commented on the document, but it was up to the author to take those comments on board or not.

**IFTAS has one employee.**

IFTAS is predominantly volunteer-driven. One full time, unpaid volunteer performs all administrative work; a volunteer non-profit board oversees the compliance, financials and legal requirements of operating a non-profit; and a group of volunteer advisors offer their expertise as and when available. From time to time, IFTAS has hired sub-contractors to perform specific scopes of work.

At one time, IFTAS attempted to create a small cadre of moderators to react to our work. We offered an [honorarium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorarium )-type stipend, specifically to ensure the group was diverse and not asked to provide free labour. Part of our non-profit mission is to support the uncompensated labour provided by the hardworking moderator community. The individuals that participated in this short-lived project were never employees, nor sub-contractors, although some did request and receive the honorarium. This group partially met once, and it proved to be a non-starter, no further meetings were held. No work of any kind was ever achieved, and later that year [one participant was removed from IFTAS spaces](https://about.iftas.org/2024/12/30/iftas-statement-on-moderator-advisory-council-participation/ ) after making deeply inappropriate public remarks, conduct that contravened our Community Participation Guidelines.

**IFTAS does not publish any denylist that blocks entire portions of marginalised communities.**

Our block recommendations and data are entirely public, transparent, and human-reviewed. No third-party list ever became an IFTAS resource.

IFTAS publishes three resources with regard to federating domains.<li>A <a href="https://connect.iftas.org/library/iftas-documentation/iftas-dni-list/">Do Not Interact</a> list. This is an importable list that recommends blocking 72 domains (at time of writing). Each domain has been reviewed and labelled by IFTAS, no-one else. Each domain is highly recommended for defederation due to risk of service abuse, intolerant hateful conduct, or illegal content.</li><li>A <a href="https://cariad.fedicheck.iftas.org/">Domain Observatory</a>. This is not a denylist, it cannot be imported, it is a database that describes what domains are blocked by the largest, most active Mastodon service providers. </li><li>IFTAS occasionally publishes alerts for Fediverse service providers which may include a domain block recommendation. All these alerts can be reviewed at <a href="https://mastodon.iftas.org/@sw_isac">https://mastodon.iftas.org/@sw_isac</a> </li>;

Various Fediverse admins have reached out to IFTAS over the past year to request we remove them from our denylists, having been misinformed that IFTAS is in some way responsible for their domain being on one or more third-party denylists. In all cases, we had not blocked or recommended blocking the domain(s).

We have, however, received persistent abuse and harassment from the domains we *do* recommend blocking.

**IFTAS has a permissive linking policy, and this will change**

IFTAS currently lists a wide range of tools, research, and third-party resources submitted by members of the community for the benefit of all moderators and administrators. However, we also recognise that inclusion in our resource library may be interpreted as endorsement or affiliation even when we state otherwise. IFTAS will begin consulting with community members and advisors on what actions we may need to take to review our approach.

We acknowledge that not all of our decisions will satisfy every party, and we respect the right to engage in principled disagreement. However, targeted harassment of IFTAS volunteers – who are often marginalised individuals themselves – crosses a boundary. IFTAS volunteers are not public figures. We ask that any criticism of our organisation or its work be directed through appropriate channels. Our community spaces are designed for collaboration, learning, and respectful disagreement. Our communications channels are the best way to reach IFTAS directly – our email is [contact@iftas.org](mailto:contact@iftas.org ) and our fediverse address is IFTAS (npub1y2r…kvzk)

IFTAS was founded to make governance and moderation tooling and resources available to the communities who need and request them, and that’s what we’re still working on. Our next blog post will walk through the activities and projects we’re putting front and center for the rest of 2025. We wrote this post to clarify our orientation toward our work, the resources we list, the communities and organizations we work alongside, and the actions we’ve taken when people inside IFTAS spaces have behaved in unacceptable ways.

## IFTAS Service ShutdownsThe following services are no longer ...

2025-03-03T14:49:55Z

##

IFTAS Service ShutdownsThe following services are no longer sustainable or do not have the necessary support to continue, and will be shutdown as listed:

IFTAS CCS: CCS will be shut down Wednesday March 19. All incoming webhooks must be disabled by Friday March 14.

IFTAS FediCheck: FediCheck will no longer publish automated updates to servers effective immediately. The app will remain online in read-only mode until further notice.

Tall Poppy Personal Digital Safety Services: We will not be renewing this service, the app, its resources, and Crisis Resources should be available until the service agreement expires on March 24, 2025.

Bluesky Labeller: The labeller service and associated ATProto account will be shut down on or before March 21, 2025.

Sandbox Mastodon: the moderator sandbox will be shutdown on or before March 21, 2025.

## Funding Challenges and the Future of Our WorkOver the past two ...

2025-02-06T18:00:20Z

##

Funding Challenges and the Future of Our WorkOver the past two years Independent Federated Trust and Safety (IFTAS) has provided crucial support to independent, decentralised social media moderators, administrators, and community managers. Our mission has been to equip these individuals with the knowledge, resources, and services needed to create and nurture safe, civil, and inclusive online spaces.

However, despite our best efforts to secure sustainable funding, IFTAS is now facing a critical financial shortfall. Without immediate support, we will be forced to severely curtail our activities in the next 60 days. With our current commitments we will be unable to pay our bills in April.

Therefore we are preparing to scale back our activities and reduce our ability to advocate for better trust and safety standards across decentralised platforms.

**At this juncture we are committed to continue fundraising until February 28. If by then we have still failed to source funds, we will begin closing down some of our activities. Any formal announcement of our plans will happen on or after March 1, 2025.**##

The Funding ChallengeOur founding plan was to source three years of external support from corporate and institutional funders while we built toward self-sustainability. The list of companies we would accept money from is shrinking, and the charitable funding landscape in general has proven to be harder to access than we had hoped.

Like many non-profit organisations operating in the civil society landscape, IFTAS has relied on grants, donations, and partnerships to sustain its work. However, shifts in funding priorities, economic uncertainties, and increased competition for limited resources have made securing financial support increasingly difficult. While our work remains as vital as ever, we have struggled to find long-term funding commitments that would allow us to continue operating at our current capacity.

We are not a research group, we don’t focus on any particular demographic or harm, we are a general purpose charity with routine bills to pay, and this is not the kind of activity most institutional funders want to support.

We have met with dozens of foundations and civil society organisations. We have submitted grant applications and letters of enquiry. We have reached out to hundreds of companies and charities and others that operate in the Fediverse with accounts or their own servers.

For 2024 this outreach raised just short of $10,000, mostly from our community crowdfunding campaign, with about $400 a month in recurring donations.

While we have two grant applications pending, both of them will require us to have matching funds to properly put those grant funds to work. Despite our conversations with companies and nonprofits over the past nine months, we have zero committed funding that we can use to properly sustain our services.

