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Are you new to the Fediverse? Do your political sympathies lie with anarchism?

You're welcome to use this avatar and header image until you find one that suits you better.

Unless you think avatars are bullshit and would rather not have one at all but don't want to be dismissed as a default. :)

Based on work by Alexei Yakovlev at, so it's available under CC BY-SA 3.0 just like the original.

Pinned toot

advice for newbies 

If you're new to the and have decided to follow me, please allow me to offer a bit of advice.

1. Fill out your profile.
2. Pick out an avatar that isn't an anime character. :smirk:
3. Read the "Mastodon Guide" by @noelle at <>
4. Post an introduction on the hashtag and pin it.
5. Bear in mind that this isn't :birdsite: or :facebook:.

Welcome, good luck, and have fun. I hope you find your niche here.

Pinned toot

If you're going to to stay safe during the current crisis, you're welcome to download or copies of my novels SILENT CLARION (2016) and WITHOUT BLOODSHED (2013) from my website.

There's no catch. Just go to my site and download. No need for an email address or a donation (but if you've got money to spare, use it to help your local community).

I kinda wish the billionaires would hurry up and GTFO out of my star system.

Pattern that gets under my skin:

Join? [Yes! | Maybe Later.]

how about [No.] or [Never ask me again.] because it's a yes or no question and not a yes/yes question.

I find it really aggravating, especially when it's modal.

Whenever you post something online, think about FBI agents reading it, because they are. I'm seeing a lot of things on here that should be said in person in a room with no phones in it.

Stay alert.

@starbreaker gemserv¹ is pretty easy to configure. A minimal configuration file looks like this:

port = 1965 host = "::" log = "warn" [[server]] hostname = "YOUR_HOSTNAME" dir = "/var/gemini" key = "key.pem" cert = "cert.pem"

Create a key/certificate pair (valid for 10 years) with:

openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:4096 -sha256 -days 3660 -nodes \ -keyout key.pem -out cert.pem -subj '/CN=VOUR_HOSTNAME'

Put a file named index.gemini into /var/gemini/.

¹ gemini:// /

@starbreaker If the file extension is md it will probably be announced as text/markdown by the server (gemserv does it, at least). But most (probably all) clients will simply display it as plain text.

Your anger is justified.

If your tactics get the desired results, then they're appropriate.

Anybody who tells you otherwise is your enemy.

@starbreaker It's like a very reduced markdown, only the links are different.

3 levels of headings: #, ## and ###
Unordered list: *
Link: => Link text
Preformatted text: Between ```
And that's it!

An important difference is that the first character(s) of a line determine its type. You cannot have inline links, for example.

You can look at the raw text of a Gemini page like this:

echo -en 'gemini://\r\n' | openssl s_client -connect -quiet

uspol, cops, nazis 

Don't defend violent cops by saying "they're just doing their job" or "they're just following orders".

That excuse didn't fly at Nuremberg, and it shouldn't fly today.

If you obey immoral orders, you're a scumbag.

And if you knowingly give immoral orders, you're also a scumbag.


I'm thinking of scaling back my web presence associated with my legal name.


If Jack Dorsey had a spine he would have banned Trump from Twitter back in 2016.

Personally, I have never been encouraged to do anything related to activism by the terrible blaming and condescending tone of some of the people here on the fedi. Using the second person perspective should not be allowed when you're attempting to use a strict or corrective tone in order to get people to listen to you.

Also, I am highly sensitive to people who seem to encourage the development of any kind of 'wokeness' through struggle sessions and other kinds of radical 'self-criticism'.

That is usually just bullying and the development of new hierarchies of power.

Also, if you don't know me, or don't know the person you're subtooting, you probably shouldn't be doing it.

Software release 

It took me a little longer than a weekend, but bollux (the #bash #gemini client I wrote) is released!

It's got the BASIC functionality right now. I'm gonna add more stuff, like history and bookmarks, later. This week, maybe!

Distributed networks are the future.

The silos are anathema to our goals.

Your data is not theirs to own. may be looking for a new locale to exist in.

Preparations are being made. I hope to not have to execute on them.

if you wanna read what i have of my novel right now, this is it :-)

there is still more to type up. another 2 chapters.

Nonbinary people don't need cis people in order to exist.

We can have children and/or families with each other. We can perform work, create art, harvest food, build homes, and are otherwise capable of having a functioning community without the magical blessing of a cis person.

The only reason we have difficulty doing any of those things now is because cis people actively and violently prevent us.

We are not indebted to cis people.

#nonbinarypride #nonbinary #lgbtq #nonbinarypositivity #exorsexism #cispeople

Anybody got a good tutorial for running one's own protocol server and publishing text?


Lest you think I'm just coming down on the cops: I think that *any* abuse of power on the part of *any* public official should be prosecuted as tyranny and punished more harshly than any other crime—as should wage theft and other abuses of power by rich private individuals.

Murderers and rapists should spend the rest of their lives in prison, but tyrants should be subject to public torture and execution.

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