Fediverse Trust and Safety: The Founding and Future of IFTAS

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2024-08-14 12:30:05

In November of 2022 as millions of people sought alternatives to Twitter, 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.