Our 2025/2026 budget plan with [Content Classification Service](https://about.iftas.org/activities/moderation-as-a-service/content-classification-service/ ) (CCS) included is $1.2M of which we have $300,000 in grants applied for. A large portion of this budget is for the extremely complex legal and content review work that needs to happen to assure this activity’s legality and compliance. If we close CCS we can survive with significantly less funding (but would forego the two grants as they are CSAM-specific), but will then be unable to respond to what our annual surveys consistently tell us is the highest need for Fediverse providers – detecting and reporting CSAM.

There is a possible outcome that includes a significantly reduced IFTAS providing core community services and little else, we will need to carefully examine our ongoing costs and determine what we may be able to support over a longer term.##

What This Means for IFTAS and the Communities We SupportIf we cannot secure immediate funding, IFTAS will need to:<li>Halt new activities and policy guidance: Our ability to analyse emerging threats, develop best practices, and publish guidance for community moderators will be significantly reduced. This includes our work to help manage compliance with the UK’s Online Safety Act.</li><li>Suspend CCS: CCS and its CSAM detection and reporting service online is the most expensive project we operate, and will likely close between March 15 and March 30. The core technology requirements to simply operate the service exceed $60,000 per year, and that doesn’t include the legal advisory and content review support we need to bring this service to the Fediverse in a broader fashion.</li><li>Reduce advocacy efforts:  IFTAS has been a voice for decentralised communities in broader trust and safety discussions. Without funding, our participation in these critical conversations will diminish.</li><li>Rethink our scope: Significantly reduce our fundraising goals to support and sustain a much smaller portfolio of activities.</li>

These cuts will leave many independent communities without the resources they need to handle complex trust and safety challenges. It will also reduce the visibility of decentralised networks in discussions about the future of online safety, making it harder to ensure that their needs are considered in policy decisions.

**For the time being we anticipate [FediCheck](https://about.iftas.org/activities/moderation-as-a-service/fedicheck/ ) and [IFTAS Connect](https://about.iftas.org/2024/05/29/iftas-connect-a-community-for-fediverse-moderators/ ) staying online for at least the next several months. Our hope is to prepare FediCheck to be open-sourced so the tool can be used independently, and to find a way to sustain the Connect community for as long as possible. **

We will never share or in any way disclose the personal data and conversations that we host, so either we keep it online or it will be gracefully shut down with plenty of time to help find a new home for the community.##

How You Can Help**Spread the word:** Raising awareness about our funding challenges can help us connect with potential funders, partners, and supporters. Share our [fundraising overview](https://about.iftas.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2024-2025-IFTAS-Overview.pdf ). We know most funders cannot move quickly, so for now, we are accepting pledges.

**Pledge a donation:** If you or your organisation can contribute financially, let us know. We are not accepting donations at this time, but we will take your pledges to see if we can reach our funding goals. We need pledges by February 28 so we can make an informed decision about our next steps. [Contact us](https://about.iftas.org/contact/ ).

**Connect us with potential funders:** If you know of philanthropic organisations or individuals interested in trust and safety for decentralised communities, we would love to connect. If you know anyone going to RightsCon who might be a good connection, tell us.

**Advocate for trust and safety funding:** The broader trust and safety field needs more sustainable funding mechanisms. By advocating for increased support for this work, we can help ensure that independent communities are not left behind.

**Vote with your feet:** Use social networks that are well-moderated and bring you the safety you need online. Support that service financially if you can. Say “thank you” to your moderators.##

The Road Ahead***(a note from IFTAS Director Jaz King)***

I believe there is no social network that has any sustaining, meaningful value outside of the trust and safety it brings to the table.

There are hundreds of apps and platforms, multiple protocols. Our society is extremely willing to fund the creation of yet more apps and platforms, repeating the cycle of build something new, attract people, wait until they find out it’s an unmanaged mess, watch them leave, build something new – but funding the trust and safety that provides much, if not most of the value is a tough nut to crack.

I started IFTAS with the idea that we can break this cycle and help identify and share the collective wisdom of what works and what doesn’t work so that apps and platforms can benefit from best practice, build a healthy and safe network, and then have IFTAS pay for the bits independent operators can’t afford themselves.

Over the past 18 months IFTAS has raised over $400,000 which has supported Fediverse moderators and administrators with our projects, our advocacy, our services, direct support to Fediverse moderators and developers, and more. In case it needs to be said, I’ve never been paid by IFTAS (or anyone or anything else since 2022), my wife works and it’s her support that has allowed me to take on this work full-time.

Trust and safety sounds boring, often is boring – except for when it’s traumatic – and is not something that I’ve been able to convince anyone to pay for in any meaningful way. Everyone I speak to thinks the work is vital, that our achievements to date are meaningful, but is “not aligned with our current funding goals”.

We’re down, but not out. The above is my signal to all who use our services that we are reaching the end of the road, but we’re not quite there yet. Stay tuned for March 1 or so to hear what I think we can continue to do to support our community. **I have to put this notice out now so that people who rely on our services can begin to plan for alternative support.**

Given the tilt we are seeing in the large corporations that operate the biggest networks, I believe it has never been more important to sustain the open social web. I commit to working with any and all other groups in the space who are able to continue building safety into our shared spaces.

I will do everything I can to sustain the community we’ve built for as long as I can. I am working non-stop through end of February to see what can be done, and come March I’ll announce where we are at and what we think we can do going forward. It’s been a privilege to work with so many dedicated teams and individuals in this space, and I hope to continue contributing in any way I can regardless of the outcome for IFTAS.

## The 2024 IFTAS Needs Assessment Report is Here!We are pleased ...

2024-12-17T13:07:12Z

##

The 2024 IFTAS Needs Assessment Report is Here!We are pleased to to announce the release of the [2024 Fediverse Trust & Safety Needs Assessment Report](https://about.iftas.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Fediverse-Trust-Safety-Needs-Assessment-Report-2024.pdf ). This annual report is a cornerstone of our mission to support the decentralised social web with evidence-based research and actionable recommendations for moderators, community managers, and administrators.

This year’s report reflects the insights of 183 services spanning platforms like Mastodon, Lemmy, and Peertube, collectively hosting over 4.3 million accounts. This year we also heard from volunteer independent moderators on Bluesky. By analysing the experiences and feedback of these moderators and admins across the Fediverse, the report highlights the challenges and opportunities within this rapidly evolving ecosystem.

