9 things the Social Web Foundation could do to prioritize safety (if they decide they want to)
A followup to More questions than answers: another post about the Social Web Foundation and the fediverses – and to Steps towards a safer fediverse. Originally published as a draft Octover 16; see the update log below for details.
There's a lot to say about the new Social Web Foundation (SWF). The Social Web Foundation and the elephant in the federated room included quotes from the coverage of their initial launch, and highlighted the potential upsides if they evolve in the right ways. That post then went into detail on the tradeoffs related to their engagement with Meta, who's reportedly contributing at least some of the $1 million in initial funding SWF is "closing in on" (whatever that means). But Meta's only one of the hot-button issues SWF critics have spotlighted, and More questions than answers: another post about the Social Web Foundation and the fediverses started broadening the focus on other open questions ... like whether SWF will focus on safety.
Today's ActivityPub Fediverse still isn't growing, and safety continues to be a problem. It's not hopeless, and there are some very encouraging signs of progress.1 Still, there's a lot more to be done.