We will follow up with an analysis of what we’ve seen change since last year’s report, as well as key resources we think can help solve some of the needs identified.##

Key Findings<li>Resource gaps – only 16% of communities have 24-hour moderator coverage, and nearly half of moderator teams lack formal guidance. That said, we see roughly one moderator for every 1,200 active accounts.</li><li>Top ranked priorities – moderators need tools for CSAM detection, spam prevention, and legal guidance for compliance with regulations like GDPR.</li><li>Burnout is a persistent issue – one in five moderators report experiencing trauma or burnout this year, underlining the need for wellness and resilience resources.</li><li>Financial struggles – most communities operate on donations, and overall our survey participants are not generating enough money to cover costs. Very few moderators are receiving any compensation for their labour.</li>##

IFTAS InitiativesInformed by last year’s findings, IFTAS has developed several solutions and programs, including a [Fediverse CSAM scanner](https://about.iftas.org/activities/moderation-as-a-service/content-classification-service/ ), a comprehensive Moderator Handbook (coming soon), and the creation of [FediCheck](https://about.iftas.org/activities/moderation-as-a-service/fedicheck/ ) for automated denylist management. Moving forward, we aim to expand resources for [moderator wellness](https://connect.iftas.org/library-category/wellness/ ), launch our CSAM scanner for broader use ([please register your interest](https://cryptpad.fr/form/#/2/form/view/SXiobzcxTRrpVsWMJDh+h+loLkAmsTQ-8-egNm+ihlo/ )), improve tooling for non-consensual image detection, and introduce new community guidelines templates.

We encourage everyone in the Fediverse community to read the full report for a deeper understanding of the challenges facing decentralised moderation and the innovative solutions underway.

➡️ **[Read the Full Report Here](https://about.iftas.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Fediverse-Trust-Safety-Needs-Assessment-Report-2024.pdf )**##

Get InvolvedIFTAS thrives on collaboration. Join our community of practice at [IFTAS Connect](https://connect.iftas.org ), use our [resources](https://about.iftas.org/activities/ ), or [support our mission](https://about.iftas.org/donate/ ) with a charitable donation to help make the Fediverse a safer, more inclusive space for all.

Let’s work together to empower moderators and create a stronger, safer social web!

#TogetherStronger 💙

#ActivityPub #BetterSocialMedia #Bluesky #Fediverse #TogetherStronger

## Welcoming Erin KissaneWe are thrilled to announce that [Erin ...

2024-11-27T17:30:16Z

##

Welcoming Erin KissaneWe are thrilled to announce that [Erin Kissane](https://mas.to/@kissane ) has joined the IFTAS Advisory Board! Erin brings a unique and deeply informed perspective on trust, safety, and governance in decentralised online spaces, making her an invaluable addition to our mission of supporting independent social media communities.

Erin’s recent work on [Fediverse Governance](https://erinkissane.com/fediverse-governance-drop ) underscores her dedication to understanding and addressing the nuanced challenges of managing decentralised networks. Her thoughtful exploration of governance models, trust-building, and community care on the Fediverse reflects her commitment to fostering equitable and inclusive online environments.

Other notable achievements include co-founding and leading the [COVID Tracking Project](https://covidtracking.com/ ) at The Atlantic, a significant public data initiative that provided comprehensive national data during a critical time. She also played a pivotal role in establishing [OpenNews](https://opennews.org/ ), fostering collaboration among data journalists, designers, and reporters to enhance the quality of journalism through shared knowledge and resources.

Most recently, through her microstudio [wreckage/salvage](https://www.wrecka.ge/ ), Erin continues to investigate the history and future of online networks, exploring cultural protocols and innovative practices that can help sustain healthier digital spaces.

Erin’s extensive experience and her commitment to decentralised governance align perfectly with IFTAS’s values of transparency, fairness, and safety. We are honoured to welcome her to the Advisory Board and are excited to collaborate on shaping the future of independent, inclusive online communities.

Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Erin!

#BetterSocialMedia

Photo by [Hannes ...

2024-10-21T14:08:49Z

Photo by [Hannes Johnson](https://unsplash.com/@hannes?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash ) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/blue-and-brown-cardboard-boxes-mRgffV3Hc6c?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash )On October 8, 2024, an IFTAS Connect member observed one of the first spam posts from a network attack conducted by what appeared to be a reuse of the same “nuke” script we saw earlier this year in February, a simple but effective tool to create new accounts in bulk, and use those new accounts to deliver unsolicited messages in an infinite loop.

[Various](https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/21/discord-took-no-action-against-server-that-coordinated-costly-mastodon-spam-attacks/ ) [reports](https://www.pcmag.com/news/mastodon-hit-by-a-spam-attack-that-exploited-small-abandoned-servers ) highlighted the activities of two parties engaged in an online argument, both sides of which appear to be young scripters based in Japan, with the intent of causing trouble for the other party.

In short, a Discord bot was created that can automate the creation of a new account on an open registration service and then repeatedly spam a new post with ten direct mentions, causing notifications to pop up for hundreds of thousands of Fediverse users, which -thanks to network bridges and unmanaged group functionality – included Bluesky accounts and Friendica groups that automatically boost the posts to potentially thousands more individuals.

The bulk of the October spam originated from predominantly [Misskey](https://misskey-hub.net/en/ ) servers, although other services including Mastodon were also compromised. Misskey is an ActivityPub-enabled microblogging service popular in Japan.

Within an hour of observing the first spam messages, the [IFTAS Connect communit](https://connect.iftas.org )y had created a [shared spreadsheet of affected servers](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13sskOdKraYo2hSMK353Ijm0_K8WCp-JHs6cyruffedA/ ). In the previous spam wave, much effort was spent on blocking the increasing number of servers delivering spam, and finding ways to identify and delete spam messages. However, due to the large number of independently operated Fediverse servers, getting this information out in a manner that was helpful to self-hosted and managed-hosted servers, without simply handing the mitigation to the spammers themselves to adapt their attack, proved to be difficult.

We saw fewer than a hundred servers involved in the spam wave. With potentially 30,000 servers, relays, groups and bridges to alert, the community decided to instead try to alert the small number of impacted service providers.

An alert was drafted in English, translated into Japanese and Chinese to help the server operators understand the issue being described, and research began to find contact information for the servers being tracked.

Within the hour, server operators began responding to the alerts and closing down registration, deleting the relevant accounts, and wiping the spam content. After 24 hours almost all servers had responded, leaving only ten still open and spamming the network. At this point, the Social Web ISAC [issued an alert](https://mastodon.iftas.org/@sw_isac/113277654614912028 ) to limit content from those ten servers, and began filing abuse reports with the remainder’s web hosts and content delivery networks.

The community tracked outbound emails and messages, and updated the spreadsheet as servers responded and mitigated the issue. If no response was observed after 12 hours, emails were then sent using the relevant web host abuse report functions, which send an email directly to the service operator from their web host or domain registrar.

This mitigated several more servers, bringing the list of servers that were entirely unmonitored “ghost ships” to six. At this point, IFTAS decided to [add the remaining servers to the IFTAS Do Not Interact list](https://mastodon.iftas.org/@sw_isac/113317470469259706 ), which in turn updated users of FediCheck to automatically block those servers.

Overall, the community mitigated almost all of the spam within 48 hours, proving that despite the core issue of [decentralised networks not having a network-wide view of the Fediverse](https://www.techpolicy.press/online-safety-and-the-great-decentralization-the-perils-and-promises-of-federated-social-media/ ), opportunities exist to work together and combat the same issues inherent to all social media platforms.

In response to the February attack, Mastodon added a feature to [close new registrations on a service that appears to be unmanaged](https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/pull/29318 ), which likely helped mitigate this second attack to some degree. Nonetheless, in an ecosystem that allows open federation and open registration by default, we will need better spam blocking tools, and better account creation review options to better guard against this kind of attack in the future. We are aware of [several](https://gitlab.inria.fr/mdamie/federated-antispam-benchmark/-/blob/main/proposal.md ) [projects](https://hachyderm.io/@thisismissem/112299123543592994 ) [underway](https://mastodon.scot/@gunchleoc/111974599296575736 ) to provide various defenses against spam, as well as the [Fediverse Auxiliary Service Provider Specifications project](https://github.com/mastodon/fediverse_auxiliary_service_provider_specifications ) that should enable third-parties to offer plug-in style help for service providers.

Still, we couldn’t be prouder of the [IFTAS Connect community](https://connect.iftas.org/ ) and all the folks who gave their personal time and energy for the good of all. And if you’d like to get alerts from IFTAS consider following https://mastodon.iftas.org/@sw_isac or subscribing to our [email alert service](https://groups.google.com/a/iftas.org/g/sw-isac-announce ).

#TogetherStronger

https://about.iftas.org/2024/10/21/coordinated-community-response-mitigates-fediverse-spam-attack/

#TogetherStronger

We are now reviewing the fantastic responses from our 2024 Needs ...

2024-10-16T22:58:49Z

We are now reviewing the fantastic responses from our 2024 Needs Assessment participants. **Thank you to everyone who participated!** A very special thank you to everyone for whom English is not your first language – we hope to offer the survey in additional languages next year, but we really appreciate all the people who took the survey despite any language barriers.

We selected 50 participants at random to receive a small thank you reward valued at $20 USD; recipients will be able to choose from a range of local currency gift cards including supermarkets, pet shops, rail travel, app stores and more, as well as an option to donate the reward to a number of global charities.

UPDATE: If you participated, please be sure to check your spam folder and inbox for mail from “rewards@reward.tremendous.com”

Although the final report will take some time, here’s a few quick hits…

We asked for input from any and all federating platforms. Along with 87 Mastodon operators we saw responses from a range of platforms. We count one of each per response – so this is the number of moderators who actively moderate a given platform, even if they operate multiple instances of the same platform.

Some of our participants noted that they also moderate as volunteers on Reddit and IRC!

Special personal treat: I was reminded that [flohmarkt](https://codeberg.org/flohmarkt/flohmarkt ) is a thing!

Platform moderators: Akkoma 6, Bluesky 5, Bookwyrm 8, Firefish 2, flohmarkt 1, Forgejo 1, Friendica 3, GoToSocial 2, Hometown 3, Hubzilla 1, Iceshrimp 3, Lemmy 13, Matrix 4, mbin 4, Misskey 2, Mobilizon 3, OwnCast 1, PeerTube 10, PieFed 2, Pixelfed 8, Pleroma 2, Sharkey 3, WordPress 5, Writefreely 4. Not shown: Mastodon 87.We heard from communities and servers of all shapes and sizes, including a number of single-person servers, some very large service providers, and everything in between. At first glance it looks like we have a very broad view of the Fediverse.

Number of hosted accounts: <10 24, 10-100 20, 100-1,000 23, 1,000-10,000 19, 10,000-100,000 15, >100,000 6The communities that responded host a collective **4.4 million accounts**, roughly a third of all known accounts. Their moderator teams identified being from **24 countries**, including Costa Rica, Egypt, Slovenia and South Korea.

Based on the reported moderator team sizes, we are seeing** one moderator for every 5,500 accounts**. This is an increase in coverage from last year where we saw one moderator for every 6,200 accounts.

Contrast this with industry best guesses that X has one per 60,000, TikTok has one per 22,500, Meta has one per 17,600 ([reference](https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/x-has-significantly-fewer-moderation-staff/714650/ )). A major piece of that finding is that the Fediverse predominantly moderates by hand with very little automation.

Almost a fifth of the services (not including single-person servers) provide 24 hour moderation coverage, a slight improvement from last year.

Keep an eye out for our full report, and in the meantime you can [review last year’s findings](https://about.iftas.org/moderator-needs-assessment/ ). Once we have the data deidentified and aggregated we will share the overall findings with the community, and use the report to focus our resources going into 2025, and you’ll be able to track those priorities on our public [Activity Tracker](https://connect.iftas.org/library/iftas-documentation/iftas-activity-board/ ).

If you didn’t take the survey in time to be included in this year’s report, no fear! The survey is open year round, we value your input and feedback and will incorporate any new responses into our ongoing work. [Take the survey today](https://cryptpad.fr/form/#/2/form/view/kbCuHVByN8EoUPiESliFzU8T8Y+PYVgszLKYeiyCT9k/ )!

https://about.iftas.org/2024/10/16/2024-survey-early-highlights/

Nostr event nevent1qqsg84kxlkck9mu83tqzdd6jpqss2q23zlq70mxkx6rkt5qv0rmdpfgzyqp9z3358sp897skc6ewr4lghq3pf9j2e9hdn9z8c0ehjq6nlag0yz72xyx

2024-10-03T19:45:57Z

[](https://about.iftas.org/activities/moderation-as-a-service/content-classification-service/ )We are extremely proud to announce **our Content Classification Service is up and running**, with our first classifier active. We are starting with detecting child sexual abuse media for our opt-in connected servers, and our plan is to introduce additional classifiers over time, including non-consensual intimate imagery, terroristic and violent extremist content, malicious URLs, spam, and more.

For the time being we are operating in a closed test with a very small number of servers, and we have a slate of additional server admins ready to participate in our beta. You can learn more – and sign up to participate – on the [CCS Web page](https://about.iftas.org/activities/moderation-as-a-service/content-classification-service/ ).

[](https://github.com/bonfire-networks/bonfire-app/issues/1030 )In other news, we are kicking off an exciting collaborative with the [Bonfire Networks](https://bonfirenetworks.org/ ) developer team.

Bonfire is a **governance-first** community platform using ActivityPub, and the developer team are interested in reviewing proposals from the moderator community for rapid iteration of evidence-based, prosocial tooling and workflow in a co-design effort with the moderator community.

The Bonfire team have [already rapidly adopted several proposals](https://github.com/bonfire-networks/bonfire-app/issues?q=is%3Aissue+label%3A%22Abuse+Mitigation%22+ ) including:<li>greyscaling and blurring media in reported content – this reduces trauma for moderators reviewing harmful content</li><li>muting audio in media files – no sudden noises, loud volume or traumatic audio for the moderation workflow</li><li>removing clickable links from reported content and suggesting URL investigation tools – this reduces the chance of moderators clicking through to phishing, malware, and other harmful web sites</li>

Our [IFTAS Connect](https://connect.iftas.org ) community is working to provide additional feedback, and anyone is free to suggest additional feedback on the [Bonfire GitHub](https://github.com/bonfire-networks/bonfire-app/issues ).

This is a **fantastic opportunity** for the Fediverse’s trust and safety community to interactively guide the development of modular tooling that we hope will not only benefit Bonfire communities but can benefit the ecosystem at large, through modular adoption of the tooling, Fediverse Enhancement Proposals, or other platforms incorporating the same evidence-based prosocial approaches to empowering community managers and moderators.

We urge all IFTAS Connect moderator members to **join us in the [Moderator Tooling Workgroup](https://connect.iftas.org/groups/moderation-tooling/forum/ )** and tell us all the tools, features and functions you want to see added to keep you and your community safe!

Lastly, a huge **thank you** to everyone who has responded to our community support drive, we’ve raised **over $2,000** this year in direct community support and our [IFTAS First 50](https://about.iftas.org/first-50/ ) page is filling up! As we head into giving season, a quick reminder IFTAS is a 501c3, all donations are tax-deductible for US supporters, and we accept a wide range of support. If you can, [donate today](https://about.iftas.org/donate/ ) to keep supporting our mission!

https://about.iftas.org/2024/10/03/iftas-update-content-classification-moderation-tooling/

#ActivityPub #BetterSocialMedia #Bonfire #Fediverse

We are excited to celebrate the launch of the [Social Web ...

2024-09-24T15:41:15Z

We are excited to celebrate the launch of the [Social Web Foundation](http://socialwebfoundation.org ), a non-profit dedicated to advancing the open, interconnected web through the ActivityPub protocol. At IFTAS, we believe in fostering transparency, innovation, and safety within social platforms, and the formation of SWF is a major step toward that goal.

The Social Web Foundation [brings together leaders](https://socialwebfoundation.org/team/ ) from the Fediverse, with its mission grounded in educating users, improving social web infrastructure, and enhancing user experience across independent platforms. Under the guidance of leaders like Evan Prodromou (Research Director), Mallory Knodel (Executive Director) and Tom Coates (Product Director), the foundation aims to catalyse innovation while ensuring user autonomy and safety. Already working on end-to-end encryption, GDPR guidance, a Fediverse starter pack and more, the Foundation has plenty of amazing activities lined up.

ActivityPub has enabled thousands of platforms to communicate seamlessly across the Fediverse. This framework encourages a healthier online experience by supporting diversity of thought and content while redistributing governance back to the communities that can best serve their members. In an era where centralised networks dominate, the SWF’s commitment to open standards represents a renewed opportunity for a democratic and inclusive web.

At IFTAS, we share this vision of a safer and more equitable online world. That’s why we are happy to announce that Jaz-Michael King, our Executive Director, is joining the Social Web Foundation as an Advisor. His work at IFTAS has always centred on building safer digital spaces, and this partnership aligns perfectly with our mutual commitment to civil discourse and privacy protection.

The Social Web Foundation’s work is crucial for the future of independent social platforms, and we at IFTAS look forward to collaborating in this endeavour to build a robust, inclusive, and harm-free digital landscape. As Jaz has emphasised, “The opportunities to enhance trust and safety across the Fediverse are immense, and we are eager to work closely with SWF to make this vision a reality.”

Together, we are working to redefine the social web, ensuring that it is not only open but also safe for everyone.

For more information on the Social Web Foundation and its upcoming initiatives, visit [socialwebfoundation.org](http://socialwebfoundation.org ) or follow on Fedi using Social Web Foundation (npub1tuh…89y4).

https://about.iftas.org/2024/09/24/welcoming-the-social-web-foundation/

#ActivityPub #Fediverse #SocialWebFoundation

At IFTAS, our mission is to support moderators, admins, and ...

2024-08-24T04:09:51Z

At IFTAS, our mission is to support moderators, admins, and community managers by delivering the resources and tools they need most.

To ensure we are directing our efforts where they will have the greatest impact, we conduct an annual needs assessment. This allows us to prioritise our work based on real-world feedback from the community. Over the past year, we’ve made strides in addressing key needs, including launching the IFTAS Connect community portal, providing DSA guidance, and offering support for managing illegal content. You can read more about these accomplishments in [our most recent update](https://about.iftas.org/2024/04/23/spring-2023-update/ ).

Last year, we received [over 130 responses](https://cryptpad.fr/file/#/2/file/HUMlMUxbIF0BjNIxEtUI0O8X/ ) from moderators and administrators representing more than 200 servers. This year, we’d love to hear from even more of you!

Whether you manage a large server or are a one-person instance, your insights are invaluable. Your experiences in administering and moderating content help guide us in determining where to focus our resources.

The survey is brief, with all questions optional, so you can share as much or as little as you feel comfortable with. It only takes a few minutes, and your feedback will play a crucial role in shaping our efforts.

Your responses can be submitted anonymously, and your input will significantly help IFTAS understand where to focus our work to best support moderators across the Fediverse.

If you administer, moderate, or manage a federated service or community, please help us decide what to work on next.

[**Begin the 2024 Needs Assessment Survey**](https://cryptpad.fr/form/#/2/form/view/kbCuHVByN8EoUPiESliFzU8T8Y+PYVgszLKYeiyCT9k/ )

Thank you for your time and participation!

https://about.iftas.org/2024/08/24/your-voice-matters-guide-iftas-with-the-2024-needs-assessment/

In November of 2022 as [millions of people sought alternatives to ...

2024-08-13T15:08:03Z

In November of 2022 as [millions of people sought alternatives to Twitter](https://www.npr.org/2022/11/10/1135243276/mastodon-twitter-elon-musk ), the Fediverse experienced tremendous growth – and with that growth came an increasing number of people asking “how do we scale and support volunteer trust and safety?”. IFTAS was born out of those conversations, beginning with a working group to identify the issues and propose possible solutions, followed by a community survey to gauge the interest and needs of service administrators and moderators, and finally securing funding to kickstart the activities.

As I reflect on a year of activity and plan for what’s next, I’d like to offer my vision for IFTAS, talk about what the broader impact of a federated social web means, examine a few fundamental challenges, and offer ways we can all help safeguard and sustain #BetterSocialMedia.

Over the past year I’ve personally counselled moderators on the front lines of conflict resolution, bigotry, and exposure to traumatic content, and I’ve seen time and again the abuse levelled at people working for free filling the under-appreciated role of moderating human interactions online.

On the other hand, I’ve also had the unmitigated joy of working with a growing number of amazing people who are incredibly energised and devoted to making our online world work better. People who are actively reducing harm, increasing safety, developing new technologies for new problems, authoring guidance for moderators, and watching them come together for the greater good.

At IFTAS we’ve spent the past year building a community of roughly 200 moderators and administrators who are actively sharing best practices and lessons learned. We’ve also built moderation tooling and services, worked with industry and subject matter experts to provide guidance and educational materials, and hopefully we’ve helped reduce harm for our moderators and their communities.

We’ve contracted or provided stipends to two dozen Fediverse supporters and moderators, and we’ve provided personal safety support for 20 at-risk moderators. As we head into year two for IFTAS I am hopeful we and others can continue to advance and elevate the conversation around user safety and moderation support.#

Fundamental ChallengesTrust and safety at scale in volunteer-operated services is immediately observable as being underfunded and understaffed. Corporate social media services have the benefit of lawyers, money, and subject matter experts in the myriad harms perpetrated on the internet, from spam to disinformation to hate to copyright issues, [the list is long](https://connect.iftas.org/library/iftas-documentation/shared-vocabulary-labels/ ).

A small Fediverse instance operated by a lone admin/moderator cannot possibly be expected to acquire all the knowledge and experience required to mitigate all these issues. Even the largest teams still don’t have the time or resources necessary to manage every conceivable issue.

Here’s just one case in point. Did you know it’s [illegal to offer to sell or loan a hard non-flexible plate with three or more sharp radiating points, designed to be thrown](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/7-8/37/section/1 ) in the United Kingdom? What should a moderator do if a user offers such an item for sale or loan? How liable is the instance administrator? Are they even subject to UK jurisdiction? If so, what other items are prohibited in the UK? How about France? Tunisia? India?

IFTAS has a [long list of action items](https://connect.iftas.org/library/iftas-documentation/iftas-activity-board/ ) that our community has asked for, but I believe there are fundamental challenges that are of top priority and offer some easy wins to move the conversation forward.

While IFTAS can help and is working on each of these, the broader community can also impact each of these, and I will offer some ways we can gather our collective strengths to address these challenges.

In no particular order, let’s explore:<li>Federation Management – federation is on by default and highly permissive. New servers immediately connect with thousands of peers, irrespective of their authenticity and suitability, creating easy vectors for abuse and harassment. How can we reduce the opportunity for harm?</li><li>Common Vocabulary – for interconnected moderators and administrators to work together, we need to agree on labels and definitions. What work has been done to create standard terminology, and how might we introduce this to the dozens of platforms and apps available?</li><li>Regulatory Compliance – regulations like the Digital Services Act, age verification requirements, the UK’s Online Safety Act and others are impacting social media providers, and Fediverse instances are not immune. Legal support and protection from illicit content are our moderator’s highest concerns. What can we do to protect ourselves from liability?</li><li>Shared Signals – we federate content, but we don’t federate information about that content. The current state of the art does not help administrators and moderators communicate with each other. Let’s fix that.</li>##

Domain Federation ManagementThe Fediverse is an interconnected network of services federating content with each other, running on open source software, communicating using open protocols. As I write this, we are approaching 30,000 servers visible on the network, up from just under 8,000 in October of 2022 ([FediDB](https://fedidb.org/ )).

30,000 servers, means at least 30,000 content moderators, with roughly 30,000 definitions of what constitutes inappropriate content. 30,000 servers means connecting with 29,999 *other* servers that may or may not be well-moderated.

Those 30,000 servers host 14 million accounts. Federating with those servers means giving 14 million people the right to create files on your publicly-accessible hard drive. This is the de facto standard; most instances allow connection unless the administrator blocks a specific domain. It is a reactive proposition, and the more servers that join the network, the more things there are to react to. Moderating one server means moderating the entire network.

The web is used by billions of people, and not all of them have your best interests at heart. The low barrier to entry – download some free software and install it on a cheap web host with a free domain name – means that some servers are operating with the explicit intent to harbour hateful or illegal content, to [disrupt the network](https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/21977 ), or to generally provide a source of troll behaviour.

Consider this statement from one server operator:

Many well-meaning community leaders have started services only to be drowned in a torrent of hate and abuse from users of servers such as the one above, leading many to walk away, scarred, likely never to return. Those who stay to work through the problem are incredulous that the alternative to corporate social media boils down to “connect to anyone and everyone, good luck with that”. I believe this to be unacceptable, unscalable, and easily mitigated. I’d like to see far fewer messages like the one below.

*One server administrator at the beginning of a brigading onslaught*###

Domain Federation: How IFTAS Is Helping<li>We maintain a “<a href="https://connect.iftas.org/library/iftas-documentation/iftas-dni-list/">Do Not Interact</a>” list, a list of domains we believe expose service providers to harm by hosting and federating illegal content.</li><li>We monitor the domain blocks put in place by a large proportion of servers, and we hand review the domains that are blocked by at least 51% of those servers. We then create a list of domains we recommend for action, using our <a href="https://connect.iftas.org/library/iftas-documentation/cariad-policy/">CARIAD policy specification</a>.</li><li>We built and operate <a href="https://connect.iftas.org/library/iftas-documentation/fedicheck/">FediCheck</a>;, a Mastodon-facing web service that can synchronise your server with our lists, saving admins from having to learn about new problem servers, researching them, being exposed to their content, and manually adding the domain to a denylist.</li><li>For those who have been exposed to traumatic content, we publish wellbeing and post-trauma resources in our <a href="https://connect.iftas.org/library-category/wellness/">Moderator Library</a>.</li><li>We are working with managed hosting providers to explore how they can offer safety tools to their customers.</li>*A screenshot of the FediCheck web service application*

Separately, I advocate for changes to the ecosystem:<li>I believe all federating software should explicitly inform administrators during install that the installed service will federate with a range of servers, some of which host illegal or undesirable content.</li><li>I believe all federating software should offer the option to start with the denylist currently in place by the software maintainer. For example, Mastodon installers should be able to start their service with the current mastodon.social denylist. This allows software maintainers to offer a list that reflects their own foundational principles.</li><li>I believe all federating software should have a federation allowlist option, whereby the administrator can opt to only federate with servers they allow. A large number of small communities, family servers, schools and more can benefit from curating the domains they connect with.</li><li>I believe all federating software that allows importation of domain blocks should allow importation of retractions.</li><li>I believe all federating software maintainers have a duty of care to the people who download and install their software to educate them about resources they will likely need. One-click installers or managed host providers can be used by non-technical community managers to create an online presence in minutes, unaware of the implications and ramifications of joining a global network of federating content.</li><li>I believe that a messaging protocol that federates content should also federate metadata about that content. I can federate disinformation, but I can’t federate a trusted flag that a server is operated by a persistent threat actor. I can federate an illegal media object, but I can’t federate a signal that a server is knowingly and willingly hosting illegal content. I can federate a thousand spam messages, but I can’t federate my finding that a given server is being used to send spam.</li>###

Domain Federation: What We’re Doing Next<li>IFTAS will continue to support work on shared denylists, labelling services, and we’ll explore open sourcing FediCheck so anyone can run the service and use any upstream provider to help manage their domain federation. My hope is that rings of trust will form, allowing Servers A, B and C to automate the mutual sharing of their denylists, or Server A and B can choose to emulate Server C, or all three can decide that some other list or service is the best one for them, and plug that into FediCheck.</li><li>FediCheck will be extended to accommodate email domain and toxic IP blocking, using highly trusted sources to further protect administrators, hosts and moderators from interacting with known sources of harm.</li><li>Over the coming year, I hope to extend CARIAD into an API that can be consumed by other software products, making it a robust source of signal intelligence.</li><li>I will continue to advocate for safety features that inform and support community managers and service providers so we can continue building a decentralised social web that offers options for everyone to build the community that’s right for them.</li>###

Domain Federation: How You Can Help<li>If you are a software developer creating federation software or a supporting app, use <a href="https://www.prosocialdesign.org/">prosocial</a>; and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44271-023-00052-7">evidence-based approaches</a> to your development process. Learn from those who have walked the path, talk with safety experts, review extant moderation tooling, and consider <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/industry/safety-by-design">Safety by Design</a>. If you are building networking features that connect users of your software to 14 million people, take the anticipated potential harms into account.</li><li>If you use federated software, talk to the maintainers of your software of choice. Use their preferred feedback channel, and clearly describe the problem and the proposed solutions. Talk to the administrator of your home instance. Ask them if they monitor inauthentic domains.</li><li>If you operate a server, read our <a href="https://connect.iftas.org/library/tools-resources/denylist-resources/">Denylist Resources</a> page. If you have additional resources to add, tell us so we can share your knowledge and experience with others. IFTAS Connect members can share resources to add in the <a href="https://connect.iftas.org/forums/discussion/library-suggestions-edits/">Library discussion forum</a>, or send me a note at <a rel="mention" class="u-url mention" href="https://mastodon.iftas.org/@jaz">@jaz</a></li><li>If you can afford to support us, we need to pay people for their time reviewing domains, fixing the bugs and maintaining FediCheck, providing technical support, and creating the next generation of support tools. You can find ways to make a charitable donation at the bottom of this article.</li>##

Common VocabularyFederating platforms are proliferating, and apps and clients to connect to them are being developed by energetic teams with limited resources, each one needing to reinvent moderation tooling. Reporting workflows, labels, definitions… each platform and each app needs to consider what words to use, how to present them to users, what options to offer content moderators and service administrators.

I believe we can leverage the work performed by the larger trust and safety ecosystem to find a common vocabulary – creating an easy path for developers to ensure they have considered not only what harms their software may expose their users to, but how to robustly codify and act on those harms. ###

Shared Vocabulary: How IFTAS is Helping<li>IFTAS has adopted the <a href="https://dtspartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/DTSP_Trust-Safety-Glossary_CC.pdf">Digital Trust & Safety Partnership Glossary of Terms</a> and uses those as the core labels in everything we do. A great entry point into this vocabulary is our <a href="https://connect.iftas.org/library/iftas-documentation/shared-vocabulary-labels/">Shared Vocabulary page</a>. We have created a page for each and every label, with links to guidance and resources for each label.</li><li>Borrowing from the misinformation research landscape, we use the <a href="https://cdn.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ABC_Framework_TWG_Francois_Sept_2019.pdf">Actor, Behaviour, Content</a> taxonomy to classify each of 34 labels.</li><li>We worked with DTSP to republish the Glossary as a Creative Commons document, meaning we and you are free to use it in any form. The Glossary is the backbone of our moderator community (<a href="https://connect.iftas.org">IFTAS Connect</a>) and is how we classify content and collaboration in the library and the discussion forums.</li><li>Our domain denylists use these labels to classify domains, and we use the same labels on our <a href="https://groups.google.com/a/iftas.org/g/sw-isac-announce">information sharing advisories</a>.</li>###

Shared Vocabulary: What We’re Doing Next<li>Now that we’ve obtained the Creative Commons version of the document, we will begin translating the Glossary into as many languages as we can, and maintaining those translations over time if and when the Glossary is updated.</li><li>We will begin labelling content on Bluesky using our shared label list, and we will work with other developers to consider adopting a standard list.</li>###

Shared Vocabulary: How You Can Help<li>If you’re a moderator or service administrator, consider rewriting your server rules to reflect the DTSP common labels and definitions. We have example template rules in our Library for <a href="https://connect.iftas.org/library/iftas-documentation/shared-vocabulary-labels/">each label</a>.</li><li>If you’re a developer, consider using the Glossary as a starting point for your reporting workflows, <a href="https://connect.iftas.org/library/tools-resources/information-for-software-developers-and-designers/#4-toc-title">we have some guidance on implementation</a>.</li><li>If you’re a subject matter expert in any of the labels in our list, <a href="https://about.iftas.org/contact/">reach out</a> if you can offer tools and resources you know of that can help volunteer moderators with their decision making and interventions.</li>##

Regulatory ComplianceMy concern here is to protect administrators and moderators from liability for their accidental non-compliance, and to offer guidance on basic risk assessment. More and more countries are creating complex requirements for social media providers, and Fediverse servers are liable for the content they carry.

I have seen malicious use of illegal content, both to cause trauma, and to enable the takedown of an unsuspecting server. The Fediverse has seen [concerted attacks of computer-generated child sexual abuse material](https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/2875447 ), mass DMCA takedown requests, frivolous GDPR reports, and law enforcement hold requests.

The two resources most asked for by moderators are legal support and CSAM detection. We are working on both.###

Regulatory Compliance: How IFTAS is Helping<li>We partnered with industry experts <a href="https://tremau.com/">Tremau</a>; to co-author the <a href="https://about.iftas.org/2024/04/09/dsa-guide-for-the-fediverse/">Digital Services Act Guide for Decentralized Services</a>. The DSA is a broad set of rules that apply to any service with users in the European Union.</li><li>We have a dedicated area for <a href="https://connect.iftas.org/library-category/legal-regulatory/">legal and regulatory resources</a> in our community library.</li><li>We have met with child safety organisations and subject matter experts, and acquired licensed access to hash matching databases to identify illegal media.</li><li>We have built a working prototype of an opt-in <a href="https://about.iftas.org/activities/moderation-as-a-service/content-classification-service/">CSAM detection and reporting service</a> for use by Fediverse administrators.</li>###

Regulatory Compliance: What We’re Doing Next<li>We are seeking funding to move the CSAM detection and reporting service into production, and hiring additional subject matter experts to evaluate our service and the adjacent resources.</li><li>We will extend the service to offer hash and match service for non-consensusal intimate images (NCII) and terroristic/violent extremism content (TVEC).</li><li>We are exploring opportunities to work with legal counsel to provide basic legal advice to Fediverse administrators.</li><li>We will co-author additional guidance similar to our DSA Guide, to cover the UK’s Online Safety Act and other extra-national online regulations. We are also monitoring age verification requirements and will provide guidance there also.</li><li>We are talking with law enforcement agencies and legal notice portal providers to create guidance for service providers on how to recognise and respond to a valid legal request.</li><li>We will create a web service using the <a href="https://github.com/berkmancenter/lumendatabase/wiki/Lumen-API-documentation">Lumen API</a> to enable structured receipt of takedown notices for any Fediverse service provider.</li>###

Regulatory Compliance: How You Can HelpThis is the most expensive piece of our puzzle, and the most-requested by our membership and the broader community. The CSAM detection service will cost us over $160,000 US this year, the hosting bill for the platform is $1,500 a month, and will increase as we ramp up service.

We are chasing a grant opportunity but we need matching funds.

If you’d like to join IFTAS as a corporate sponsor, please [contact us](https://about.iftas.org/contact/ ) for information on our sponsorship program. If you’d like to contribute personally, see the bottom of this article.

Separately, if you are a service provider or instance admin and you would like to register your interest in using our service, we need to show support for our work to obtain grant funding. Please [fill out this short form](https://cryptpad.fr/form/#/2/form/view/SXiobzcxTRrpVsWMJDh+h+loLkAmsTQ-8-egNm+ihlo/ ) to let us know you are interested in using our service once it’s available so we can demonstrate to potential funders that we are building something that will be used.##

Shared SignalsI have a deep background in healthcare and cybersecurity. Both of these industries have a rich culture of collaboration and sharing, and I want to help accelerate the adoption of similar approaches in the Fediverse.

The Fediverse has 30,000 moderators. Twitter has fewer than 2,000. Meta has 15,000.

We have twice as many content reviewers than Meta.

I’ll say that again.

We have twice as many content reviewers than Meta.

Now, almost none of our 30,000 are full time, very few are paid, and there is little in the way of central guidance or tooling to help any of them with their work. Some are working on their individual instance and see only a fraction of the network, but what if we could find a way to join forces, share the load, and spread the love?

I believe we can harness the power of the Fediverse for the greater good, reducing workload for all moderators, and demonstrating to the world what it looks like when mission-driven communities come together to create the next generation of social media.###

Shared Signals: How IFTAS is Helping<li>We have created a structured community for admins, moderators, and subject matter experts to convene and collaborate at our web portal <a href="https://connect.iftas.org">IFTAS Connect</a>. We also operate a set of <a href="https://matrix.to/#/#space:matrix.iftas.org">Matrix chat channels</a> to allow for real-time conversation, and we are adding live conferencing options for one-on-ones and community meetups.</li><li>We have created the <a href="https://connect.iftas.org/library/iftas-documentation/social-web-information-sharing-and-analysis-centre/">SW-ISAC</a>;, an Information Sharing and Analysis Centre (ISAC) for the social web. This channel allows service administrators to share information with trusted partners, and release <a href="https://groups.google.com/a/iftas.org/g/sw-isac-announce">advisories</a>; that everyone can benefit from.</li><li>IFTAS joined the <a href="https://www.ngoisac.org/">NGO-ISAC</a>;, a cybersecurity community for nonprofits.</li>###

Shared Signals: What We’re Doing Next<li>We are monitoring a lot of independent work in the space, most notably <a href="https://hachyderm.io/@thisismissem/112299152768594202">ThisIsMissEm’s FIRES project</a>. Where possible, we will directly support the work.</li><li>We are tracking information sharing activities in the industry, and will continue working with several groups that are exploring broader sharing activities in the social web.</li>###

Shared Signals: How You Can Help<li>If you are a large service provider or web host, consider joining the SW-ISAC sharing channel. <a href="https://about.iftas.org/contact/">Contact us</a> for details.</li><li>If you are a content moderator or run your own Fediverse server, consider joining <a href="https://connect.iftas.org">IFTAS Connect</a>. Our community portal offers groups, direct messages, and discussion forums for sharing and learning from your peers.</li>##

Big PictureSince starting IFTAS, I’ve been yelled at, received obscene and threatening waves of abuse, been accused of working for Big Social, people have taken issue with me being too political or not political enough, and I’ve had to navigate the complexity of building a central resource in a decentralised world.

But I believe in the web, and I am certain that an open social web is worth our collective time and energy. Access to information, personal connections, news, sports, education, comics and games… we as a society owe it to ourselves to build the web we want, the web we need, the web that lives up to its name.

There are no walls on a spider’s web.

We want a web where everyone can participate, where everyone is safe from abuse and harm, where civil society can flourish, where people can meet, learn, share, live, love, laugh.

Our founding grants of $400,000 have delivered everything you see above and a whole lot more, and will keep the lights on throughout 2024, but we need to keep building, keep paying the bills, and keep paying the people doing the work. At some point, I’d like to be paid, too. I’ve been working unpaid full time since this started, and that can’t last much longer. I am supported by my amazing wife who is 100% committed to what we’re trying to do, and without her support none of this would be possible.

We have never asked for money; my goal was to take our founding grants and demonstrate our capability, build trust, and put some wins on the board. I believe we’ve done that. Next we will build toward self sustainability, and my plan is to get there in three years.

So far we’ve helped hundreds of instances and moderators in 30 countries. Our community is asking for legal support, CSAM reporting, spam detection, access to expensive APIs, vicarious trauma counseling and much more. We want to continue working to meet the needs, but we need your help. If you’d like to support IFTAS on our mission to support the people making this happen, please consider making a contribution. ##

Supporting IFTASFirst and foremost, if you run or moderate an instance, or you can contribute your expertise to our projects, join us. [Join IFTAS Connect](https://connect.iftas.org ), share, learn, teach, translate… Your peers need you. Your participation is the most important way to support the mission. The next most important thing you can do is to support your instance, the vast majority cannot cover the bills and we need a strong, vibrant community of servers to make this all work.

Nonetheless, we need to pay the bills.

We are opening up to organisational sponsorship. If you’re interested in partnering with IFTAS, please [contact me](mailto:jmking@iftas.org ), we have some great options. If you know an organisation that might be interested in sponsoring us, introduce us.

If you run an instance, make a small one-time donation and let us list you as a supporter. We’d love to show a list of servers that believe in what we’re doing. And keep an eye out for our next Community Needs Assessment, your feedback is how we prioritise what to work on for you.

We will also be soliciting donations from the community. To celebrate our founding support, we will memorialise the first 500 donors on a special page we will keep forever, the IFTAS First 500.

Send a dollar, send ten. We’ll list every supporter. Add your name, your blog, your profile pic, whatever you like. We want to demonstrate broad support for our work, it keeps us all energised and lets our sponsors know we have the support of the community.

If you are able to, make a sustaining contribution to help our monthly expenses. We pay moderators, developers, community managers, and we operate web services that require beefy hosting.

If you have employer matching funds at your job, see if IFTAS is on the list. We are registered with Benevity, tell your co-workers.

As a 501(c)(3) charitable organisation your support is tax deductible in the United States. We accept money, securities, donor-advised funds, cryptocurrency and more, all tax deductible.

If you can, [donate today](https://about.iftas.org/donate/ ).

To everyone who has supported us this far, thank you. Your time, wisdom, energy, feedback and words of encouragement have sustained us all.

Join me and the [incredible team](https://about.iftas.org/about-us/ ) on this journey, support an open social web, and help us as we keep pushing for #BetterSocialMedia.

Diolch yn fawr iawn i chi gyd,

Jaz

https://about.iftas.org/2024/08/13/fediverse-trust-and-safety-the-founding-and-future-of-iftas/

#BetterSocialMedia